The use of websites for business is not anything new in the increasingly growing and developed business world. Businesses, ranging from small to big, also use website to promote what they offer, because a website is a vital part of improving a business’ recognition (brand awareness) and turning potential buyers into real ones. One of the essential things in delivering the quality of a website lies in its web design. Whether you own or manage a business, you can never ignore the design of your website, because that’s what determines your visitors’ attention span and your website’s quality. Some small businesses, however, tend to overlook the importance of reviewing their website’s design as they think it is not necessary to do so, since there might be things they need to consider. If you are one of the small business owners, read this article before you do the same mistake!
- When “Hurry” Means Nothing
As a small business owner, sometimes you might feel the need to promote your products and get your website done and launched as soon as possible without a thorough research on your target audience. For example, if your products are for people around 15-18 years old, maybe your website should present bright or vivid colours that are suitable for the people around that age. If you rush things with your website, the design will not catch your target audience’s attention and the result will not get you the real buyers you need.
- The Not-So-Convincing Call to Action
Call to Action is what makes visitors get the “rhythm” of what your business does and offers, as well as what gives them the reason to stay interested. Small business owners who are too profit-oriented only focus on getting visitors’ e-mail listed or simply want them to immediately buy the product without clear “explanation” as to why they should buy it, or what they would get by purchasing the product.
A good call to action is the one that screams “You will not regret purchasing this now” without sounding like you were forcing them, rather, they would willingly purchase without regret. For example, you can add a little note that describes how the visitors can get a useful product with less expensive price in the limited time offer, like “Limited-time Offer: Get this exclusive set of perfumes for 30% off the original price!”
- Too Confusing to Make Sense
Sure, maybe you want to impress your visitors by including all the creative ideas you’ve got to your website, but suddenly, your website turns into confusing “mixed fairy tales”, full of contrasting colours, various typefaces, images, and themes that are not suitable with each other. This is too confusing for your visitors to understand your brand image. A good web design should represent your own unique brand; therefore, make sure you are consistent with the typefaces, images, colours and themes that are suitable with your brand.
- Too Much to Carry On
You want to explain in details about your company to the visitors, yes, we get it, but if you put so many descriptions with so many images, your website will take time to load. Visitors will just leave your website without having a chance to see your content, and even if they do find your content, who really likes reading too much information without getting the point of it? Not all people love reading, remember that.
- Too Little to Mean Something
You might often hear the saying: “Too much of anything isn’t good for anyone”, well, the same also applies to “too little of anything isn’t good for anyone” too. Sure, minimalism is in trends nowadays, as it may be easier to understand, but that doesn’t mean you don’t explain a thing about your company. Your website should contain clear direction even though you want simplicity; otherwise, your visitors would not really know what your company is about and therefore consider you as not trustworthy.
- Focusing on “Cheap” Instead of “Quality”
Another big mistake a small company does is that they want to hire a web designer that offers design services at cheap price due to tailoring with their budget. One thing you should know, a design work is paid at a reasonable price because of its value. You don’t buy cheap work; rather, you should buy a reasonably priced work, why? It’s because its quality should be equivalent to its price, even though it may cost you more than you want. What’s the use of “cheap” if your website doesn’t give you the real buyers?
- Trying to Do-It-Yourself
If hiring a cheap designer is a big mistake, trying to design your website yourself will make it worse if you don’t have any specific experience in web design. Remember, your website is the representation of your company. Designing it yourself from a scratch with little knowledge about it will make your website look really poorly designed.
Now that you know these 7 mistakes that should be avoided when running a small business, you should be aware of what to do and what not to do, and if you are doing at least one of these mistakes, stop it before you regret it later! Remember that it’s alright to take time in designing a website, especially if you own a small business, as long as you hire a good web designer that offers good design services at a reasonable price that is equivalent to its quality. A good website requires passion and patience; so take your time and create a stunning website that will be beneficial for your business!