Virtually every business has a website; it\u2019s no longer the early 2000s. However, having a successful, professional-looking website is all the rage and a little more difficult to achieve than your bog-standard WordPress theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Adopt the Web<\/a> (my web hosting company)\u00a0and our partnership with\u00a0Liquid Web<\/a>, we understand just how important your website is. It\u2019s often the first thing a visitor sees; it needs to be user-friendly, leave a lasting impression, and, most importantly, stand out from the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article will provide five tips for creating a successful small business website, beginning with de-cluttering.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Often, the most user-friendly and well-received sites are those that are simplistic in nature, not full of clutter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strip it back to the basics, avoid any rainbow-like backdrops, unnecessary graphics, and big blocks of text. Instead, only include the essentials \u2013 what a visitor really needs to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a visitor lands on your site and spends the next twenty seconds wondering how to find the \u2018home\u2019 page, you\u2019ve got a problem. Your website should be user-friendly, so simple that even the most uneducated person can navigate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip: include a navigation bar to increase usability, this can either be at the top of the page (in the banner) or towards the side.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re not saying include paragraphs upon paragraphs of text; however, your text should be meaningful, easy to read, and professional. If the text on your website contains grammatical errors, additional spaces between words, and generally, does not read well, then this gives off an unprofessional feel to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It goes without saying, this is bad for business. If you\u2019re not quite the wordsmith, consider hiring a freelance writer to help you with this process. Remember, first impressions matter, give off a bad impression and it\u2019ll be the last impression you make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than five billion people use mobile phones every day. Let us repeat that for those at the back: FIVE BILLION<\/strong>. If you\u2019re not optimizing your website for mobile, then you\u2019re missing out on a lot of traffic and potential conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t know how to do this yourself, ask your webmaster or consider hiring a\u00a0professional web developer.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep up with the trends, don\u2019t fall behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Landing pages are your opportunity to shine, gathering visitors\u2019 email addresses, and contact information. This allows you to email them future products, updates, and discounts and deals. <\/p>\n\n\n\nKeep it simple, de-clutter your site <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Your website should be user-friendly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Text matters\u2026 a lot <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Optimize for mobile <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Create a landing page<\/h2>\n\n\n\n