Dec 15, 2008
Effectively Designing Your Small Business Website
Once you put together your product and have decided on the content for your business website, you need to come up with a design. Depending on your budget, you can hire a professional to design your website or you can do it yourself. You want to have a web site that will look good to your consumers and be pleasing to search engines. If you want to create a great looking, eye popping site there are a few things you need to know.
You need to create a catching logo and header for your site. It’s generally the first thing people see when they log on to your site. The header is your calling card and is going to leave an impression with your visitors. Also use analytics on your site for important words or phrases.
Calling out the important words allows you to emphasize your business and show them what you stand for. Names, phone numbers, buying and shipping information should be prominent and not only should you use analytics, but they should be made larger and more prominent. The words need to be creative and easily readable. Also, use hyperlink keywords so that users will be taken to other pages on your site and read more about your work. Allow room for at least 250 words of text on your web site pages. You need to include graphics as well. Pictures are worth a thousand words and placing the right graphics on your site will lure costumers in and images will help tell a story about your services and products.
Web sites come with a number of pages and whether you hire an expert or do it yourself, you’ll want to be able to add pages as your business expands and redo your old ones. Use header tags on your pages. You’ll want your individual pages to stand out from one another and use keywords at the top to describe your pages. You want to avoid having excess code on your pages and using Cascading Style Sheets will keep your site clean for search engines.
Do not use long paragraphs; they require too much concentration for readers. Instead, use short paragraphs and use images along with your text to keep the users interested. Make sure to create simple navigation so your products and services are easily found. Do not use JavaScript, use text navigation. It is better for search engines and helps get your site recognized.
Do not be afraid to ask for personal information or to have users sign up for emails and information. You will need to have a privacy policy to protect both them and yourself, but make it simple and ask for their name, phone number, email, and allow them to make comments about your site and services. The most trusted opinions are those of your consumers and you need to give them a forum to help you.
Obviously this isn’t everything, but it is a start and the important thing to remember is to stay creative. Continue to come up with new ideas and steal from other websites. If you see an idea on a website that you think is genius, put it on your site and help yourself create the best site for your business.
You need to create a catching logo and header for your site. It’s generally the first thing people see when they log on to your site. The header is your calling card and is going to leave an impression with your visitors. Also use analytics on your site for important words or phrases.
Calling out the important words allows you to emphasize your business and show them what you stand for. Names, phone numbers, buying and shipping information should be prominent and not only should you use analytics, but they should be made larger and more prominent. The words need to be creative and easily readable. Also, use hyperlink keywords so that users will be taken to other pages on your site and read more about your work. Allow room for at least 250 words of text on your web site pages. You need to include graphics as well. Pictures are worth a thousand words and placing the right graphics on your site will lure costumers in and images will help tell a story about your services and products.
Web sites come with a number of pages and whether you hire an expert or do it yourself, you’ll want to be able to add pages as your business expands and redo your old ones. Use header tags on your pages. You’ll want your individual pages to stand out from one another and use keywords at the top to describe your pages. You want to avoid having excess code on your pages and using Cascading Style Sheets will keep your site clean for search engines.
Do not use long paragraphs; they require too much concentration for readers. Instead, use short paragraphs and use images along with your text to keep the users interested. Make sure to create simple navigation so your products and services are easily found. Do not use JavaScript, use text navigation. It is better for search engines and helps get your site recognized.
Do not be afraid to ask for personal information or to have users sign up for emails and information. You will need to have a privacy policy to protect both them and yourself, but make it simple and ask for their name, phone number, email, and allow them to make comments about your site and services. The most trusted opinions are those of your consumers and you need to give them a forum to help you.
Obviously this isn’t everything, but it is a start and the important thing to remember is to stay creative. Continue to come up with new ideas and steal from other websites. If you see an idea on a website that you think is genius, put it on your site and help yourself create the best site for your business.
Labels: on_site_seo, seo_guide, seo_services, seo_tips, website_development
