Are you starting to suspect that it’s time for a website update? Have you looked into the possibilities and seen words like “parallax” and “mobile responsive” pop up without any real explanation?  The simple fact is that website trends change all the time, and it won’t take too long for your formerly cutting-edge website to start showing its age.

You need your customers to feel confident with your business from their very first impression, and an outdated web design can turn them off immediately.

A good design isn’t just about the colors and pictures, though. Everything from site architecture to content placement can have an impact on how the website is perceived. Something as simple as requiring one too many clicks between their current location and where they want to go is enough to chase your customers away. Start with the foundations of your site, and then move on to the elements that will give your customers a reason to do business with you.

Developing Content for the Web

When a customer arrives on your website, you’ve only got a few seconds to give them a reason to spend a few more seconds with you. Your words will be every bit as important as the images and design.

As a small business, you may not have the budget to hire a pool of designers to keep up with the latest trends, but you do have the ability to express your company’s message and address your customers’ concerns. In order to do this effectively, you must quickly answer three questions for them:

1. Am I in the right place?
2. What can I do here?
3. Why should I do it with you rather than the competition?

Customers could arrive on your website through various channels, including paid ads, organic search results, or social media referrals. Make it clear that they’ve arrived on a professional and reliable site and then tell them what they can do there. Your goal with this content is to share your unique value proposition and help them understand what makes you different.

The Small Business Advantage

As website trends continue to change, you are uniquely positioned to quickly adapt your small-scale site to incorporate these new developments. A large company that has to maintain a website with thousands upon thousands of pages will have a much harder time introducing new elements. When there is so much going into the backend of such a huge website, you can’t just decide to change the theme and call it good.

As a small business you can focus specifically on a few products or services, leaving you plenty of room to change and update content, images, interfaces, and other elements whenever it is necessary.

Have you found that your content isn’t resonating with your audience? Make some quick changes. Have the most popular items in your industry changed? Change your focus to match.

As a small business you have a lot of opportunities to stay on top of an evolving industry by refreshing your themes, testing your changes, and developing a more engaging and effective website.

Does your website need a refresh?

What are you doing to make it more responsive to your users?

Contact afard@alessandrofard.com if you want to get started on improving your digital footprint today!