Tips for creating a website for your small business

Companies that have websites have a distinct advantage over their competition, and in this day and age, the people you do business with will expect you to have a website that provides company and product information, news, and contact information. A well-designed, informative website can result in increased business by expanding your presence.

In order for a website to be effective, it must cover a few key areas. The following tips will help you to create a website for your small business:

Design

The way your website is designed and laid out will have a large impact on its effectiveness. As a general rule, a website should be easy on the eyes and simple to understand and navigate - in short, the simpler it is, the more effective it will be. Think about all of the websites you see with fancier moving graphics or Flash downloads. While they may look impressive, they can be irritating to a user who just wants to find information.

If possible, have a professional design your site if you don't have an in-house graphic designer or webmaster. Listen to his or her suggestions, but be sure to speak up if you don't like certain colors, fonts, etc.

When you're designing your site, you can make the most of it by keeping a few things in mind:

Make sure each page directs the person back to the home page
Have a "contact us" section with phone numbers, address, fax numbers, and links to send emails
Edit and review any change before you publish it to your site. Misspelled words, typos, and grammatical errors reflect poorly on your organization. Always run spell check and proof your pages several times. In addition, test your links to make sure they all work and that none are broken or outdated.

Update your website

You should consistently update your website. This will keep people coming back for more. A good rule of thumb is to update at least once a month with new products, news, and other important items you would like your visitors to know.

It's also a good idea to keep a space on your main page for information like announcements, upcoming events or releases, and important dates. This way, visitors to your site can immediately see what's new.

Promoting your website

Your website may be expertly designed and contain a wealth of information, but if you don't promote it well, it will be difficult to establish your online presence. The following tips will help you to promote your website both on and offline:

Make sure all of your written and promotional materials, including letters, memos, brochures, advertisements, newsletters, fax coversheets, business cards, and so forth, all contain your website and email address.
Add your website address to your company voicemail. In addition, make sure all staff members, particularly those in marketing and those answering the phones, know how to say and spell your website's URL correctly.
Make sure the name of your company as well as keywords appear within the text of your website pages, not just graphics. This will increase the chances of customers coming to your website when someone types the name into a search engine, such as Google or Yahoo.

If designed and marketed properly, your website can be an important and effective tool for promoting your business.

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