- Approximately 71% of businesses now have a website (Forbes)
- Global eCommerce will grow by 9.4% in 2024 (Oberlo)
- More than 55% of US consumers now prefer to shop online (Fit Small Business)
Building a successful website is key if you want your business to thrive in the modern era.
With an effective business website in place, you can grow your sales, attract a larger audience, and even gain access to exciting data and analytics.
Of course, like anything else in the business world, there are certain dos and don’ts. This is especially true when it comes to business websites, which are notoriously difficult to get right.
So, whether you’ve had the same business website for several years or have yet to officially launch a website, here’s a list of the dos and don’ts that you need to be aware of. By following them closely, you can get one step closer to having the perfect business website that you’ve always dreamt about.
Business Websites: What to Do
Firstly, let’s examine what you should be adding to your business site.
ü Accessibility Overlay
This decade, one of the main goals that businesses will have is to make their websites accessible to disabled people. By having an accessible website, you can ultimately attract more disabled customers while making your brand more inclusive — which is ultimately what you want, right?
Therefore, you should start by adding an accessibility overlay to your business website, as this will allow all disabled users to successfully navigate your website with ease. To learn more about adding an accessibility overlay to your site, here’s all overlay information you need.
ü Blog Page
Modern consumers love blogs. In particular, they enjoy reading blogs that are informative and educational. Most successful companies have caught on to this, which is why 77% of Fortune 500 companies now have a dedicated blog on their website. This is something that you can offer, too, but make sure that your blogs are high-quality and frequent. The more blogs you post, the more traffic your website will gain.
ü Photos and Videos
These days, consumers are very visual. In other words, they like looking at visual content, which is why your website absolutely needs to include high-quality photos and videos. Through these photos and videos, you’ll be able to present information in a more digestible way, as no customer wants to read blocks and blocks of text to understand how a product works.
ü Smart CTAs (Calls to Action)
Does it feel like your business website ticks all the right boxes, but your sales are still low? If the answer is yes, it might be because you aren’t using smart CTAs. Without CTAs in place, some customers will remain confused about what to do next (i.e., how to make a purchase). As a result, they’ll simply leave your website and go somewhere else — it’s that simple. However, you can prevent this from happening by having the best possible CTAs in place that encourage online customers to make those all-important purchases.
Business Websites: What Not to Do
Now that you know the ‘dos’ of a business website, it’s time to switch over and take a look at the don’ts. If any of them sound familiar, you can start removing them from your website right away.
û Keyword Spamming
Keyword spamming, or keyword stuffing, is officially confirmed as a negative ranking factor on search engines. What this means is that if you spam keywords throughout your entire website, it’ll lead to your website ranking lower on Google instead of higher, which is obviously bad. Knowing this, what you need to do is avoid keyword spamming.
û Stock Images
Stock images are non-specific and convey laziness to the consumer. As a result, they should be avoided at all costs, even if you’re a small business on a tight budget. Instead, it’s much better to upload your own original images that have been professionally crafted.
û Lack of Important Information
Many businesses make the mistake of not including important information throughout their websites, such as opening and closing times, phone numbers, and email addresses. Usually, this leads to confusion in customers, especially those who are looking to contact you in some form.
Final Thoughts
Use the dos and don’ts provided in this guide as a blueprint for building a successful business website. When you do this, you’ll get to experience all the benefits, from more sales to happier customers. Enjoy!
