Having a small business website is now a necessity more than an option. Unfortunately, small business owners aren’t quite aware of the difference between good and bad web design and they often end up investing in options that adds little or no value to their websites.
Investing resources in the right web design is crucial for your online success. But there are pitfalls to avoid. Business owners who don’t have a professional to guide them often commit the following mistakes when it comes to web development:
1. Flash animations
Flash used to be the buzz in web design, but visitors today will be more impressed if your website loads quickly. If you consider it a necessity to use Flash, do so sparingly and intelligently on web pages other than the home page.
Flash animation not only slows down your home page but can also cause the website to crash frequently as it utilizes a greater percentage of CPU resources from the web host server.
2. Absence of social media links
Small business owners often tend to neglect social media links on their websites. As web designer William Bleimeister puts it, “social media allows fans and potential clients to connect with your brand.”
Consumers tend to use LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and other social media networks to find out about their favorite companies. The problem is that while your business may already have social media profiles, it is not easy for consumers to find your business on social sites, and you miss out on opportunities to establish a relationship with your audience. Your web design should include direct links to your social media profiles.
3. Unresponsive web design
With the number of smartphone internet users on the rise, having a responsive web design is imperative to the success of your website. However, most small businesses neglect or are not aware of the fact that consumers have difficulty in navigation when they are browsing the desktop site through mobiles and tablets.
You can go with a new responsive web design but if you want to keep the current web design and it’s not responsive, you can convert it into one that is by installing a plugin or by hiring a developer who codes the CSS to serve responsive devices. Serving mobile and tablet readers can go a long way in helping you to succeed online.
4. Outside usability feedback
Usability is a significant metric determining web design of small business websites. Surveys, tests and group feedback usability are an integral part of the web design. However, most small business owners stick to the web developer or development team for usability feedback, but the problem is that they can be biased in their opinions.
Getting group feedback from an outside group, consisting of people that are not involved in the process, will be helpful in the performance and development of the web design.
5. Poor navigation
The web design should serve seamless navigation. Users should not have to work hard to find what they are looking for. Text navigation should be transparent, while hyperlinks should not be a part of the text body.
Dead links are also a strict no in the web design. They are only going to cause confusion for the visitor. Remember that it is a business website, so it is important to prioritize clarity over creativity.
If you avoid these mistakes and keep your site functional, it will attract consumers naturally.
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