Contributed by guest writer Vicki Lew from Brew Creative
It’s so important these days for companies of all sizes to have a presence on the internet. A great majority of customers include online research as part of their decision-making process.
Here are 10 simple tips that you should consider when creating a professional website for your business to communicate to your potential customers.
1. Start with your domain name
If you have a long company name, think of something shorter and catchy that would be easy to remember and type. You don’t always necessarily have to use the full company name, it could be your tagline.Also, look out for embarrassing word formations that may occur when you take out all the spaces. For instance: ‘Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at http://www.therapistfinder.com’
2. The magic of templates
Not a web designer or a programmer? Have no fear. If you’re quite tech-savvy, you should be able to come up with a DIY website by installing a WordPress site and purchasing a ready-made theme that is suitable for your business.Be warned though – you may have to put in quite some effort to tweak the settings and customise the website, as the templates are not built to your specific requirements.
3. Don’t go crazy on the fonts
Your website should have no more than 3 fonts. Any more than that, and it will look like a kindergarten art project gone crazy. Whatever you do, avoid fonts like Comic Sans – it will make any website look amateurish in an instant.4. A picture says a thousand words
Nothing says ‘unprofessional’ more than a badly-lit and horribly composed photograph that you took with your cellphone camera. Not that cellphone cameras are lousy nowadays – you just need to make an effort to set up your shot properly. Consider purchasing stock photos if needed.5. Mind your language
If writing isn’t your forte, keep it simple and make sure you run spell-check.It may seem unfair, but you will be judged based on typos and spelling errors. To the potential customer, it may mean that you aren’t meticulous in the things that you do.
6. Optimise your files
A professional website also needs to be efficient in its loading time, so remember to optimise your images. Keep them at screen resolution and cropped at the exact dimensions you want. Don’t upload images that are huge in file size and dimensions.If you have any PDFs or documents for downloading, ensure that you’ve used the source programs to export them for web use.
7. Colour choice
Remember to use your corporate colours on the website and also have some complementing colours to add some variety. Stick to no more than 4 colours or you may end up having an eye-boggling and tacky website.8. Consistency
This is a rather hard thing to do and requires a detailed eye. Consistency throughout the site is important so that your visuals, message and overall branding is steady. For example, use the same font/font size/colour for all page titles, tone of voice and phrasing of your copy must flow, dimensions of your images should be the same.9. Call to action
Tell your visitors what to do next! Sounds easy enough, but a lot of the time, this is forgotten. It’s your job to let your potential customers know what they need to do next in order to do business with you.State clearly if they should fill up a form with their details, call or email you etc.
Make sure your contact details are readily available (having a proper mailing address lends credibility) and all your web links are working.
10. Let others do the heavy-lifting
The best way to get an awesome website, is to let the professionals do it.Hire a web designer, copywriter or photographer etc. Be sure to check out their portfolio and who they have worked with, before you make your hire. There are always vendors out there that can suit your budget and requirements. Your business image is of utmost importance, so make the investment and get the job done right.
Remember, time is money and you should be focusing on your business. You don’t want to spend your time and energy struggling with something that is not your forte, and end up with a website that doesn’t look like it’s professionally done.
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Vicki Lew is the Firestarter and a Director of Brew Creative, a boutique graphic and web design studio focused on business savvy design. Follow us on Twitter @iheartbrew.
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