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Small business website design:
The role of a business website

These days, most business buyers use the web to read news, research solutions, find vendors and learn about other companies.  And whether they learn about your company online or through other means, most buyers and potential partners will review your site before they do business with you.

Your website is potentially the most powerful sales & marketing tool you have.  A good site plays an enormous role in your sales process and can help you:

    • Generate leads
    • Nurture existing leads and move them closer to purchase
    • Deliver information about your products & services in a compelling way
    • Process orders, cross- and up-sell, and run special promotions
    • Communicate with existing customers and distribution channels
    • Generate publicity


Think of your site as an interactive brochure that speaks with different groups and converts visitors into prospects and customers.  It’s an extension of your brand and an example of the quality of work you do.

Although a site can be a substantial investment, it doesn’t have to be expensive; it just needs to effectively communicate with your market and support your brand. 

How to tackle a site revamp

Before you hire a designer or developer, decide what your site needs to accomplish:

    • Your major goals 
    • How the site will support online and traditional marketing campaigns
    • How the site will help you generate leads, nurture prospects, communicate with your market, process orders, etc.
    • The information and functionality you believe you’ll need
    • Whether a basic design is fine or whether you’ll need something more unique and customized


Develop your content

    • Determine a preliminary game plan for your internet marketing efforts so that your site can support them.  
    • List the “users” who will visit your site:  new prospects, existing prospects, customers, partners, media, job applicants, vendors, etc. 
    • Develop a list of the information and tools (“content”) each user wants to find on your site. 
    • Review competitor and other industry sites for additional ideas.


Organize the content

Organize your content so users can quickly find what they need.  You’ll also incorporate Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”) techniques to help with search engine rankings.  For example, your home page is most important to search engines; if you don’t have rich content on that page, you won’t rank as highly.

Identify functionality you’ll need

    • You may want to display product details and process orders.
    • Determine whether you want to let customers access their records on the site.
    • Evaluate other functionality such as search, calculators, streaming video or other capabilities.


Develop your design requirements

Like your sales literature, your site should convey your brand.  Use your regular color palette, typefaces and personality traits as much as possible. 

Identify any last requirements

    • Requirements for updating and managing the content
    • Programming technologies you do and don’t want in the site 
    • Reporting requirements


Qualify and hire vendors

Unless you have an in-house web development team, hire vendor(s) for design, writing and/or programming.  Review their past work and talk with recent clients to make sure you’re comfortable with their strategy and skills.

Once you’re finished your site, use it to communicate with your market and generate leads, especially through email, online advertising and search marketing.  Email us now and we'll send you a free website analysis tool that will help you determine what type of site you need.

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