The world of web design is in a constant state of flux. New tools, techniques, and trends seem to emerge every day. For small businesses trying to establish or upgrade their online presence, it can be incredibly overwhelming. Where do you even start? What if you choose a platform or strategy that becomes outdated shortly after investing time and money into it?
The key is not to get paralyzed by all the options. There are a few fundamental best practices that stand the test of time. Understanding these will help you make smart decisions as you build and refine your website over time.
While flashy trends come and go, a few core principles of good web design remain constant:
Keep the needs of your visitors top of mind throughout the design process. Site navigation should be intuitive. Content should be easily scannable. Pages should load quickly. Every design choice you make should enhance the user experience.
With more than 60% of web traffic coming from mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly site is mandatory. Use responsive design to ensure your site automatically adjusts for optimal viewing on any device.
Site speed has a direct impact on conversion rates and SEO. Keep page sizes optimized, enable caching, compress images, and minimize HTTP requests. Aim for load times under 3 seconds.
Design your site to be usable for all visitors, including those with disabilities. Write alt text for images, ensure contrasting colors, use semantic HTML, and test your site with assistive technologies.
The platform you build your website on can make or break your ability to implement strong design and functionality. Here are a few of the top contenders for small business websites:
The world's most popular CMS, WordPress offers endless flexibility and scalability. Thousands of designers know this platform inside-out. Just be wary of bloat and potential security vulnerabilities.
Webflow allows designers to build responsive, professional sites without coding. The learning curve is steeper but visual workflow and built-in CMS make ongoing management intuitive.
Squarespace strikes a nice balance between customizability and ease of use. Their designer templates look modern out of the box. Limited third-party integrations can hamper growth.
Wix makes it super simple for beginners to build a site through drag and drop editing. But the lack of custom code hampers complex functionality. Their cookie-cutter sites also scream "Wix."
Many businesses focus heavily on initial website design and launch. But your job isn't over once the site goes live. To sustain traffic and leads over time, you need an ongoing stream of optimized content. This includes:
Regular educational blog content boosts SEO and keeps people coming back. Shoot for at least 1-2 posts per month on industry topics.
Promote new content through your social channels. Also share engaging images, behind-the-scenes looks, and more to build an audience.
Send emails when you publish new content or have a special offer. But avoid blasting too frequently or risk getting unsubscribed.
Your site should make it very clear what you want visitors to do - book a call, download an ebook, make a purchase, etc. Place relevant CTAs throughout.
Use SEO best practices like keyword optimization, internal linking, alt text, and schema markup to improve search visibility.
Even after launch, your website is never truly "done." Expect to continually test new strategies and make incremental improvements. Here are some ways to optimize over time:
Analyze visitor traffic patterns, bounce rates, and conversions to identify weak points. Let data guide your optimization efforts.
Give your site a facelift with new color schemes, fonts, imagery, and other visual updates every 6-12 months to keep it looking modern.
If analytics show high exit rates from key pages, try simplifying navigation and text. Remove clutter and make calls-to-action more prominent.
Shave a few hundred milliseconds off load times by optimizing images, caching, and removing unnecessary bloat from each page.
Gradually add new capabilities like ecommerce, appointment scheduling, advanced lead generation, etc. to provide more value to visitors.
From parallax scrolling to crypto payments, flashy web design trends come and go. Resist the urge to jump on every bandwagon. Prioritize changes that improve conversions and ROI for your business goals.
The fundamentals of good web design do not change overnight. Build a resilient website on a flexible platform using timeless best practices. Deliver ongoing value through optimized content. And keep refining based on real visitor data.
With this approach, your website will stay nimble, engaging, and effective for the long haul.
Copyright © Zach Sean Web Design
