Nowadays, it only takes around 30 minutes to build a good-looking business website. Given the right tools, building your website yourself DIY-style is cheap, easy, and actually rather fun. Today's web-hosting packages allow anyone to build a website using templates; you simply customise the templates with your logo, images and content.
However, even if you plan to outsource your website development to an expert, it pays to know the basics about website design, in order to ensure that your website delivers the performance you need and not just a set of pretty pages. Overall, one should focus on creating a design that reflects you and your content. Don't worry too much about matching the wow factor of today's big-name websites.
The first thing to decide is the type of website you would like. You can choose a regular static website or a Flash website that incorporates animations. Do bear in mind that while Flash sites can look impressive, visitors with a slower connection may face slower loading speeds. The choice of whether or not to add animation largely depends on whether the website is intended to be more easy and functional or big and brash.
Spend time thinking about the structure of your website. Customers may be frustrated if they have to search a maze of pages to find what they need. If you list the top five purposes of the website and then have a direct link to these from the left of your homepage, you can't go wrong. Place your most important pages at the top of the menu and remember that visitors tend to scan most thoroughly the top and bottom of web pages.
While design can be largely subjective, a good business website always strikes the right balance between form and function. Websites usually benefit from a short, clear and informative introduction that describes the main points of the website. Effective websites are easily referenced and provide a useful and enjoyable source. Similar to decorating a house, use common sense and avoid overly garish or deathly dull colour schemes.
An important element from the start is the domain name, or web address, you use. Recent research from Fasthosts revealed that UK businesses are rushing their choice of web address, with 41% investing under one hour of thought in the decision. The survey of 615 British businesses revealed that the average business spends only between six and 12 hours choosing their main domain name, with 61% of owners seeking no second opinion before making a selection.
One third of businesses (34%) believed that their revenue would improve as a direct result of having a better domain name, and one in four (25%) admitted they had concerns about the effectiveness of their web address. Put simply, there is no point spending hours creating a beautiful site if the domain attached is difficult to remember or confusing. Do choose a domain that relates to the purpose of the site and remember the less obvious suffixes such as .biz, .org, and .net, which can have more desirable names available.
There are some groundrules that even the smallest websites must now adhere to. A dull appearance and lack of interactivity are the biggest turnoffs for consumers. The most attractive aspect for a visitor to any website is the ability to interact with you. Always ensure that your website is truly interactive and one can easily see how they can communicate with you.
A recent study from a large web host found that being unable to find a way to contact a business from its website is the biggest customer service bugbear, affecting 77% of UK consumers. Your contact details should only ever be one click away. Your host can provide tips on communication tools which will allow you to talk to your visitors. These could include chat channels, forums or live one-to-one dialogue boxes which are particularly popular now.
Why not add a photo gallery of your products or premises? Online photo galleries are the ideal way to share your pictures without ZIP files and email hassle. A good web host can provide a photo gallery tool that will publish your photos within a few clicks.
Another popular feature nowadays is a ‘blog', or an online collection of thoughts, opinion and comments. The idea is for your customers to engage with you and perhaps visit again to read your latest comments. Hosts like Fasthosts offer a free blog tool and setting up a blog only takes just a few minutes and requires no technical skills.
Always include a ‘sign-up' form in your website to collect email addresses so you can later contact your visitors. A good method of doing this is a newsletter. Newsletters can be a great way of keeping in touch, but always remember to include an ‘unsubscribe' button to make sure you don't spam people.
People today have ever-broadening expectations when it comes to the websites they use. Remember, a good attention to detail is vital: spelling mistakes on a website will discredit your business, so ensure all copy is spellchecked before it is published. Every website today should look to include some live content, whether that's news feeds, weather, route planners, maps etc. This will enhance the appearance, credibility and functionality of your website, and mean a greater chance your visitors will return.
‘RSS feeds' are a great way to do this as they bring ‘live' external content directly to your site. Feeds like the BBC's, are easy to find and integrate, and will help to make your website more dynamic. There are lots of online services that will deliver you free weather and maps etc for your website. This is an excellent way to keep visitors engaged with your website.
There are also important issues surrounding access to your website that you should understand. The latest Disability Act requires business websites to be accessible to the disabled. One should keep in mind the needs of the visually impaired by not crowding pages and keeping fonts to a sensible size. It is possible to have a feature whereby your website can be displayed in a larger text size for visitors who need this.
The speed of your website should also be a consideration. Recent research found that Britons waste two and a half days a year waiting for slow websites to load. If your website is too slow, there is a good chance that your visitors may give up in favour of a competitor's site. Always partner with a reputable web host with good connectivity.
Anyone can easily set up a website themselves for under £50 a year and within 30 minutes and it may prove to be the most worthwhile half-hour you spend this year. As long as you keep some things in mind, creating a winning business website is easy and could make a huge difference to your business.
For further advice and information please visit www.fasthosts.co.uk
