The Five Elements Every Small Business Website Needs

Have you been thinking about a website for your business? Or maybe you have looked at your current website and thought may be time for an update. When designing and developing websites for small businesses, we generally advise business owners have at minimum these five essentials. These elements convey the most important information about you and your business and are the five elements every small business website needs.

What are the Five Elements Every Small Business Website Needs?

It cannot be overstated that every website is different, Just like every business, the needs of each website are different, the customers they serve are different and of course, each business owner is different. But…it is true that there are a number of elements that every small business website needs. No matter the type of business or where its located, these are the five elements that every small business needs. For some businesses, all of these elements may be on a single page “brochure” website. Or these elements may span handful of pages to hundreds (or even thousands) of pages.

Note that this is geared toward service businesses, but any business can follow this general guide. Of course, there are additional elements that many businesses will need – and those will depend on the complexity of each business and the objectives the owner is trying to achieve.

1. Home Page

This is probably an obvious one, but yes, a home page is where it all starts. The home page needs to do some heavy lifting for you and your business. There needs to be a short snippet that grabs attention and explains what you do and who you do it for. What can your service (or products) do to address your customers’ pain point? Then easy navigation to your…

2. Services or Products

In a nutshell, what are you offering? The services or products page(s) will not only communicate to your potential customers, but it will also allow search engines to find and index your pages. If search engines (especially Google) are unable to find your pages, you will show up less frequently in search results and that leads to lost revenue.

If you are a service business and you have a lot of information to convey, each of your services may need to be broken down into their own page. Again, this detail makes it easier for search engines to index your pages. Provide details on what you do and make sure your keywords are optimized for SEO.

Also read: Why Accessibility Is Important for Small Business Websites

3. Gallery or Portfolio

This is an opportunity to showcase your work and what sets you apart from your competition. Designers, photographers, contractors, event planners and the like are ones who often use galleries or portfolios. But this is applicable for many other businesses. For those in the legal or professional fields, this can be a page for case studies. If you are a business such as cosmetic dentistry or home organization, inspire potential clients with before and after photos. For fields like public speaking or coaching, use this to highlight images from speaking engagements. Even if you don’t do work that is traditionally considered visual, use this page to post links to published works.

4. About

This is the page where you need to sell your products or services by selling YOU. This is one of the website essentials for all businesses. Depending on the size of your company, it can be “Meet the Team,” “About Us,” or “About Me” if you are a one-person operation. Some key points to consider are: Why did you start your business? What services do you offer? How do your offerings differ/excel from others? If you have a mission that resonates, include it. A word of caution on mission statements, many focus heavily on the business owner and not what they can do for their clients/customers. If your mission statement is too inward-focused, skip it.

5. Contact

Every small business website must have contact information. It is crucial to make it easy for potential clients and customers to reach you and we are surprised so many websites make it so difficult. There are a few choices when it comes to your contact info. You can set up a single page on your website with all of your contact information – phone number, contact form or email address, your physical address if you have one and a Google map. The about page is also a good place to include your social media links.

Another option is to place your Call-to-action numerous places throughout your website. Another idea is to place your phone number at the top if you generally receive a lot of phone calls and place all of your other details in the footer. How you set up your contact information is going to be dependent on your type of business and how you handle leads. It is best to consult with a website designer to determine how best to integrate your contact information and call-to-action for your business. Whatever you do, make sure that it is easy for your customers to reach you so you do not miss any opportunities.

Source: Small Business Trends

Bonus Element: Testimonials

Testimonials and reviews are critical in helping to convert new clients and customers. Rather than dedicating an entire web page to testimonials, we recommend selecting a handful of really great ones and either including them on the homepage or including them on your services or about page. If you are just starting out, hold off on this until you can get testimonials from a couple of early, trusted clients. Whatever you do, don’t make up reviews or pay for reviews. These tactics for getting reviews have been deemed illegal by the FTC.

 

 

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