12 Top Tips for Building a Small Business Website That Converts

By Mitchell Stevens

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As a small business owner, you may be looking for lead conversion tips online and wonder if there are any applicable tips for your budding enterprise. 

Unlike bigger companies, small businesses that are just starting out may not have lots of resources and budget to boost conversions.

As long as you have a business website, you’re ready to use it to gain more visitors and convert them to customers. Here are some tips you may try out to build a website that converts.

 

1. Choose the Right Web Builder

Using a website builder is now an increasingly popular choice to create a website, especially considering the many variations of website builders out there. It also makes it easier for people who have little to no experience in coding to build a site.

Every website builder has different features that cover different user needs. The first thing you need to do is to make sure which tools will be needed for your website and what’s your budget.

Once you have figured it out, you may start reviewing your options. Check out the features of each website builder and see if it matches your needs. Be sure to also check out reviews by its current users.

An example of a popular tool to build a website is Zyro. It has AI-powered tools, like a slogan, logo, and content generator that are great for brainstorming ideas.

 

2. Pick a Good Domain Name

Like its name, a domain name acts as the link and name of an IP address, the actual address of a website. 

Since an IP address consists of numbers, it needs another form that’s easy to memorize, hence why we use domain names.

According to Google Domains, the best practices to choose a domain name is to include your brand name in there, add keywords relating to your business if possible, and keep it short.

 

 

Ideally, your domain name shouldn’t include more than three words to make it easy to recall. Having keywords included will also give your visitors a better idea of what your website is about. 

Avoid misspellings and including a dash in your domain name, as it’ll increase the chances of your visitors typing in the wrong domain name.

 

3. Improve Website Speed

Website speed may be a more technical aspect compared to the other tips in this article, but it affects the number of visitors you get nonetheless. Data by KISSmetrics shows that a 1-second delay in page response can reduce conversions by 7%.

There are many ways to improve website speed, and the easiest way for beginners is to reduce media size through compression or host it on another site. 

Media like images and videos make your website seem more attractive to visitors, but they can take up space if left unchecked.

 

To reduce the image size, you may use free image compression tools like TinyJPG before uploading the images to your site. Hosting videos on another platform like YouTube will also speed up your website significantly.   

 

4. Keep the Homepage Simple

The easier it is to navigate through your website, the more visitors you will get. The first page your visitors will see on your website is the homepage.

Add an eye-catching headline on your homepage to describe what your website is about. Consider what your visitors may be looking for when they access your website and how you want to direct them.

Include links to important pages on your website, such as the Contact Us page, Product Information page, or Pricing page on your homepage, and make them stand out.

 

5. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

In 2020, more than 90 percent of total internet users worldwide access it from their mobile devices. However, not all websites have made their appearance mobile-friendly.

An important aspect of doing this is by implementing a responsive design for your website. This design will change in interactivity and layout, depending on the device its users are using.

With responsive design, your site will be able to cater to all device users. 

While the most important benefit is to improve user experience, a responsive design also impacts your website’s search engine ranking. Google has stated in 2017 that it has started a mobile-first strategy for indexing.

6. Optimize Your Navigation Menu

The navigation menu is where your visitors will start to browse through your website. It also determines how long your visitors will stay on your site.

This menu is especially important for eCommerce websites with lots of categories. 



Make sure to divide the menu by category to make individual links easier to find. You may list them by alphabetical order or put the most accessed link on top.

Including a search bar will also help visitors access information more easily, especially for large sites that have lots of information. 

The larger a site is, the harder it will be for visitors to browse through your content to find what they’re looking for. Search bars help them find the exact information they’re looking for.

 

7. Have Clear Call-to-Action Buttons

Call-to-Action buttons are proven to increase clicks and sales on emails, articles, and on a Facebook page. It’s a powerful and simple way to boost conversions that is applicable for even small businesses.



For example, on the page for YouTube Premium, the “Try It Free” button is the Call-to-Action. Its color and position in the middle of the page make it stand out among the rest of the content.  

To start including a call-to-action button, you’ll have to consider first what action you want your visitors to take. 

If you want them to subscribe to your newsletter, for example, you can add a “Subscribe for more articles” button on the article pages. 

Make the button stand out by using a different color from the rest of the page. Colors like red, yellow, or green are great for attracting attention. 

 

8. Use Forms

Some conversion targets like gaining new users or newsletter subscribers will require visitors to fill out forms. 

These forms include basic contact information, such as name and email address, and are useful to reach out to them more easily.

Before displaying a form on your website, make sure to include only the necessary contact information. The ideal number of fields in forms is around 3-5, according to Hubspot.

When you have too many fields in your form, it can be inconvenient for your customers to fill out. They will be less likely to fill and complete the form, especially when there are lots of drop down and multi-line text fields. 

 

9. Create a Seamless Checkout Experience

A seamless customer experience is essential for conversions, especially in the checkout process. 

For their convenience, you may want to consider removing the signup requirement for visitors who want to buy your products for the first time. 

Creating an account may take a while, and you don’t want to lose potential buyers by requiring them to sign up first before purchasing.

It’s also crucial to make sure your payment options have guaranteed security. Check out PCI Security Standards to see if your checkout page has met all the requirements and complied with their standards. 

 

10. Upload High-Quality Content

Content, including media like images and video, makes your website look attractive to visitors. 

If your business will sell products through the website, adding descriptive images of your products is necessary. It’s especially important if you’re selling physical products, such as clothes. 

They serve as a preview of these products to your customers. The better you present your products to them, the more likely they are to consider buying.

Another popular type of content for business websites are informational blog articles. They help visitors to get to know your products better and establish the expertise of your brand, so maintaining their quality is also essential. 

 

11. Make the Purpose of Your Website Clear

When creating your business website, you already have at least a few ideas of its purpose. 

For example, you may want your customers to order physical products from your website. Or maybe your business wants customers to subscribe for a paid membership to get premium content.

Whichever goals and purpose your website has, make sure to include it on your homepage. State what your business does and what it can do to help customers, and include relevant call-to-action buttons.  

 

12. Run A/B Tests

Just because your business website is up and running, it doesn’t mean your job is done. 

Regular reviewing and evaluation of what works and what doesn’t is key to having a successful business website. One of the ways you can do this is through A/B testing.

A/B testing is a method of comparing two different versions of a web page by showing it to visitors at random. Data from this experiment will then be compared to see which version is converting better.

This method is useful to understand which exact variables may lead to more conversions, as opposed to just guessing or through gut feeling.  

 

What Are the Benefits of Having a Website?

For a small business, having a website on your own may be beneficial in several ways. Here are some of the more well-known benefits.

 

  • Reach out to customers easily – Having a business website will not only make it easier for customers to shop, but it also helps you reach out to them. With social media, you can interact with them and see what they’re saying about your business.
  • Improve brand visibility – Your brand’s reach is now no longer limited to local customers, but all internet users worldwide. 
  • Provide information for customers – Through a mailing list, you’ll be able to inform customers about new products and other updates about your business.
  • Own your online presence – A website with your brand name in its domain will make your business look more trustworthy and leave a professional impression on your customers.
  • Better access to data analytics – Connecting your website to analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, will help you gain insight about which product pages get the most access, how you gain visitors, and many other useful data to increase conversion. 

Conclusion

While it may seem challenging at first, gaining conversions through your business website is not something limited to big businesses only. 

By knowing the right tips, you’re now ready to improve your business website and gain more customers.

 

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