How to Navigate the Projects That Take Your Business Website from Good to Great
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Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or this is your first time running a business, hopefully you already know that having a website is essential for success. However, you aren’t likely to achieve your bigger goals until your website has all the functionality necessary to meet your growing needs. There are certain projects and tools that small businesses need to utilize if you want to take your website from good to great. Or if you’re just starting out, you’ll be able to achieve much more if you adopt these tools from the beginning.
Of course, even when you’re an authority in your field, we can’t all be experts in web development. That’s why these tips are meant to help you get a handle on the most essential concepts for launching successful web-based projects. At the same time, it’s also good to know when you’re better off hiring outside help to get the professional results you’re looking for.
Building (Or Upgrading) Your Site
Maybe your business is brand new and you’re just starting to think about what you need from your website. Or maybe you’ve been in business for awhile and your website is feeling a little lackluster. Before we get into more specific features to take your website to the next level, you have to start with the two most important qualities that go into building a website. These qualities are functionality and design, and they’re the foundation that the rest of your web-based projects are built on.
When you’re ready to invest in building a website that is both highly functional and well-designed, you’ll get the most bang for your buck by hiring a PHP web developer. We recommend going this route in part because of how ubiquitous PHP is, and also because of the flexibility that PHP sites can give you. PHP is the coding language that is used most frequently across all types of web platforms, including the highly popular WordPress platform. PHP pros found across a variety of job boards use this popular coding language to develop the back-end framework of your website. One great benefit of what they do is even though the back-end development may be complex (given your site has all the advanced functionality you need), you also have an interface that’s easy to use. This means you can make updates yourself, so the investment in hiring a freelance developer is really a one-time expense.
Freelancers have a varying degree of experience, so before hiring someone, make sure the candidate you’re considering is skilled at using the technologies you need them to work with, including project management tools and test suites. You also want to make sure they know exactly what your project entails and the type of skills you expect. Freelance PHP developers set their own rates, largely as a result of their experience level.
Adding Next-Level Content
Once you have a high-quality, powerful website, it’s just as important to focus some energy on the quality of your content. If you’re creating a new website, or even if your current one just needs a tuneup, start by making sure you’re solid on your content basics. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, essential website content includes having a compelling homepage, an About Us section, the products or services you offer, contact information, and testimonials from satisfied customers.
To really get your website to the next level, though, you want to do more than just check off these content must-haves. You also want to spend time scrutinizing where content could be improved - both to make it as useful as possible to customers and to increase traffic to your site through optimization. One key example is how you use images. Some business owners treat images as an afterthought, but doing this underestimates the power images hold for consumers to form a strong connection to your brand. This is why failing to use images that make a major impact is a missed opportunity.
Another example is how you use video, and the possibilities to reach more customers through it. If you’re already including video content on your site, explore ways to make it more accessible to everyone. This includes viewers who have hearing impairments or even just visitors who can’t watch with the volume turned on. An easy solution is to use a captioning service to make sure your videos reach a wider audience. When you’re searching for a company that provides this service, make sure they guarantee that subtitles they produce are FCC and ADA compliant. Doing this ensures you get the results you need without having to go through multiple companies.
Emphasis on Two-Way Communication
Your website is far more than just a place where customers can find you and learn about what you do. It’s also a platform for communication between you and potential customers - and this communication goes both ways. This is why you should invest in the tools needed to ensure your website is an effective communication hub.
Navigation
Communicating with customers starts with having a website that’s easy to navigate. We all want information at our fingertips, and you will lose customers if your site is clunky and people can’t get around it easily. A website that is easy to navigate should also include calls to action that are clear and strong. And above all, any small business website should be optimized for mobile devices so that it’s just as easy to use on a phone as it is on a PC.
Live Chat
More small businesses are finding that adding a live chat application is a communication outlet that customers are looking for. It gives you the ability to communicate in real time, which leads to more sales, plus a web experience that’s generally more satisfying to customers.
Social Media Marketing
Every small business needs a strategic plan for social media marketing, and part of this plan should include how to weave your social posts and your own website together effectively. This is another relationship that goes both ways: Your social channels should ultimately drive more traffic to your website, and your website should also be a source for customers to engage with you on social media channels. To do this well, Small Business Trends recommends adding social icons in key places on your website to make it easy for customers to link to where you are in social media.
The reality of running a business today is that trends like social media are always changing. This doesn’t mean you have to change your web strategy every single day, but successful business owners do have to keep up with what’s new. Whether you’re starting from scratch or you’ve been around for awhile, it’s always worth the time and investment to dive a little deeper and make sure your website is delivering the results you need. Entrepreneurs put so much of themselves into running a business - the last thing you want is a subpar website that’s holding you back.