Web Design Considerations For Your Small Business Website

3 Things To Consider When It Comes To Web Design and your UX

Weather your thinking of performing the web design for your  small business on your own, or your looking for an affordable Michigan based web design company to do it for you, the user experience (UX) of your website is one of the most important things to consider.   

User experience can make or brake your ability to effectively use your website as a tool in achieving your business goals.  When considering user experience you should ask you self 3 questions:

  • Is your website's design responsive?
  • Does your website have an organized navigation system?
  • Is your web design ascetics portraying the right image?

Responsive Web Designs

Responsive Web Design

Ever since the smart phone boom which resulted in increased levels of mobile based online searches, the need to have a mobile friendly web design can not be debated.  

Yet over 91% of small business web designs (2014 Data) are still not mobile friendly.  While this number I'm sure has decreased over the last 3 years there is still merit for its need.   Matter of fact its been reported that over 40% of users will opt to browse a different website (offering similar services) if thier design is adaptive to their device. 

While some websites will offer 2 versions, one for desktop and another for mobile, the problem with this is they are two completely separate platforms.  Having 2 unique sites  makes updating your content twice as time consuming while further complicating  your SEO efforts. 

Our tip to overcome this critical need for true responsive design comes in the form of our go to web design software, Thrive Themes.   The intuitive, front end, drag and drop design software that Thrive Themes has produced is by far the most advanced editor available in 2017.  It's actually what we use for our own web design services.  With the ability to modify your designs look and feel on mobile, tablet, and desktop the ability to provide a superior experience that is responsive on all devices is easier than ever. 

Website Navigation Organization 

The organization of your websites navigation can not only effect the user experience but it also plays a pivotal roll in the SEO of your website design.  

When designing your website navigational system you should be grouping your links by theme.  So if you have a small business that provides 3 unique services under a more broad category your will want to have pages and navigational links for each individual service.  In addition to this you should consider providing a directory to such services.  

This in turn will result in a drop down navigation system that is set up like so; Example: Garage Door Services ---> Garage Door Repair  ---> Garage Door Installation ----> Garage Door Opener Repair .

Applying this hierarchy type of organization to your web site navigation will not only resonate well with the UX but it will also be more effective when considering SEO.

It should also be noted for maximum SEO effectiveness, no single page on your website should be more than three click away from your home page.  Doing so will enable your link juice to flow more easily through out the entire domain. 

If you have a lot of pages or services with sub-topics then you should consider adding side bar navigation to your primary category pages that then link to your sub-catagory pages.  Doing so will provide the user with a clear avenue to find your products or services but also boost your rankings.

Web Design Aesthetics  

Communicating your message to your target consumer and looking good while doing it will equate to greater online success.  In fact 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout of your design is unattractive. (Source Hubspot).  

This statistic is nothing to through in the wind.  With online marketing becoming more and  more competitive a business should not risk such a high probability of increased bounce rates simply due to poor web design aesthetics. 

Again we propose the use Thrive Themes, an advanced CMS based web design editing software.  While we attest that this is great option for your next web design it doesn't mean there still isn't a learning curve, nothing is that easy.   Having a creative eye and putting in the time to find or capture captivating imagery, design high quality graphics, or plan the layout for your website is all part of the big picture.  

However with a bit of patience and creativity we believe any small business can make use of this design programming.  Or you can hire a professional web design firm like Web Flux Marketing to do it for you.

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