One of the great debates about business websites has to do with what’s more important: Website form (the look of the website) or website function (what the website actually does). At Website Design Aruba, we think that’s the wrong way to approach the issue. Setting it up as an either/or choice is just wrong! It’s a false dichotomy. This is a case where it’s much better to take a both/and approach, as in bothform andfunction are important. Here are some business website essentials to keep in mind:

Business Website Essentials #1: Design Matters!

Some of what matters most about business website design are things the end user is never even aware of, unless it’s to notice that the site is lacking. One example of this is fully responsive design, which means your site will render properly on any device, whether it’s a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Users won’t notice this feature unless your site isn’t responsive, in which case they will quickly leave the site if it’s not displaying well on their device. It also needs to load as quickly as possible. If your sites takes more than a few seconds to load, users will move on. Make sure images are optimized for faster loading. Another design principle to live by: Keep it simple! When a business website becomes too complex in terms of navigation, users will simply leave. Another important element is consistent presentation of your company’s brand in terms of logo and colors. You want people to be able to instantly recognize your brand no matter what page of your site they land on. And, of course, the actual contentof your site needs to be relevant, useful and engaging to visitors and updated frequently with new material, and SEO-optimized so it ranks well in search engine results.

Business Website Essentials #2: Getting SEO Right

Everyone knows that to achieve the Holy Grail of appearing on the first page of Google search results on queries related to your business, you have to master SEO or search engine optimization. Yes, everyone knowsthis is true, but few people can actually do it. It ends up being more complex than you might think, and then the rules and practices change and you’ve got to try to keep up new standards. We’re talking here about things like optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, alt text for images, internal linking, and business blogging. And that’s just the proverbial tip of the iceberg when it comes to SEO.

Business Website Essentials #3: Think of Your Website as Your Marketing Foundation

Some of the principles and tasks mentioned above will make much more sense to you if approach your business website from the frame of mind that it is the core, the foundation of all your marketing efforts, which means it has to be rock-solid. If you’re interacting with customers through the company’s social media accounts and they have questions, you should be able to answer each question with just a few words and then point them to the page on your website that has more information about their inquiry. If you can’t do that because the information is noton your website, then you’re not making the most of your business website. Everything should always feed back to your website – especially if it’s supposed to be helping you sell your product or service.

Business Website Essentials #4: Getting More out of Your Site

When you want to get more out of your business website, you have to “go big or go home.” What do we mean by that? It begins with being brave enough to master the process of trial and error. You need to be willing to try new things, know how to track results to see if it’s working, then stop what’s not working and enhance the things that do work. It should also go without saying that part of this process is about knowing how to fail. Yes, you read that correctly. Failures will happen, and those failures can either drag you down in a death-spiral from which it’s hard to recover, or they can be opportunities to learn and do better – mere bumps on the road to success rather than gaping potholes that total wreck the journey altogether.

Business Website Essentials #5: Don’t Settle for a DIY Site

We’ve only mentioned for important areas that should be top-of-mind when it comes to creating or overhauling a business website, and even that’s enough to make your head spin. If you’re a busy business owner or entrepreneur, it’s simple not realistic to think you can put the time and effort to get these things right for your site, regardless of whether you have the right tools or skills. Yes, many will turn to DIY website platforms like Wix, but that kind of drag-n-drop website creation is why so many business websites all look pretty much the same. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you should work with a professional website design team that has all the tools and skills to really make your company shine online. The team at Website Design Aruba is exactly that – an integrated team of professionals who all work together to put the WOW factor into your online presence with a very professional and effective business website, and we have a variety of website packages to meet your needs, so get in touch today!