Small Business Website Design StrategiesChrono stock
May 05, 2006
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For a small business a website can have a massive impact on whether
that small business thrives or dies out. There are several very
important differences between a website built for a large business and
a website built for a small business. It’s important that a small
business and the website design company who builds the website for that
small business are aware of those differences so that the website has
the greatest positive impact.
First of all don’t try to look and act like the big boys. If you are a
small business please do not plaster your site with platitudes like
“family owned since 1642” or “customer service is our specialty” blah
blah. IBM and Coke can get away with having pretty sites that blather
on and on using all kinds of corporate jargon but a small business
cannot do that. Here’s why…
Big companies are already established brands. They can rest on their
laurels now; at least they think they can. A small business website
needs to grab the visitor by the throat with some hard hitting
headlines and copy and get busy proving its case because before
visiting that website it’s likely the visitor has never heard of that
small business.
Think of it like a courtroom. The small business is on trial it’s
products and services are suspect from the get go. That small business
needs to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that it can provide the best
value over its competitors. What’s worse is that you only have about 8
seconds from the time the visitor hits the homepage to the time they
click the back button to hook them into your sales copy.
The number one difference here is the copy. A small business website
needs to be a life support unit for its unique selling proposition or
USP not a contestant in this year’s flashy foo foo web design award
contest. Win customers not awards. Forget the animation and music and
go easy on the images. What a small business needs is a lean, mean
conversion machine.
Studies show the visitors don’t even consciously register images until
after they have absorbed the copy on the page. Makes sense because what
they came for was information not the old receptionist at the desk on
the phone pictures that we have seen over and over again. They want to
know who the heck you are and what you can do for them and make it
snappy!
It’s brutal but that’s the way it works. A small business that knows
this and applies this to their website has a huge advantage over those
who don’t. So if you are a small business owner and need a website keep
this article in mind or if you have an existing website take a look at
it and reevaluate it’s effectiveness in light of this information.
Small changes can have dramatic effects on sales conversion.
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