So, you’re thinking about building (or updating) your business website.
Congratulations! That’s a great move for your business. Across industries, websites are one of the top sources of traffic and sales. Therefore, making an investment in an online presence is a top-tier business choice!
Online, there are endless options for building a business website including DIY platforms and fly-by-night developers. But, if you want to build a site that is going to get you the most bang for your buck and really bring home the bacon, you need to invest in business web design and development services.
Of course, like anything else that’s worth the investment, choices for web design and development services run the gamut from one-time consultations to full-fledged packages.
To help you decide what types of web design and development services your business REALLY needs, here are the 5 we recommend.
1. WEB STRATEGY
Everything good starts with a strategy. And, when it comes to building a business website, web strategy is a web development service that will help you go the extra mile.
To put it simply, web strategy is used to define a purpose for your website.
It takes into consideration both the needs of the business and the needs of the user to create a fully functional online experience. It also defines goals for short-term success and long-term growth to ensure a website continues to serve its intended purpose long after it’s initial implementation.
Without web strategy it’s likely your small business website will just end up another URL without a purpose on the worldwide web. It might sound harsh, but that’s why web strategy is an essential web development service for small businesses.
To create a web strategy for your business website, we recommend working with a web developer.
Professional web development teams are able to craft the best web strategies because they know the ins and outs of the internet, tendencies of users and the intricacies of a website.
And, if the strategy doesn’t seem to be working, they know what revisions to initiate to make it right.
2. HOSTING, BACK-UP & SECURITY
Once you have a great strategy in place for your website, it’s time to dig in and start building! But wait…not before you source a website host, website back-up and website security.
Here’s why.
Host: A website host is a home for your website. Without a host, it would be impossible to access your business’s online presence.
Back-up: It takes a lot of work to build a website (and sometimes a lot of money), and you don’t want that to go to waste! By making sure your site is backed up, you help to guarantee that you will never lose pertinent information that could make or break your business.
Security: Everyone knows that data breaches are a real threat in today’s world. And, if you have a business website, the one thing you want to be sure of is that you don’t become the victim of one. Investing in website security will help make that possible.
If you work with a web developer to create your website, they will be able to supply you with the best options for hosting, back-up, and security available.
They know which companies to trust and which have proven track records for success. And, what’s more than that, they will be able to manage the hosting, back-up and security, so you don’t have to!
3. WEB DESIGN
How your website looks makes a difference in its performance. Therefore, it’s definitely wise to invest in professional web design when building a site for your small business.
Web design includes choosing the proper WordPress theme, plug-ins and additional features for your site. It defines how your website looks and how your business is perceived by your audience. However, TRUE web design is much more than just an attractive outward appearance. It also includes website responsiveness and functionality.
Mobile visits account for nearly 50% of visits for all websites.
So, you want to make sure your small business site looks good from both a desktop and mobile perspective. Responsive web design services are what make that possible by automatically resizing and reshaping the features of your website to fit the mobile screen it needs to appear on.
Web developers who specialize in web design will be able to take the vision you have for your website and turn it into a reality by choosing the theme that’s best for you.
Talented web designers are even able to build out custom themes designed to meet all of your needs and so that there’s never a problem with your website you can’t fix.
4. SITE LAYOUTS
Have you ever visited a website hoping to find critical information only to find that you can’t make heads or tails of where anything could or should be located?
If you have, you know it’s the worst. If you haven’t, you’re lucky.
When you build a website for your business, you want to ensure site visitors don’t have that experience and are able to access the information they need quickly.
Site layout web design services make this a reality by strategically placing calls to action, navigations and links across your website where visitors will be sure to see them.
If you work with a web developer to create a site layout, they will be able to supply you with a variety of different options to choose from. Likewise, they will be able to recommend what layout they believe will work best for your audience, or even create a custom layout specifically tailored to meet your needs.
5. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Finally, the three magic words of the worldwide web – Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If there’s anything worth investing in, it’s this for sure!
SEO is what takes your website from just another URL to a result in Google searches that gets clicks and leads.
Behind good SEO there’s a lot of research, plan development, implementation, progress tracking and adjustments. If you make an effort to invest in these web development services, you’re going to benefit greatly.
However, if you go into your website without a plan for SEO or a way to manage it, it’s highly likely you will not get the results you want.
Typically, SEO web development services include an audit to see where you currently stand with SEO, a list of what keywords and phrases to use on your site and a strategy to restructure the content on your website and create more so you can advance in the search engine ranks.
6. **MAINTENANCE**
Okay, we know we said 5, but this one is a bonus! If you’re going to invest in ANY of the web design and development services we talked about above, you want to invest in website maintenance as well!
As you build a website, you will see that it’s not a one and done process. Instead, it’s an endeavor that takes regular care and attention.
And, frequently, the care and attention websites require is too much for small business owners to handle (after all you DO have a lot on your plate).
Investing in website maintenance as part of your web design and development services package will put your mind at rest because you’ll know that everything is well taken care of and in good hands.
You will always have a strategy to get the results you want, a website looks good and works correctly and a method for attracting new business through search engine results. What more could you ask for?
Feel a little bit overwhelmed by all of this information and not sure where to start? Get in touch with the team at FreshySites!
We can help you break down this information and create a plan for the small business web design and development services YOU need most!
