Why small business websites succeed or fail

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What any new customer visiting your website sees on the home page is what they understand about your business.

Customers often ask me why some websites succeed and some fail.

There are no straightforward rules, but I will highlight some key points that apply whether you are building a website or wanting to redesign your existing website.

Different businesses have different needs, but if you follow these principles, your website will have more chance of becoming successful.

Website visitors are busy people

Many times, I find that important information about your products or services is hidden deep inside the website. As a business owner, you may be interested in giving your customers all available information, but remember that customers are as busy as you are and no one has time to go through all the information.

What your customers are interested in knowing is how your products or services are useful to them and what is the cost of acquiring those products or services.

Rule 1: Customers will be happy to read things on your website that help them make a decision

Top 5 benefits

Every business has a unique selling proposition (USP). Be proud to mention your USP on your website home page. Customers like to quickly know what you are good at.

We call this rule of Top 5 – the Top 5 best things about your product or service.

RULE 2: Have your Top 5 benefits on the home or landing page

Home page: a teaser

Your home page is the gateway to your website – this essentially tells people everything about you in a nutshell. The home page should touch upon all aspects of your business that matter to customers, such as ample CTA, references, specials, product highlights, team, projects/clients, at least one blog link and contact information.

So for a lawyer’s website home page, I would have a glimpse of his cases, references, areas he serves, specials if any, practice specialities.

What any new customer visiting your website sees on the home page is what they understand about your business. Customers will seldom go deeper into the website if they cannot see any mention of things or information that matter to them.

RULE 3: The home page is a teaser for customers to find out more about your business by going through the entire website

Clean design

Who likes a cluttered workspace or home?

Time and again, I have seen websites full of content – in fact there is so much content spread throughout the website that customers can get lost in that quagmire, and they often do.

Clean design does not only mean great graphics, but it means bullet points and some description of your offers and products/services. Remember, the first impression is the last impression – this holds true in the virtual world as well.

Rule 4: A one-page website can be more effective than a cluttered website with 50 web pages

Content before website

Customers often approach me with a requirement to build a website or redesign an existing one. They share the designs or theme they like, and ask me if this theme can be used.

A word of caution– try to define your keywords first, then define your content and then decide which theme will be most effective in placing that content onto different content blocks on the website.

Keywords drive content, which in turn drives design.