If you’re a small business owner, you should already know just how important a good website is to your success.

From wedding photographers to store owners to freelance writers, everyone needs an internet presence of some sort (and the higher the quality, the better). 

Whether you’re just getting started on creating a website for your brand or simply want to improve your current site, there are a few things you should keep in mind. For this article, we asked Effective Marketing Design, a Miami-based website design company, to outline four pro tips that will help you design a truly competitive website. Let’s get started…

Make sure you clearly describe what you do

The first thing your website needs to accomplish is to tell visitors precisely what you do. The last thing you want is to confuse your audience because that will result in their navigating away from the page. You shouldn’t just do this with text either, but with images. The homepage banner, for instance, should perfectly showcase your service or product. 

Try to create an engaging user interface

If you want potential customers to have a good impression of your business, you need to make visiting your site an “experience.” That means following directions like:

• Use high-quality graphics and images. 
• Make sure your fonts are easy to read. 
• Compress your graphics so your pages load faster. Slow websites don’t just turn off customers – they also rank lower on Google. 
• Don’t be afraid to look at the competition and see what they’re doing to stand out. 
• Make sure you have a consistent look, feel, and voice from page to page. 
• Include an easy-to-use navigation system so users can find their way around. 
• Make sure your contact info is obvious and easy to find. 
• Use “Call-to-Action” buttons such as “learn more” and “buy now.” 

Invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization basically refers to a series of rules you apply to your website to that search engines like Google know how to categorize it. This is key to ensuring your customers can find you and for making sure your business ranks higher than your competitors. Here are a few examples:

• Research and implement keywords that tell search engines what your website is about. 
• Make sure your website loads fast, especially if there are a lot of images. 
• Your website needs to be optimized for mobile, so users can see it on their phones. 
• Establish what are known as backlinks. This is where other websites link back to content on your site.  

In the end, if you want organic traffic to your website, you need to pay attention to SEO. Otherwise, the only way people will find you is if you contact them via other means first. 

Create a blog or newsfeed (and post regularly)

Those pesky search engines we just talked about are always checking the internet for new exciting content. So, even if you manage to get to the top of the search results, there’s no guarantee you’ll stay there. You can help solidify your spot by setting up a newsfeed or blog and posting new content as often as possible. The best thing about this is it will also help you look like more of an authority in your niche / industry. 

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Four elements of a successful website by Effective Marketing & Design