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Building Your Own Website: 6 Key Tips

If you're a small business, you need a website. It's that simple. A website is the key to reaching new customers and growing your business. But building a website can seem daunting — especially if you're not tech-savvy.

Don't worry! There are plenty of easy ways to create a great small business website without spending a fortune or hiring a web developer. In fact, with a website builder, like Websites 360®, you can build a beautiful small business website on your own, even if you don't know a single line of code.

In this blog post, we'll outline six key tips for building your own small business website using a DIY website builder.

#1. Prioritize mobile-friendliness

In today's world, more people are accessing the internet on their mobile devices than ever before. In fact, most internet traffic is now coming from mobile devices. That means that if your website isn't optimized for mobile, you're missing out on a huge chunk of potential customers.

When you're building your small business website, make sure to keep mobile in mind. Choose a website design that's responsive, which means that your site will automatically reconfigure itself for the device being used.

This way, you don't have to worry about creating a separate mobile site, and you can rest easy knowing that all of your users get the best possible version of the site for their device.

#2. Make sure your website loads quickly

Nobody likes a slow website. In fact, studies have shown that people are more likely to leave a website if it takes longer than a few seconds to load.

When you're building your small business website, make sure to optimize your images. Nothing can slow a website down like large, uncompressed images. Plus, optimizing your images can also help your visibility in organic search results.

Choosing the right web host can also impact site speed, as well as keeping your plugins up to date and removing any that you don't need.

When it comes to page speed, microseconds matter. The best way to tell if your website is up to par where speed is concerned is to test it with PageSpeed Insights, Google's speed testing tool.

#3. Have a simple, professional website design

When it comes to small business website design, less is more. A simple, professional website design will help you win over customers and look more credible.

In general, your small business website should have a clean design with plenty of white space. Stick to a limited color palette — two or three colors at most — and make sure your fonts are easy to read.

#4. Make sure your site is easy to navigate

From learning about your services to getting to know your team and submitting an entry for a free estimate, there are so many reasons why people may be visiting your website. It's important that your visitors can always find what they need on your website.

That's why it's important to make sure your website is easy to navigate. Your menu should be simple and organized, with clear labels that explain what each link does.

Your homepage should also be clean and uncluttered, with a prominent call to action so visitors know what you want them to do next.

And finally, always make sure that your contact information is easy to find. Consider adding it to your footer so that it appears on every page.

#5. Use high-quality images

Images are worth a thousand words — and they can also help you win over website visitors. When it comes to small business website design, high-quality images are key.

Make sure to use professional photos whenever possible, rather than stock images. And if you're taking your own photos, make sure they're well-lit and in focus.

You should also use images to help explain your services or products. For example, if you're a wedding photographer, include photos of past weddings on your website. This will give potential clients a better understanding of your work and what they can expect from you.

Don't forget to optimize, resize and compress every image on your website to avoid slowing it down!

#6. Build trust with testimonials and reviews

People need a reason to choose your small business over the many others in your area. More and more, consumers are relying on reviews to tell them which businesses to trust and work with.

When it comes to small business website design, one of the most important things you can do is build trust with potential customers. And one of the best ways to do that is by featuring testimonials and reviews from past clients.

Make sure to include a mix of positive reviews and testimonials on your website, as well as a section for customer reviews. You can even use a tool, like the Top Rated Local® widget, to collect and display reviews right on your website.

By following these simple guidelines, you can create a website that's professional, easy to navigate and helps you win over new customers.

Start building your own small business website with Websites 360 today.