Today, as much business is conducted online as offline, and online advertising and social media strategies are an integral part of most businesses’ marketing plans. For start-ups, this means creating an outstanding website is an essential part of establishing your brand, raising awareness of your products and services, and ultimately, generating revenue.

At Point and Stare we know a thing or two about building engaging, effective and attention-grabbing websites. Here, we’ve compiled our top web design tips specifically for start-ups, to help you make the most of the vast reach and power of the Internet.

1. Keep it simple: As a new company, you’re introducing customers to your offering for the very first time, so make sure the website is simple, easy to navigate, and very user-friendly. This way, users won’t be deterred by having to sift through dozens of pages or figure out complex navigation to determine what your business does.

2. Don’t DIY: Unless you happen to be a fully trained web developer with an in-depth knowledge of online marketing, do not attempt to build your website on your own. Engage the professionals who can make your website modern, visually appealing, and user-friendly.

Collaborate closely with your web developer every step of the way to ensure the website accurately conveys your brand image and what your company is all about.

3. Ensure your website is responsive: Having a responsive site means it can be used without any hiccups across the full range of different devices, from desktop computers to mobile phones and tablets. This is critical today, as a rapidly increasing number of users access websites on their mobile devices rather than desktops.

4. Get social: Having an active social media presence is now just as standard for today’s businesses as having a website, so ensure that your business is on all the relevant social networks with a well-crafted social media strategy (if you need any help with this, Point and Stare has you covered). Then, allow users to interact with your site more easily by integrating all relevant social media connections onto your site. Fortunately, with WordPress websites, this can be done easily using widgets and/ or plugins.

5. Stay secure: Small businesses that don’t have fat budgets to dedicate to web security must make the extra effort to keep their website safe from hackers and off Google’s blacklist.

With WordPress sites, there are various first-class security plugins to help keep your site secure, but these must be regularly updated and properly managed by your website administrator.

It can be frustrating to have to grapple with so much technology when all you want to do is run your business. Luckily, Point and Stare have the knowledge and expertise you need to design, develop and maintain a stand-out website that will get your start-up noticed in both the online and offline worlds. For more information, contact us today.

 
FURTHER READING