Small businesses make up more than one-third of all those who do not invest in websites. However, they are required to have one to be competitive in 2020. Here are 5 ways that businesses can improve website management.
Imagine that you are looking for a place where you can get a haircut. You do a search on Google for a local salon or barber and you find one that seems promising based on reviews.
You are excited to find a link to the company’s website, but it doesn’t. What do you think? Are you willing to take a chance on a haircut in a shop without a website or continue your search for a hair salon with a website?
Websites can be a great resource for finding information about companies, such as their location, team members, case studies, or mission statements.
Websites verify information that people may find online via social media and third-party reviews. Websites are essential for maintaining and developing customer relationships. Websites are often the first place people go to when they need information about a company.
Many small businesses still don’t have websites. A report from Top Design Firms shows more than one-third of small business owners didn’t have websites in 2019. This number is expected to drop to 27% by 2021.
However, consumers expect businesses to have websites. Potential customers may think your business isn’t legitimate if you don’t have one source of essential information, such as addresses and contact information.
Some businesses might not create a website due to the expense or time investment, or because their business offerings don’t require an online presence. Many companies might also consider using social media as a placeholder for a website.
To find out how small business decision-makers use websites in 2020, we surveyed 500 Americans.
Our findings
- 37 percent of small businesses don’t have websites.
- 29 percent of small businesses have a website solely to be found in search engines.
- 23 percent of small businesses struggle to find the time and expertise needed to create and maintain websites.
- Small businesses make up 69 percent of the total number of websites managed by in-house staff. However, more than three-quarters (77%) manage their websites with outside help.
- Visual content is the most used form of website content by small businesses and it drives the most traffic back to their websites.
Here are four tips to manage a website based on our research:
- Create your website for people and not search engines
- Conduct regular website maintenance
- Hiring outside resources
- Publish visual content
1. Create your website for people, not search engines
Ranking in search engines is crucial for reaching the right audience. When designing your website, it is important to consider current and future customers.
In 2019, almost one-third (29%) of small and medium business owners had a website that ranked organically in search results.
The second most common reason that business owners give for creating websites is ranking in search engine result pages (SERPs).
34% of businesses said their websites were used primarily to promote products and services.
Websites that emphasize search engine readability are seen as inorganic by website visitors.
Websites that rank high in the SERPs can be easily identified. Their website copy is often written in a way that seems unnatural. Websites that try to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs) can resort to keyword stuffing. This is a way for websites to sacrifice the website experience. Customers may be confused or frustrated by the repetition of the same keyword phrase.
To optimize your customers’ experience, create your website content for searchers and not for the search engine.
2. Maintain your website regularly
Websites that are well-designed and maintained with care and regularity make the best. If your website’s information is outdated or slow, website visitors will be disappointed.
23 percent of businesses said that the greatest website challenge for 2019 was lack of knowledge and lack of time required to maintain a site.
Even the simplest websites need to be maintained.
You risk disappointing potential customers by neglecting or putting off website maintenance.
Clutch‘s 2018 survey found that 63% would abandon unreliable websites.
50 percent of people will leave your site if they don’t find the content useful.
You should ensure that you have enough resources and time to maintain your website after it is built.
3. Hire Outside Resources
It is much easier to build and maintain a website if you have the right team.
In 2019, 69 percent of small businesses used in-house staff to create and manage their websites. However, most of these in-house employees balance other responsibilities with website management.
It could result in some tasks being overlooked if employees try to maintain the website of the company while also supporting customers or managing finances.
Only 23% of employees in-house worked exclusively on the website in 2019.
Our research also revealed that 30% of small businesses use software to build websites such as Squarespace or Wix.
This software makes it simple for those with little web design or development experience to create a basic website.
Wix is a free website builder that allows users to choose between an automated design tool or customizable templates.
Wix’s Artificial Design Intelligence is an AI-powered solution that allows businesses to create a website quickly and with minimal effort.
Wix Editor allows users to customize templates by changing fonts, text, and images.
These tools can be useful for small businesses that have in-house staff who don’t have time to dedicate to a website.
However, website designers and consultants are great resources if you need to improve the functionality of your small business website.
Many Miami website design agencies specialize in website-building software.
After the web designer creates a site that is consistent with the company’s vision and brand, small businesses can continue to maintain it.
4. Visual Content Publishing
A website with too much text can make it boring and ineffective for customers. Small businesses should prioritize publishing engaging visuals on their websites.
Our 2019 survey revealed that 25% of businesses (25%) believe visuals drive the most traffic to their websites.
Website traffic can also be driven by product descriptions (19%) or videos (12%) by businesses.
Websites with too much text look like they were in the early days of the internet. This is because websites, such as The Economist, are more complicated and less user-friendly today.
Combining images and text makes your website easy to read and more engaging for potential customers.
Visuals may include photos, graphic designs, or infographics which break up large amounts of text.
Your homepage and product pages should include visuals, such as logos or graphics. To make your blog posts and other long-form written content more interesting for readers, you should add graphs, screenshots, or other images.
Avoid Common Mistakes on Small Business Websites
Websites are often the first stop in a customer’s journey. Small businesses must create and maintain attractive, functional, and useful websites that appeal to their target market.
In 2019, more than a third of small businesses didn’t have a website. One-quarter of small businesses with a website struggle to maintain and build that vital online presence. Small businesses need a website more than ever because the world has moved more online since the coronavirus pandemic.
Businesses should not rely on their in-house staff for website maintenance. Their responsibilities often fall to website management.
