3 Web Design Best Practices for Marketing a New Business

The internet used to be a vastly different place. After all, a mere twenty years ago there was virtually no precedent for what a website should –– or could –– look like. As such, it’s not surprising that many old web pages have a wacky appearance by today’s standard.

What’s more, it used to be much more difficult to create a website of your own. Now though, you can utilize a content management system (CMS)  to create a personal or professional site within minutes. It’s no exaggeration to say this technology has changed the world. However, given the wide array of options now available, it can be difficult to know how to get the most from your preferred development platform –– or when you should consider consulting a web-design professional.

Here then are three best practices to employ to boost the visibility of your business’s website:

Work to Find the Right Fit

Unless you build websites for a living, chances are you aren’t going to create your site from scratch. But that’s okay. As we covered above, you’ve got options in this regard. Whether you’re launching a website for a business with 100 clients or you’re starting a blog for kicks, there’s a template out there that works for you. Sure, you’ll be limited in some ways to how creative you can be –– but you’ll get access to plenty of features and tools you’d otherwise miss out on. Don’t be afraid to try out multiple models before you decide on a final design option either.

Preparation Before Launch

Once you’ve picked your template and filled it out with the pertinent information and images, it’s time to go live, right? Wrong. Rather, before you launch your website, it’s essential to do a bevy of back-end maintenance to improve your online visibility. This means doing everything from writing meta descriptions to selecting keywords for your web pages. Note: don’t be afraid to get specific in regard to selecting keywords. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a page dedicated to retro soccer shirts or a UV Star microplate. Embrace the opportunity to highlight long-tail keywords. These specific search hits will help your site get noticed early on.

Get Creative

A bland, boring website will do nothing for you or your readers. And since good marketing material needs to engage visitors, it’s imperative that you prioritize your website’s appearance. At the end of the day, you can think of your CMS as a blank canvas waiting for your brush strokes. Be willing to try out new features and upload videos and/or appropriate graphics. Readers across the web hate dealing with walls of drab text –– but they love fun and engaging video content. In brief, be willing to let your imagination run wild a bit; it is your site, after all.