Welcome to this week’s edition of Let’s Talk, where we dive into the secrets of creating an impressive website that will help your small business thrive in today’s technological age.
Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or an established business owner, having a captivating online presence is essential to captivate your audience.
Gone are the days of boring, static web pages. The digital landscape now calls for dynamic interfaces that engage users and make a lasting impression. Designing and developing such a website might seem daunting, but fear not! Our experts are here to guide you and provide valuable tips to help you create an amazing website.
In this edition, we will explore the key elements that contribute to an exceptional website. From strategic planning to engaging content and seamless user experiences, we will uncover the secrets that can transform your website into a true masterpiece.
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Shaun Broughton, Managing Director, APAC and Japan at Shopify
“Overcoming the obstacles of web design skills and development expertise is now easier than ever. User-friendly website builders empower entrepreneurs to effortlessly and cost-effectively construct their own websites from scratch. These intuitive platforms offer templates, customisable features, and scalable options to expedite the website creation process.
“The foundation of a successful website lies in delivering an exceptional user experience (UX). This entails implementing engaging content features, such as visually appealing product images, informative descriptions, and compelling customer testimonials that build trust. Aesthetics also plays a key role, where customisable themes, templates and branding elements can be used to create a visually appealing and cohesive design to create an engaging and memorable interface.
“Platforms like Shopify provide businesses with invaluable resources for businesses to improve their online presence. With built-in SEO features, analytics tools, and social media integration, businesses are able to monitor website performance, make data-driven decisions, and effectively engage with their target audience.”
Ricky Blacker, Senior Sales Engineer and WordPress Evangelist, WP Engine
“Establishing and maintaining a strong online presence is fundamental for small businesses looking to keep up with market competitors. With more companies relying on multiple channels, it’s important to build a comprehensive digital presence that unifies and complements all – this starts by creating a website.
“Small businesses must create and maintain a website that customers can easily navigate. Consumers should be able to immediately identify the brand style and personality through the webpage design. Next, the layout should be simple and user-friendly to demonstrate product and service quality. Finally, the website must be optimised for a fast and secure experience.
“Investing in a managed web hosting platform can provide stability, ease of use and speed. Leveraging WordPress with its thousands of themes, plugins and page building blocks enables businesses to use default brand elements like fonts and layouts for consistent brand messaging, and create effective search engine optimisation (SEO), making it easier for loyal customers to find you while attracting new business. With these options available, it is possible to create the recognition and online presence you envision effortlessly, regardless of your coding skills.
“Investing in a platform that can manage and automate website maintenance, personalisation and SEO relieves pressure and allows small businesses to invest that back into doing what they do best.”
Elise Balsillie, Head of Thryv Australia
“With so many small businesses investing in social media marketing, it can feel like having a business website is unnecessary but the truth is your website is an imperative tool in establishing your online presence and engagement with customers.
“Having a website provides a go-to place for your marketing efforts and helps you promote your business, sell your services and stand out from the competition. But it takes more than just throwing your information online to build a business website that becomes the go-to place for your current and potential customers.
“When it comes to building a website and your online presence, there are three things to consider:
- Design by experience – your customers’ first impression of your business occurs long before you even realise it. Consider its design, mobile friendliness, speed, information and call-to-action.
- Content that attracts customers – by offering new and useful content often, you can increase your relevancy and your search engine rankings. Content such as blog posts, articles, podcasts, videos and infographics can go a long way in getting eyes on your website.
- Call-to-action (CTA) – if your business website doesn’t include ways to move a visitor towards a sale, you’re missing out on opportunities. CTAs tell website visitors what to do next. And when they do, that click-through “conversion” helps your click-through rate, which further boosts your search engine ranking.
“Getting your website right is a solid foundation for the rest of your marketing efforts, so consider it a cornerstone in your overall business strategy.”
Tim Plummer, Chief Technology Officer, The Big Smoke Media Group
“For small businesses, an effective online presence should be anchored by a clear and consistent brand identity that threads throughout all digital channels. A successful brand identity promotes client recognition, customer loyalty and should reflect your business’s values and personality.
“Start your website journey by choosing a website platform that suites your requirements, budget and skillset. WordPress, Shopify & Squarespace are great options to consider. Each of these platforms offer intuitive templates, helping you create a site that mirrors your brand’s ethos and style.
“A well-structured website with easily accessible contact information, products or services is essential. Dedicate an ‘About Us’ page to tell your brand’s story, strengthening a connection with your audience.
“To keep customers engaged, create a blog on your website, set up a newsletter, and /or create active social media profiles, injecting your brand’s unique voice into every post. Regular content updates on your website will improve SEO rankings and foster a sense of community with your existing and potential customers.
“Incorporate customer feedback loops for continuous improvement and to show your audience that their voice matters. Ultimately, your website is a round-the-clock sales tool, so invest wisely to reflect your brand authentically.”
Nickie Scriven, Founder and CEO of Chief Meta Chicks and Alchemy8
“Before creating a website, small businesses should ensure they have an impactful brand identity, including logo, brand colours, fonts, imagery and tone of voice. They also need a clearly articulated brand strategy that defines their mission, vision, values, and unique selling proposition.
“Once in place then it’s time to create the website. For those less tech-savvy or find it overwhelming, engaging a website designer or agency is wise. At Alchemy8 we build websites for clients on Webflow, Squarespace and Wix. These platforms are brilliant for small businesses as, once we hand over the site, our clients can easily edit and update copy and images as they please, without incurring ongoing maintenance costs.
“With the brand identity established, the most important thing to remember is creating a seamless and engaging user experience. This requires planning the consumer journey through your site:
- What do you want people to know and think?
- How do you want to move them along the path of the purchase?
“When people land on your home page, they should instantly identify the need your business solves and be guided through your content such that they become familiar and confident in your offering. The use of testimonials, use cases and “Buy” / “Join” buttons will allow you to move them along the path to purchase or capture their information for follow-up.”
Gary Williams, CEO, Skin Virtue
“Creating a website and establishing an online presence is essential for any small business to compete in today’s market. Here’s how to get a dynamic website:
- Determine your brand: Identify its voice, message and your unique selling proposition to guide your website’s content and design.
- Choose a domain name: This is the web address, such as skinvirtue.com.au. Choose a name that’s easy to remember and represents your brand. Find a hosting service to provide the server space for your website to run.
- Website builder: Many website builders can help you create a professional-looking website without coding skills. Popular options include Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and WordPress.
- Design: Use your brand’s colours and imagery to create a visually appealing website. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate.
- Compelling content: Your website content should be clear, concise and engaging. Highlight your products or services and provide useful information to potential customers.
- Optimise for search engines: Use keywords and phrases relevant to your business to improve your search engine ranking.
- Social media: Use social media platforms to promote your brand and engage with customers.
- Track website analytics: Understanding user behaviour helps you make informed decisions about marketing strategies and website improvements.”
Vikki Maver, Founder and Strategic Director, Refresh Marketing
“Ah, websites in the small business world. I’ve seen it go wrong too many times to count.
“While some businesses overinvest unnecessarily, others underinvest – putting their brand’s reputation on the line, thinking they can get away with a quick DIY job. And where do they often skimp? On the content, of course. So don’t run off and spend your entire budget on a beautiful looking website – only to plonk in some scrambled words as a mere afterthought.
“People visit your website to decide whether to do business with you. And that means your written message must be clear, distinctive – and compelling. If it leaves visitors dazed and confused, your prospects will click away in a heartbeat. Poof. Gone.
“And beware: rehashing old brochure content won’t cut it. Writing for the web demands a very specific approach. What’s that? It needs to be easy to scan, reader-focused, crisp and concise, and Google-friendly.
“Finally, steer clear of buzzwords, clichés… and the oh-so-predictable boast-fest. The last thing people want is a narcissistic sales pitch. So what do they want? Connection. Human connection. Dive them something real to help them like (and remember) your business. And that means bringing the names, faces and stories of your small business to the fore.”
Daniel Stoten, Executive Chairman of Localsearch
“Establishing a digital presence is a key part of creating a strong online brand identity. Firstly, work towards creating content that aligns with your brand, engaging current and potential audiences. Find your voice and be consistent with it. To make lives easier for SMBs, you can create content calendars designed to keep your platforms alive and vibrant with interesting and engaging content.
“A visually-appealing, user-friendly, and SEO-optimised website are also key ingredients in housing and promoting your content – these allow you to reach potential customers within the market while establishing your identity to attract new ones.
“The next step is amplifying your brand identity through social media and Google search by utilising targeted ads with both Google and Meta. We recommend not having all your eggs in one basket; market using organic and paid content to engage with your potential customers wherever they are online. Doing this will help reinforce brand recall and positive sentiment.”
Pulkit Agrawal, Managing Director, UR Digital
“The importance of a strong online presence cannot be overstated for the success of any small business. Being the founder and director of a small business myself, I’ve seen firsthand how transformative a well-crafted online presence can be. Here are essential tips for small businesses to create their website and engage customers:
- Defining brand identity: Before diving into website development, it is vital to define your brand identity. Clearly articulate your unique selling proposition, target audience, and key brand attributes.
- User-friendly website design: Design a visually appealing website that is easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly. Use high-quality images, a clean layout, and intuitive navigation to provide a seamless user experience. Incorporate your brand colours, fonts, and imagery to establish a strong visual identity.
- Implementing SEO optimisation: Optimise your website to improve its visibility on search engines. Conduct keyword research, optimise meta tags, headings, and content, and build quality backlinks. Collaborating with an SEO agency can provide professional guidance and support in this area.
- Regular updates and maintenance: Maintain an up-to-date website by regularly updating content, ensuring security, and optimising performance. Regularly monitor website analytics to gain insights and make data-driven improvements.”
Nadean Richards, CEO and Co-Founder, One Fine Collective
“It’s never been easier than now to launch your business online – platforms like Shopify and Squarespace make it super easy to build your own website with free templates, and social media is free. But before you start, you’ll need to set the foundations!
“Firstly, do a deep dive into your target audience – who are they, what do they want in your product or service, and what keywords are they searching for online to find brands like yours? Making your website as SEO-juicy as possible will help you to rank organically in Google and give you a leg up on your competitors. Research your favourite brands and see what they do best. Is their UX best in class? Why and how can you replicate that? What plugins do they use and research what’s available in the market and has the best reviews. Before you go live, get feedback from your colleagues/ family + friends to make sure your website is easy to navigate and prioritise the mobile experience. This has to be first and foremost to ensure your conversions are maximised.
“Your branding is super important – don’t skimp here. First impressions count, and I’d recommend working with a professional graphic designer + photographer to create brand guidelines and a visual look and feel for your business that can extend through your website, your social media channels, and all other offline areas of your business.”
Jye Smith, Founder and Managing Director, DOUBLESTAR CO
“Your website is the only team member that works in your business 24/7. Investing in brand and identity is a crucial, essential step for small businesses when creating a website and differentiating yourself in the market.
“Creating a website is an art and a science that requires careful planning, thorough research, and beautiful execution. The first step for small businesses is to define their brand strategy, identity and personality, values, and beliefs. This will guide the rest of the process and help you choose the right inspiration. Next, research outside your category for inspiration – look at brands from different industries, cultures, and time periods. Ask yourself what these brands do well and what makes them unique – then from your research, look for patterns. Are there any common themes or techniques that stand out – and can you apply these techniques and patterns to your website while still maintaining a unique experience?”
Olivia Jenkins, Founder, Olivia Jenkins Consulting
“It’s never been more important to ensure you have an online presence that effectively represents your small business. Competition is fierce with businesses becoming increasingly more aggressive when it comes to their marketing strategies.
“Here’s some tips to supercharge your online presence:
- Conduct thorough market research to ensure you truly understand your target audience including their pain points, wants, needs and how you can solve their problems.
- Ensure your website has clear concise messaging to convince your customers that your products can solve their problems and take them from their current state to their desired after state.
- Invest in high-quality imagery that accurately depicts the products you are aiming to sell to allow customers to get a feel for their efficacy.
- Emphasise social proof throughout the website by featuring five-star reviews, testimonials, before and afters plus any other social proof that will ensure customers view your store as trustworthy.
- Ensure you have a robust email marketing strategy including a pop-up with a clear CTA and automation series for abandoned cart and welcome series to maximise customer lifetime value.
“By following these steps, businesses can have a website that drives business growth in the digital landscape.”
Aprille Lim, CEO and Founder at Seaquatix
“Being the founder of a small business myself, in the beginning, I started by using platforms like Squarespace which allowed me to easily create a website and online store with beautifully designed pre-made templates that made the website look premium.
“Creating a strong brand is everything when first entering the market – and first appearances do count – as everyone tends to judge your brand based on how your website looks. In terms of creating an online pressence to engage with customers, the strategy for Seaquatix was to invest in high-quality images of our waterproof cases in both real-life and aspirational settings, as well as build up a bank of user generated content. From there, we cultivated an all-year round summer vibe that was consistent online and on social, and with the help of a few key brand ambassadors pushing this out to their audience, we were able to build our tribe. Today, we are one of Australia’s leading brands for waterproof case and sand-proof towels.”
Ange Chappel, Founder, Mind The Sip
“Before building a website, clearly define your brand identity, including your target audience, unique selling points, and key messages. This will help you create a website that effectively represents your business.
“Select a website platform that suits your needs. Consider factors such as ease of use, customisation options, and scalability.
“Once you have those steps sorted, you’re ready to start bringing your website together:
- Create a visually appealing and user-friendly website that aligns with your brand. Ensure that your website design adapts to different screen sizes and devices. This is crucial for engaging with mobile users.
- Craft compelling and informative content that reflects your brand’s voice. Provide details about your products or services and consider including a blog section to share industry insights or useful tips. Use high-quality images and videos to enhance the visual appeal.
- Incorporate features on your website that allow customers to engage with your business. This may include contact forms, live chat support, social media integration, or customer reviews/testimonials. Encourage visitors to sign up for newsletters or follow your social media accounts for ongoing engagement.
- Implement search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant terms and incorporate them naturally into your website content. Optimise meta tags, headers, and URLs for better search engine rankings.
- Regularly monitor your website’s performance using tools like Google Analytics. Analyse visitor behaviour, track conversions, and identify areas for improvement. This data will help you make informed decisions to optimise your online presence.
- Regularly update your website with fresh content. This demonstrates that your business is active and encourages repeat visits.”
Joanne Swadling, Managing Director, Shop Naturally Pty Ltd
“After spending a decade running a web design agency before my 14 years running an online store where I still look after our web presence, I can tell you the most important thing to consider is to start on the right platform, on a budget, so you can scale at a later date without having to change platforms. Shop Naturally did 2 e-commerce platform swaps in our 14 years and each time we did, our search engine rankings suffered and took time to recover. Unless you’re developing a high-end online store, my recommendation is to use Word Press. It can easily scale, has many plugins to expand the functionality, including an ecommerce plugin, WooCommerce. To engage your customers, use quality photographs and get your marketing message right from the start. Your mission isn’t to stand up and say, “we have this widget to sell you”. Your mission is to stand up and say, “you have a problem, and our widget will help you solve it”. Don’t just make your site and forget it, it needs to have fresh content on it that’s relevant to your audience, even if it’s not always about your own business.”
Hamish Anderson, Managing Director, Three Piece Marketing
“The key to launching a successful website for all brands – irrespective of size – is to first know who they are and what they stand for. No one goes into business to be the same as everybody else. The key is to drill down and tap into what makes the brand unique. This will give them insight into what they need to convey and in turn, this will fuel the creative direction and the content required for all marketing collateral, inclusive of the website.
“When it comes to the website itself, stay on-brand, and make sure you are giving visitors the experience they would expect of your brand. Make it easy for people to get to where you want them to go on the site and limit how much work they have to do. Reading up on the importance of click rate optimisation is invaluable.
“Lastly, make sure you consider search optimisation from the outset. This aspect of your digital marketing will make it easier for people to find you and importantly, to get to the right pages easily.”
Kate Musgrove, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Bazaarvoice
“If you go to a restaurant and it’s hard to order and the chairs are uncomfortable, it probably wasn’t a great experience and you’d be unlikely to go back. The same can be said for a website.
“To create an engaging website that really encompasses your brand identity there are 4 key points to keep front of mind:
- Keep your website user-friendly: Your site should be natural and user-friendly. Don’t send your visitors on a scavenger hunt, present them what they need with a clear, visually appealing design that’s easy to navigate.
- Post relevant, up to date content: If your site is full of content that your target audience can relate to, you’re more likely to keep them engaged. Keep your blogs, tutorials and FAQ’s up to date!
- Optimise your product pages: Provide detailed and informative product descriptions that accurately portray your products’ features, benefits, and overall value so your customers feel confident in your business.
- Use User Generated Content: Leverage those customer videos and reviews so you can use the power of social proof to engage with your consumers and audience.”
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