Episode 16: Website Design Brisbane Small Business

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[00:00:01]  Saul: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Web Design Brisbane Podcast. This is episode number 16. And today's episode is entitled Website Design Brisbane Small Business. My name is Saul Edmonds, and as usual, I'm joined by the lovely Gillian:  Smith.

[00:00:14]  Gillian: Good morning. So how are you today? 

[00:00:16]  Saul: I'm great. How are you? 

[00:00:18]  Gillian: I'm fine. 

[00:00:19]  Saul:  Oh, yeah, here we are again.  We are the founders, co-founders and creative directors of brand house, the creative agency, a local business with a passion for helping our clients grow. Over to you, Gill. 

[00:00:29]  Gillian: Okay. Well, in today's episode, we are talking about website design for small businesses, from established businesses, to small business start-ups and solo entrepreneurs, we've got you covered with what you need to know, to make your small business website a big success. So today, our key topic is affecting small business web design. So we'll be looking at what defines an effective small business website, what elements you should include in your website for maximum impact packed and also how you can measure performance show. 

[00:01:02]  Saul:  Let's get started.  

[00:01:03]  Gillian: Okay, Saul. As you've got a lot of experience, in your opinion, what defines an effective small business website? 

[00:01:11]  Saul: Okay, so  there's a range of different elements that really define that every side, let's just be clear, like every side is different. It's got its own goals to some extent but there's a lot of things that are common across all those things, after people looking to grow the small business that they should include in their website so one of them is really clear calls to action. Just very clear buttons or visual indicators that feature phrases such as call now, book an appointment, get a quote,  and so on, that inspire people to move from being just a passive website, visitor to prospective client, as well.

[00:02:01]  Gillian: So in a nutshell, I guess, and effective small business website is one that proactively brings in leads and produces measurable results. I mean  that's what everybody wants from their website is for business, you want it to be a team player, you're like, 

[00:02:15]  Saul: It is ultimately a sales too but apart from being  a great tool. It is also much more than that people use their sites very differently these days as well, people don't always come to a side as the first port of call sometimes, and often they will use a website to reaffirm the experience that they've already had with somebody in person, that they've met them in person, then they get their business card, they go and look at them on LinkedIn, then they go and look at their website, and they check them out so in that sense, it is, again, about their brand, so it should be in your website should be with that in mind, well branded with great visual appeal. 

[00:03:09]  Gillian: Like what's a basic checklist of elements that people starting with a small business should include in their website?

[00:03:17]  Saul: Okay, so let's just go through some of these points just sort of quickly, should be easy to navigate, integrate social media, where appropriate, or acquired, featured information about you and your story, include a blog, also where, where appropriate, but a blog is  a great thing for every site should be part of an overall strategy, though, because you have to have somebody to actually add the content, add those posts, weekly, optimized for SEO for search engine for search engine optimization on site and off site, but initially on site, mobile friendly, responsive design, fast landing pages across all devices. 

[00:04:05]  Gillian: Okay, well, what are some ways that people can measure effective with website performance?

[00:04:11]  Saul: Okay, so website performance at the core sort of level is if you're getting leads, but then again, that sounds like a great idea. But do you know that came from your website? Well, yes, if somebody if you ask people. So one of those things is to, from your end, as a business, have some kind of method by which you are always asking people, how they came to visit you in the first place, from the website. But from a more in depth perspective, having good analytics, which generally, we always integrate Google Analytics in into your website, of being able to look  very in depth sort of way, as to what people have been doing on your website, how long they've been spending, on particular part of your website, how quickly they come and go from your website, and a whole host of other things that are quite in depth. And get even more involved, when you've got an e commerce site as to as to the patterns of behaviour and what they do and don't do on your website, then at least you've got a tool, then to be able to work out how to how well your website is working, or if it needs to be improved. Otherwise, really, a lot of it is just hearsay. 

[00:05:44]  Gillian: And what platforms do you recommend for people with a small business website?

[00:05:48]  Saul: Well, there's a few different platforms generally that really good all around us. WordPress has been and probably always will be a really good all-rounder, because of the options that you have, which are maybe not quite limitless, but it's not too far, you can do nearly anything with it, because it's an open source platform. So if you needed to go to the level of highly customizing things, design and development wise, you can, but in saying that some people have a great introduction to the world of websites with their small business, or something like Squarespace, which is very easy for people to edit themselves. It's a powerful platform. It's not as flexible as something like WordPress. But  it's got a whole host of really great options. And for most people, it fits the bill with everything that they need, as well.

[00:06:52]  Gillian: Okay, well, my final question is, in your opinion, what is the single biggest mistake that people make with small business website?

[00:07:01]  Saul: Oh, they are that's.. 

[00:07:03]  Gillian:  They're a kind of worms.  

[00:07:05]  Saul: Yeah, they're kind of worms has definitely been. The thing is the single biggest mistake is one of the things that people do this is this, I guess, to some extent, depends on people's level of expertise, but also people's willingness to, to actually be a part of the process. Because I guess, for a lot of people, their perception of how important our website is very different to other people are set probably one of the singers at the single biggest things that many people don't do is place enough importance on their website.

[00:07:58]  Gillian: Don't underestimate your website.  

[00:08:00]  Saul: And that is, because of the nature of, because it really doesn't matter what we think, in many ways. What matters is what people's clients think, and what they want. If they're looking for a service, and if they are placing importance, and they're looking, therefore it's important, because ultimately, it's about having an income and making money and having the right impression. We all know first impressions last, the super important. Therefore, if that first impression is  many times your website, then it's super important, and it's there 24/, it's working for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So if you put the right amount of effort into thinking about it, and it's important in your mind, therefore that will flow through to the end result.

[00:09:05] Gillian: That's a key investment. And you want to make sure that that investment yields a positive return.

[00:09:12]  Saul: Yeah, exactly. And it's ultimately, it's a tool, but it's an incredible tool, but it can also be an accurate reflection of how you want your business to be represented online. And it should be. And that's it for today, guys. Thank you again, so much for listening to our podcast before we go please don't forget to rate review and subscribe to this podcast. We'd love to hear your feedback. Also, if you'd like to read the transcript of this episode, please visit our website at roundhouse.cc forward slash web-design. We are a journey to help local business businesses grow their opportunities online and exceed their goals. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. Bye.