In today’s digital age, having a website is essential for any small business looking to succeed. Even though social media is a great tool for reaching customers, you still need a website to represent your business. You own your website (you don’t own your social media profiles), and it provides you with SEO opportunities, credibility, visibility and lasting value.
While there are plenty of templates and DIY website builders available, there’s nothing quite as good as having your own custom website. Custom web design meets the needs of your business and satisfies customers. Below are the benefits of investing in a custom website for your business.
Unique Branding
Custom web design allows you to create a unique look and feel for your website that reflects your brand’s personality and values. This can help you stand out from your competitors and create a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience.
In fact, having a unique and distinctive brand is one of the key reasons why businesses invest in custom web design. With a custom-designed website, you get to pick out every element to ensure your website is tailored to the needs of your customers. For example, you may choose to use specific colors, fonts, imagery and messaging for a cohesive experience.
Improved Functionality
Custom web design allows you to incorporate the functionalities you need to support your business goals, such as e-commerce capabilities, appointment scheduling and other types of customer forms.
Other functionalities that are worth asking your web developer about are search functionality, social media integration, analytics and a content management system (CMS). Most websites use a CMS to make it easy to add new pages, create blog posts and upload images and videos.
Improved Search Engine Optimization
A custom-designed website can be optimized for search engines right from the start. This means you can ensure that your website is visible to your target audience and attracts the right traffic.
Here are some of the ways that a custom website can improve SEO:
- The structure of your website (URL structure, navigation, internal linking) can help the search engines understand the content on your website.
- High quality content signal to the search engines that your website is active and valuable to users, thus improving rankings.
- Adding keywords to your web content and blog posts ensures that your content is optimized for the right audience.
Increased Credibility
Consumers prefer ‘honest’ brands and are willing to pay more for them. Therefore, it’s in your best interests to establish yourself as a trustworthy and credible brand. A great way to do this is by having a custom website that showcases your strengths and benefits, as well as increases conversions.
In addition to having a quality website that’s easy to navigate, you’ll also want to include trust signals on your website, ensure your privacy policy is up to date and show transparency with customers. For example, make it easy to return a product or request a refund.
Greater Flexibility
As mentioned above, most websites use a content management system. With a CMS, you can easily make changes to your website. This is especially important as your business grows, as you may choose to add new products and services while removing others.
A CMS also makes it easy to respond to changes in your market, such as material shortages or delays in shipping. Consumers are much more accepting when they are given this information upfront, rather than finding out a different way.
Investing in custom web design can offer a range of benefits for small businesses including unique branding, tailored user experiences and improved SEO. If you’re ready to take your online presence to the next level, consider working with WSI Internet Partners. We can create a website that truly reflects your brand and supports your business goals.