by Emma McCreary
Communicate your unique strengths
Your site should communicate and demonstrate your unique selling points immediately and clearly. Definitely on the homepage—but keep in mind that people may enter your site through other pages too. Make sure you capture the essence of your company in a tagline or similar header text on every page.
Be consistent
Building a brand is all about consistency. This means the look and feel of your website should match your business cards, brochures, and letterhead. Have the same person write your brochure copy as your website so they have a consistent flavor and tone.
Appeal to your niche—but don't alienate others
For small and micro-businesses, identifying and targeting a specific niche is key to being successful. However, you never know who will end up on your website, and you might discover a whole new market for your product or service that you hadn't thought of. So when aiming for a target audience, make sure your site is still professional, user-friendly, and accessible for everyone.
Demonstrate quality
Professional photography, sharp error-free copy, and an easy-to-use website demonstrate that your company cares about quality.
Identify actions and make them easy
Do you want visitors to contact you? Fill out a form? Sign up for a newsletter? Make a purchase?
Get clear on what your target actions are and make it very easy for people to complete them.
Provide as much information as possible
There's no reason to skimp on a website--the more you flush out your content the more your visitors will sense that you know what you are talking about. Expertise builds trust. Plus,
search engines love content.
