Keeping it simple online

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My tuppence worth, for what it’s worth – keep your website brief and simple.The more you put up there, the greater the likelihood they will miss the most important thing you want to tell them.

There is still a tendency in small business to let the website sit somewhere ‘out there’, unloved and forgotten. No-one tells it about changes of emphasis in the business. It is kept completely in the cold.

My view is that your website should try to do a few key things – and keep doing them.

Its first function is to tell the customer what you do. Effective, convincing language should be used so that you help the customer solve their problem.

So what do you do?

Write it down, in 100 words or less. “We help you save €700 a year on their electricity bills,” might be what you do. If it is, put that up on the site, because, regardless of what systems you are using to achieve those savings, that’s what the customer wants to buy.

Secondly, call the customer to action. Ring now. Email now. Request an information pack. Start saving now. Etc, etc, etc.

Your site can also give some more information on what you do – but not exhaustive amounts because people won’t read them, and, as I said at the outset, the more you put up there, the greater the chance they won’t pick up on the very thing you want.

Some client testimonials are a good idea. But not ‘John from Dublin’ says “this is a wonderful service that changed my life beyond all recognition.” Believable testimonials, from people with full names and contact details are essential – otherwise, the testimonial has the look and feel of a great work of fiction, which it probably is.

And, after that, not a lot more, I would say. Building a website for a small business has become such an easy job these days that the old fear should be gone. It shouldn’t be costly or time-consuming.

If you’re not doing heavy e-commerce – merely using your site as a brochure to attract customers – you can easily be out of it for well under €1,000. Always go to a professional – your nephew just won’t deliver, trust me.

The whole search engine world is a whole other thing – and one that promotes violent debate even among experts – but the practicalities of actually get your site up there are quite simple.

You can promote your site in your adverts, on your business card, on your premises, as well as through search engine optimisation, if you choose to invest in that area.