Today there are many ways to create your own website from WordPress templates to all-inclusive hosting and design environments. This clutter of small business web design offerings has made it easy to throw up a web page overnight. However it’s also caused a lot of companies to look exactly the same online. It’s smart to use an online tool from a host or other vendor to create your website. The trick is not to look generic. Here are some ways to stay unique without breaking the budget on your new website design.
- Stay away from the “most popular” templates. WordPress and others tend to push the free templates that are most popular. This will get you into trouble. A marketing firm might look just like an engineering firm online. Remember people see the form first. Look for something that is a little bit different or buy a template that you haven’t seen very often.
- Try not to use stock photos. Creative commons (including flickr) offers many free options for photos that are unique. Better yet, grab a photographer friend and shoot some real ones of you and your customers or product.
- Don’t be verbose. Good websites are visual and easy to navigate. Too many times people put their “sales speel” down on the site. Read some blogs on writing good web copy before you sit down to write your copy.
- Ask others for opinions, but only those that do creative work for a living. Many, many people think they are “good at marketing” when they really don’t have a clue. Or, pick someone who represents your target audience and ask them if a) it is easy to navigate and b) gives them the information they need.