Every small business is different so their website and visitors will require different things. Still, there are a few generally universal do's and don'ts that you can use as a guide for getting started with your small business website:

Do Have Some Idea of What You Want | Don't Tell The Designer I'm Leaving It All To You: You don't have to know it all or have every detail completely thought through, but have some idea of what you are looking for as far as budget, features, number of pages and general style. Do some research and check out competitor sites as well (local and non-local). This will help stimulate your thought process and give you ideas of what you do and don't want your website to look and feel like.

Do Listen To The Professionals | Don't Let Them Steamroll You: Once you do a little homework, share you ideas with a few potential designers. Get their professional feedback and quotes on your project. They should be able to give you explanations for all of their suggestions so that you can determine if you agree with them or not. Do not take their experience for granted. Many of their ideas may be very helpful and valuable to you, but make sure your ideas are being heard too. The final decision should always be yours.

Do Set A Reasonable Budget | Don't Be Completely Inflexible With Your Budget: Of course most small business owners do not have unlimited budgets. So setting a budget or price range for your web design is a good idea. It's important to keep in mind though that you may have to adjust your budget based on the complexity of what you want or adding important features like SEO to your website. Paying a bit more and getting a site that is much more attractive and effective is well worth it in the long run.

If you need a free web design or SEO consultation, call us today. We work with small businesses everyday to help them grow their businesses. Our small business websites are affordable, fast and marketing focused. We also offer comprehensive SEO services to ensure that your new website is visible online for the right keywords.