The following list includes some ideas you may want included with your small business website. Not all of these features will be necessary depending on your particular needs, but it does give you an idea of what can be done to maximize the potential of your website.
Basic company information
While it may be obvious, this is a very important aspect of your website. A nice-looking website means little if the visitor can’t find the information they’re looking for. Keep your audience in mind as you compile your content. The more organized your basic information is, the better. It’ll help your visitors as they navigate your website. The type of content may wish to include is your statement of business values, a history of your business, a short bio of each of the staff, business hours and contact/location information. Of course there are several other aspects you may wish to include as it largely depends on your specific business.
Contact information
While this was already mentioned above, the contact information can be much more than an address and phone number. In this section you might consider having a Google/Mapquest map that will allow your visitors to access driving directions. You could also have a simple contact form so visitors can send specific questions or request a quote. This is preferable than simply listing your email address on your website because spambots can harvest your email if it’s easily accessible and load your inbox with junk email.
Custom email
Speaking of email forms, a great feature is to request a custom email. Ministry Graphics offers all our clients several custom email accounts. The benefit is to complete your small business’ professional image. What we mean by a “custom” email is, your email would be: YourName@YourDomain.com. In many people’s minds, this is more professional looking than a personal email from Yahoo, Gmail or any other ad-based company. This custom email account has no storage limit like the free email accounts and can also be setup with an email client like Outlook, Mac mail and any smartphone or tablet!
Photo galleries
This is a great feature for small business websites. We can build your site with a fully organized photo gallery. Each image and gallery can have a caption if you desire. There’s also a slideshow feature for all your galleries. It’s simple to use so you’re able to upload images at any time! It’s helpful because it allows your visitors to “visit” your business and see your facilities at their own leisure.
Audio and video players
If you have a video of your company or an advertisement you’d like to showcase on your website, Ministry Graphics can help you with that as well. An audio player can be embedded into your site where visitors can listen and download the files. Videos can be embedded from just about any source, with YouTube being the most common. This multimedia feature offers a great visual appeal for your visitors. Many “free” web designers do not offer this feature while other companies will charge you extra for it. At Ministry Graphics, it’s included with your website package!
Email lists
If you are interested in sending out a company newsletter, you’ll need to have a feature that allows interested visitors to sign up. On your website, we can install a small input form for visitors to sign up to receive your communication. While this option is not needed for every business, it’s available if you could benefit from it.
Blog
A blog is a shortened version of “web log” which is basically an online journal. The author of the blog writes an article (called a post) and publishes on his or her blog website. More and more businesses are becoming interested in this feature for their own websites and Ministry Graphics is proud to be able to offer this with all of our designs. On your blog you can have more than text; you can post videos, pictures and audio too! This is a great way for small businesses to make an announcement or share a promotion with their website visitors.
Social media
We previously mentioned the benefit of using social media sites like Facebook to increase your website’s search rankings. The reverse is also true, if you want more “likes” or “friends” then you can add your social media links to your website. Also, if you’re a Twitter user, your tweets can be embedded into your website to display your updates in real-time!
E-commerce store
If your small business has items to sell, you can now offer it right on your website! Instead of paying seller fees on Ebay or Amazon, attract customers with your own online store. You can accept payments through Paypal or credit card. It’s simple and also the most trustworthy transaction client. For information on e-commerce pricing through Ministry Graphics, please visit our pricing page.
Events calendar
If you’re keen on keeping your visitors informed of your special events, do it right on your website with an events calendar. Events are easy to add and edit. You can add images, videos and maps. If you already use Google Calendar, that’s no problem! We can embed your existing calendar directly into your website, so when you update on Google, visitors see it on your website immediately!
Are you ready to get started?
If you’re wondering about other features not listed, simply contact us here and we’ll get an answer for you! We look forward to helping you with your small business website needs.