As social conscience shifts in favor of locally produced, handcrafted products, small businesses are particularly trending. Consumers have become more sensitive to the adoption of ethically responsible consumption practices, and as a result, they are distancing themselves from corporations. The role of small businesses has grown and expanded.

If you are the head of a small business, chances are you are familiar with the crucial role of content marketing and maintaining an online presence in promoting your business. But since web practices are not cookie cutters, what are the best ones to put in place for an SME?

The Internet is a great investment in building your online consumer community and letting people know what you are doing. Having a strong, creative, and interesting website is a crucial aspect of reaching your target audience. Your small business can only benefit from smart strategies to grow!

Here are the best web practices for SMEs

1.    Tell your story and establish your credibility

Since you are a small to medium-sized business, you have likely invested in your community to some degree. Members of your community are potential consumers, and ultimately you will want them to know who you are, what you do, and how you can benefit them. It isn’t easy to narrow down all the rich details of your business history through your website.

However, the best way to get a good return on your investment from your website is to tell your story as briefly as possible. Being a local business and presenting an image of credibility is usually enough to attract customers, so be sure to be open about what makes you unique and your level of involvement as a member of the community. This will help you begin to build trust with your consumers.

2.     Video content

In 2019, video marketing is still trending. If you are a small, local business, communicating your unique attributes to consumers is one of your main concerns. Using vlogs or other short marketing videos can help showcase your business personality. Aside from this use, there are several directions you can choose to take with video marketing to explore your creative side.

You might consider making a testimonial, an informative video, or a summary of what your business does. Remember to create video content. You don’t need a team or even equipment. There is a lot of free online video editing software out there. Also, all smartphones come equipped with a camera, so shoot!

3.    Be available

As a small business, it’s important to be available. Make sure your business contact information is accurate, up-to-date, and visible on multiple pages of your website. Not only will this give you the confidence that your customers can get in touch with you to ask questions, resolve outstanding issues, make appointments, and so on, but it will also help prove that you are credible.

If potential consumers have difficulty contacting you, knowing your hours of operation or location, they are likely to have difficulty using your services. We suggest that your website have a sidebar or footer that clearly shows your phone number and full address. Putting a face and a voice behind your SME will certainly help your consumers trust you and have confidence in the service or product you are offering.

4.     Clear calls to action

It is particularly important to call for action when you are a small company that has built a website to collect links or connect with your consumers. It’s essential to be unequivocal about what you’re doing and what your customers need to do: what’s the first thing you want a visitor to do on your site? To determine this, ask yourself: Do you want consumers to buy your products or use your services?

Would you like them to get in touch with you or fill out a form? Your call to action should tell them exactly what to do and how to do it without it sounding incredibly difficult or complicated.

5.     Simple navigation

For all small and medium businesses, website navigation should be easy, provide a good user experience, and be predictable. You want people to navigate from page to page and find what they’re looking for. For this reason, place the navigation tools at the top of your page or to the left of your sidebar, as this is where most users will expect to see it. Also, use obvious clues to alert visitors to your website to the presence of links to your social media, email, and other touchpoints.

This is where clarity will come in handy. Avoid using colorful or funny language when instructing the consumer on how to take action; this will only lead to frustration and confusion.

6.    Good design and SEO to promote an SME

Finally, let’s focus on any website’s crucial elements and think about how these apply to your small business site. A good website design will act as a first impression when bringing consumers to your site and keeping them there. Pay close attention to your header and homepage, and make sure you’re posting high-quality content and images.

Another important point regarding the content of your website is search engine optimization or SEO. Once you’re up and running, it’s good to know how your website performs and how people are looking for you. Basic SEO can go a long way in improving your website’s positioning and ensuring that consumers can locate your business.

Working with an SEO professional can go a long way in helping you determine which search terms work best for your website as well as where you can make adjustments to improve your content and your position on Google.

Do you want to launch your online business presence? Are you looking for Web Development in Pakistan to upgrade your web design? Count on us to get competing Web Design and Development services.