Web hosting requirements of a small business are different from the large businesses. SMB needs less storage space as compared to large businesses, and they may also not require some additional tools that service provider offer to the large businesses. A small business owner needs basic features.
A business owner should consider technical support. Technical support helps you to find problems in your web site and fix them as early as possible. A company loses money if something goes wrong on its web site, and no one is happy to lose money. Many Companies offer a twenty-four hour support line to help clients if there is any trouble. Make sure your web host offers reliable technical support.
Further, bundled software in a hosting plan is something that you cannot ignore while selecting a company for your website. A number of Companies offer different types of specialized software such as content management system, shopping cart software etc. Before making a commitment with any company, a SMB owner should decide its needs for required software. Companies usually offer control panel software that contains a component called, Fantastico, which allows the client to easily install many different types of software for their web sites.
One may also consider editing tool and scripts to support their web site. A number of online hosts are offering easy-to-designs, different editing tools and web templates for web sites. If a company uses Front Page for development of its web site, it is important for that company to make sure that its company supports FrontPage extensions. If a small company is using others script languages such as PHP, ASP, Perl etc., it should make sure that its service provider is compatible with those languages.
In addition, it is important for small businesses to consider uptime and speed while selecting different providers.
The last and final thing to consider is: due diligence. Small business owner should check the web site of hosting company. The host's web site will help you find information about the company, its awards and seals of approval from different organizations. Sometimes technology magazines give awards and certificates. It is very important to check seal of the Internet Better Business Bureau seal. Many web sites offer reviews to evaluate companies. Business owners should check Internet to get information about the best service provider. Online Reviews can also be found on different forums and blogs posted by website owners. One or two bad reviews are okay, but if a company has a series of bad reviews, then it should be ignored
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges that owners of small businesses need to deal with is having and maintaining a website. What makes it even harder is the unlimited options available, and the costs involved that may range from affordable to very steep prices that they cannot make sense of.
Professional web designers should aim to create a website that can effectively draw in more relevant traffic to the site, generate additional leads and reduce the issues that users might encounter as they navigate through the web pages for whatever reason or need they may have.
Here are some tips they could take into consideration so that their small business website could catch the interest of viewers and in turn, get the impact they desire:
Clutter Free
The website of small businesses should be attractive but simple in design. Viewers may feel overwhelmed if the website looks too complicated or includes a lot of information. A clean, simple design looks more professional. Viewers should always have a pleasant experience every time they visit a website.
The website should easily be found by Google.
Top search engines like Google will be able to easily index a small business website if it is clutter free, has clear content, proper URLs, sitemap and makes use of relevant keywords. In addition, a small business web design should have a basic SEO at the least. For this reason, it is vital to hire the services of a good CMS to create and maintain a website.
Mobile Friendly
Web hosting requirements of a small business Since Google announced about its mobile-first index, it is a must for small businesses to get a responsive web design. This means that the website will adjust to the devices it is viewed on. However, this does not necessarily make it mobile friendly. Small business owners should see to it that visitors have a user friendly experience on whatever device they use.
Inbound Leads
A small business website should be able to get as many inbound leads as it can. It is normal for people to search for products, compare them and their prices before making any purchases. This time should be used in getting their email addresses. This way, businesses can send them information and will be able to assess the time when they are ready to buy. They should refrain from being too persistent so that potential customers would not get turned off.
Visible Contact Details
Some web design companies have a tendency to overlook this but they should make sure that contact details can easily be seen. It is best to display such information like the email address and phone number on prominent locations like the top and bottom of all pages. There should be a "Contact" page at the last part that contains the company's contact numbers, physical address, email address, map with directions as well as its operating hours.
Professional Branding
Small businesses should choose a website design company that will create a website that looks professional and is consistent with their brand. They should also make use of colors that stand out in their brand logo. They should stick to only one or two fonts, using them consistently all through the website. They should choose graphics plus images that go well together as well as enhance the website.