Nothing tells a better story about the history of a startup company than its website. Even renowned companies like Facebook, McDonald’s or Twitter heavily rely on websites to make a meaningful connection with their audiences. However, crafting a website for a startup is not as easy as creating one for an established entity in the business, especially if you haven’t even chosen the right website builder for your small business.
The challenge is attributable to the fact that startups only have their online identity as their branding tool and sales outlet. Therefore, it takes a skilled designer to craft a website that reflects not only everything the brand represents but also one that converts. So, below we are going to discuss invaluable hints for building websites for startups, which will guarantee incredible returns on investment.
Creating a Website Design Strategy
Before jumping into the web designing process, startup owners should take time to come up with a detailed strategy. Beginning without a plan might result in a chaotic site that will require constant fixing. On the other hand, planning can save entrepreneur the money and time by getting a fully functional website on the first attempt. A good website should feature relevant information and unique content that complements the vision and mission of the business. Making a list of vital aspects that promote the brand will allow the web developer to create a comprehensive website for enhanced visibility.
Utilizing Animation
The internet is rapidly evolving to be more like television; people are increasingly cherishing visual elements. For example, GIFs and animations can potentially bring life to a website by conveying concepts in a captivating manner. Besides, simple animations are capable of loading more expediently as compared to using photos and videos. This provides startups with an excellent visual tool for explaining abstract concepts. Also, a cheeky GIF or captivating animation can keep web visitors on the site longer in addition to attracting viewers to the website.
Perfectly Capturing the Essence of the Brand
Establishing the identity of a brand is among the critical purposes of creating a website. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that the website focuses on creating effective brand awareness among the target audience. For instance, it’s imperative to use the brand’s logo prominently throughout the website while making it conspicuously visible on all the pages. The entire onsite elements need to work harmoniously in showcasing brand identity. Such elements include call-to-action buttons, images, typography, and color scheme among others. Potential visitors should be able to identify the site with the brand. More importantly, the target audience should be in a position to recall the startups’ name long after visiting its website.
Clarity of Purpose
If the purpose of the website is ambiguous, the attention of the visitors is likely to wander. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that the design focuses on the website’s purpose in addition to impressing the visitors with visuals. The website’s objectives should be perfectly articulated with appropriate messaging that brilliantly drives the point home without wasting the visitors’ time.
Having On-Brand Color Scheme
A common mistake most entrepreneurs make is failing to have a consistent brand color, which is crucial for enhanced brand identity. Potential clients are looking to not only identify their favorite products easily but also to be convinced that the producing company conveys a consistent message. As such, every entrepreneur should ensure that their customers can associate a specific color to their brand. It is, however, essential for entrepreneurs to choose colors wisely when looking to expand beyond one brand color. They should only choose colors that complement the existing shades on their website.
Ease of Navigation
When people visit a website, they need to find the information they are seeking easily and quickly. Users can get irritated and consequently leave a site whose content is not organized regardless of its quality. The ease at which the website is navigated can be improved by careful planning of the site’s structure well beforehand. Attempting to organize a website after it has already been crafted is often very tricky and confusing. With that in mind, entrepreneurs should ensure that their site contains a clear menu that links to the essential areas of the website. The web users should know exactly where to click by merely looking at the provided menu.
Being Unique
With numerous startups and sites springing up every day, business owners should ensure that their website stands out like a blue diamond. While creating an exceptional site is not always a walk in the park, there are unique ideas that can be applied towards this purpose. For example, using a distinct color scheme and screen pop-ups can potentially add some level of uniqueness. Also, including media elements such as videos, large pictures, and different menus might come in handy in making a website unique. These elements should be sufficiently relevant and informative to the prospective audience. Entrepreneurs should interchange different ideas to determine which one brings in the uniqueness they desire.
Practicing minimalism
Exercising minimalism on a website design helps to remove visual clutter, which in turn gets things done efficiently. Also, a website with a clean, simple interface that offers a cohesive mobile and computer experience ends up attracting more users and clients. Minimalism also helps to create a focus on the relevant content; by reducing banners and links, users are encouraged to explore the website and scroll through the web pages. It should also be noted that simple websites load quickly, which is an essential feature as most users abandon a site that takes too long to open.
Landing Pages
Incorporating landing pages in a website is crucial to giving the viewer relevant information about the particular product they’re searching for without bombarding them with too much data at a go. Landing pages have been used for many years, probably because of their effectiveness in attracting clients to a fresh product. For a startup, landing pages are critical to not only attract new customers but also avoiding the high costs associated with the conventional modes of advertisements.
Being Credible
In this modern age of fake news and false information, trustworthiness and credibility are valuable assets for any business. Entrepreneurs should ensure that their website plays a role in communicating these essential attributes to their customers and web visitors. To enhance credibility, websites should have a professional look coupled with clear navigation without typos. It should also disclose all the relevant information about the brand such as shipping charges while still being comprehensive and current. Old images and dead links are likely to put off users. Adding links that connect to third-party sites also enhances the credibility of a website.
Launching a website that incorporates the latest design trends is a significant facelift for the business; it promises to attract a massive number of customers. An enticing webpage provides a startup business with an excellent opportunity to showcase its brand and distinguish itself from its rivals. With so many startups springing up constantly, creating a superior-quality website is not optional, which is especially true if an entrepreneur needs their company to stand out and be taken seriously. This is where the services of a competent web developer come in handy; to craft a design that will sustain the startup through the stiff competition.