![\"website](\"https:\/\/www.brand360.com.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/website-design.png\")
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Websites are essential for all types of businesses and industries, B2B included. We can tell you a hundred reasons why, but the main reason for a website is to connect with your customers<\/u><\/a>. It is very important for inbound marketing and as crucial as owning a mobile phone or even a smartphone. Having a good website design is similar to having a friendly online face for your business.<\/p>\n We made this checklist to help you do a quick check-up on your website if it looks and performs well. The items listed are in the order of what you need first and the steps to get it done.<\/p>\n Some solopreneurs and startups do use free blog sites. It\u2019s a great place to start if you\u2019re starting from scratch and learning on your own. But to be perceived as a professional business, and for a great start to building your brand, investing in your domain name is the first step. Which sounds better; yourbrand.wordpress.com or yourbrand.com<\/em>?<\/li>\n Once you\u2019ve signed up, you can use their templates and services to start designing your own website. Platforms make it easy because you don\u2019t need to learn to code to create a basic website.<\/li>\n Make sure your website is mobile responsive so that it displays well. Mobile responsiveness resizes your webpage optimally so that readers can comfortably navigate and read your web page with ease regardless of the size of their mobile devices, which can vary greatly. A professional web designer can set the website so that it adapts to the user\u2019s browser and ensure the pictures, fonts and buttons are aligned and legible.<\/li>\n Here\u2019s an example of a website design for restaurants. Restaurants and catering services would usually have a menu attached, address, review links, promotions if any and most importantly, pictures of the food and ambience that reflect the brand.<\/p>\n Picture credit: restaurantengine.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n This is an example of a website design for a B2B manufacturing business. This type of business can appeal to visitors with a clean professional look, a list of products and services with adequate descriptions, value propositions<\/u><\/a>, and project references, aside from other basic information like contact details.<\/p>\n Picture credit: freshwebdesign.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n Here\u2019s an example of a website design for an e-commerce or an online store. Payment channels are a must, and so are enticing promotions, shipping options and a sufficient customer support channel.<\/p>\n Picture credit: colorlib.com<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/li>\n On an Asos<\/a><\/u> webpage, they use a variety of models to showcase their product range and diversity. The chosen models look casual, relaxed and relatable, possibly what this Asos collection wants to portray.<\/p>\n Having images that relate to your visitors gets their attention and invites them to further browse your website.<\/li>\n On our homepage<\/a>, we summarise our business objective through 5 words in one brief sentence. As visitors scroll downwards, they would learn more about how we do what we do.<\/li>\n Huge fonts with catchy phrases are sure ways to grab your visitors\u2019 attention. Here, we tell visitors more about what we offer.<\/li>\n A CTA in one of our pages calls for visitors to download our comprehensive brand strategy playbook<\/u><\/a>.<\/li>\n Whether you are using a website builder or buying a template from a CMS, your website has to be updated every year or so, to ensure that it is up-to-date with the latest technology and compatible with new devices. An old website is not only full of bugs and incompatible with new browsers and hardware but also looks bad for your brand, because it shows a lack of commitment and work. If you don\u2019t care about your virtual shop, why should visitors care to come in?<\/p>\n\n
\nBefore you can even build a website, you need to buy a domain name. The domain name has to be similar to your brand name<\/u><\/a> for easier recognition. There are many domain registrars online, such as GoDaddy and Yeah Host with some affordable options. You can opt for either a .com<\/em> domain or a .com.my, .my, .net<\/em> and so on. The easiest for your audience to remember would be .com, .my or .com.my<\/em> (or if you\u2019re in Singapore, then .com.sg<\/em> or just .sg<\/em>) to look professional. If you\u2019re a non-profit, .org<\/em> would be your best bet.But hang on. Can\u2019t you just use a free blog site? You can publish your company information and product photos on the blog without paying a cent.<\/p>\n
\nTo create a website, you need someone to make the space for you to create and design it, acting as the host. Some popular website host and content management system (CMS) include WordPress, Weebly<\/em> and other web hosting platforms. Sites like Weebly<\/em> even act as a registrar where you can get a domain name so it\u2019s all in one convenient package.Choose the platform best suited to your nature of the business. Different hosts have different specialties, usage, pricing and customer support. For example, WordPress<\/em> is very flexible and is supported by thousands of plugins. Weebly<\/em> and Shopify<\/em> are great for e-commerce brands who need an online store.<\/p>\n
\nIt is no longer an option for your website to be mobile-friendly. It is now a must that your website can be accessed through mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. A research by Google<\/em> in 2012 reveals that 94%<\/strong> of smartphone users look for local information on their phone and 90%<\/strong> take action as a result, such as making a purchase or contacting the business. Without a mobile site for your business, you would be losing these opportunities to your competitors.At home, 85%<\/strong> of Malaysians now own at least one smartphone. From this population, 76%<\/strong> of them actively access websites from mobile phones, according to a recent survey<\/u><\/a> by Hootsuite<\/em> and We Are Social<\/em>. As they can surf the web through thousands of apps and browsers, it only makes sense that websites have to be accessible and compatible with mobile platforms.<\/p>\n
\nOne website platform can house many templates and designs you can choose from for your business whether it\u2019s an e-commerce, food and beverages, manufacturing or services. You can choose colours and fonts best fitted to your design and branding.<\/p>\n![\"restaurant](\"https:\/\/restaurantengine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/restaurantengine\/images\/themes\/zest-restaurant-website-template-thumb.jpg\")
![\"B2B](\"https:\/\/cdn.freshdesignweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/industrial-responsive-website-template-55978.jpg\")
![\"ecommerce](\"https:\/\/cdn.colorlib.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/famiza-responsive-shopify-technology-theme.jpg\")
\nWe are very visual creatures and react better to content with pictures. Low-resolution or badly-cropped pictures are a huge turn-off for your web visitors. There are options for stock photos online which you can subscribe at a price or you can shoot them yourself.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brand360.com.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/asos.png\")
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\nOn the very first page of your website, it is important to state who you are and what you do. Do it in a summary of just one sentence, before explaining further at your subheadline. Remember, the visitor\u2019s attention span is painfully short. A brief, visible headline will implant an idea about your brand in their goldfish memories.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brand360.com.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/brand360.png\")
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\nWhen visitors first see your homepage, tell them straight up what they can expect from you. What are the benefits of your business? How is your business different than other brands?![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brand360.com.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/proposition.png\")
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\nThese are big striking buttons that ask your visitors to do an intended action, whether it\u2019s signing up, explore more, start shopping or pay now. An effective page can have two Call-To-Action (CTA)<\/strong> buttons; a primary one at the top of the page and a secondary one at the bottom as visitors scroll. This reinforces the ask for visitors to click on the button after they have read through all your persuasive information. Inserting CTAs in your website design can greatly help your conversion rate.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brand360.com.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/CTA.png\")
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\nA website is useless if visitors find it difficult to navigate around. A Menu<\/strong> and a Home<\/strong> button are imperative for any website. The Menu button would have a list of all the pages on the website, making it easy and efficient for visitors to navigate, serving as a map. Oh, and don\u2019t forget to make sure that the fonts in all your pages are legible.<\/li>\n
\nBe sure to leave a way for visitors to reach you since that is one of the main reasons for your website. Phone numbers are a must, but so are emails and office addresses. Additionally, you can insert links to any social media sites your brand have or a map location of your premises. You can also put up a contact form so visitors can drop inquiries directly. And if your company operation allows it, you can install a chatbot that answers customers\u2019 questions instantly. Do make sure that you have assigned a person or a team to manage your chatbot though, because nothing puts off a visitor more than asking a question and not getting a reply!<\/li>\n
\nIt would be helpful for your prospects to see if there are any testimonials or references from past clients. This could be quotes and testimonials from them or better yet, case studies<\/u><\/a>, with lots of photos. Cleanly-edited and professional-looking photographs are a great persuasion tool that shows proof of your experience while giving your prospects a better picture of how you can help them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nDo you have everything checked?<\/strong><\/h4>\n