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When you take a wide view, however, it\u2019s possible to identify a handful of \u201cbig picture\u201d factors that make or break the final product. When you have them in place, the website does its job and helps you turn a profit. Without them, results are nearly always going to be disappointing.<\/p>\n
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What are these hidden factors? Let\u2019s look at the five essential elements of a small business website\u2026<\/p>\n
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This is hard to define, but easy to spot. Not only should your website be clean and focused so that you seem like a credible business, but it should be immediately obvious to a first-time visitor what your company is all about. In other words they should understand exactly what industry you are in and which products you provide or problems you can solve. Nothing about that should be unclear.<\/p>\n
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The content on your page \u2013 specifically the images, text, and videos \u2013 should all tell a cohesive story. Not only should they make it very clear what you do (see point number one), but they should also hint at marketing differentiators and personas. To put this another way, it should be easy to tell what your value proposition is like and what sorts of people or organizations you see as your perfect customers.<\/p>\n
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This is a broad category, but it basically means that your website works exactly the way it\u2019s supposed to. That means you have secure connections and a quality hosting package, and that your site isn\u2019t filled with error-prone links or plugins. It also helps if your content loads quickly and is optimized for mobile devices. Each of these might seem like a small factor until the moment your website isn\u2019t functioning as intended.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s one thing to have a nice layout and clear content on your website; it\u2019s another thing to generate phone-in leads, online sales, or foot traffic to your retail location. Each of these is an example of a successful conversion, and you need at least one conversion path that turns online interest into cold hard cash. In some cases you might want to have a few of them working at once.<\/p>\n
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Even the best websites don\u2019t create leads or revenue in a vacuum. In order to bring the right buyers to your pages at the right times you should be taking advantage of search engine optimization, social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and other online marketing strategies. The easier it is for the buying public to find your business, the more effective your website becomes.<\/p>\n
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The great thing about the five details we have pointed out in this article is that they are easy to see once you know what you\u2019re looking for. The downside? Many business owners might read this list and realize they are missing two or three.<\/p>\n
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