We are so excited to introduce Episode 025 of With Grace and Gold: The Podcast — a business education podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. With Grace and Gold: The Podcast features 5-minute episodes with clear, actionable steps to guide you toward successful small business ownership. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Anchor, Spotify, or elsewhere!
Elevate Your Website Today: 7 Actionable Steps
Your website is like your digital storefront — a place you can welcome your Ideal Clients to, a place where you can form a real connection with your visitors, and a place where you can openly and honestly sell your products and services.
Over the past 6 years, we’ve observed that websites have become so much more than an online space to showcase products and services; they’ve become a place for building and fostering community, they’ve become a more solid and more detailed foundation from which small businesses can truly expand and grow.
Website have become a critically important tool for small businesses: they can help to communicate your message, connect you with your audience, and sell your products and services, — or they can nudge visitors to move on and continue exploring their options.
And for so many small business owners, the question remains: How can I elevate my website? How can I make my website a more accurate reflection of my knowledge, experience, and expertise — so visitors know I’m capable of providing a really elevated experience?
Welcome to Episode 025 of With Grace and Gold: The Podcast. Today, we’re exploring 7 actionable ways you can elevate your website. Whether you’re looking for just a few simple, yet effective, ways to polish website — or you’re hoping to completely elevate your online presence, we hope today’s episode helps you experience the results you’re after.
- Embrace white space. White space is the negative space throughout your web design — or the space between or surrounding your website’s content. When you increase the white space throughout your web design, you give your content space to breathe. And as a result, your visitors can absorb the content you’re sharing in a more seamless way. Put simply, too much content and too little white space can appear less elevated — and less content and more white space can appear more elevated.
- Share your elevator pitch right away. One common error we often see is the lack of an elevator pitch — a clear, concise statement that shares who you are, what you do, who you serve, and where you serve. For example: “With Grace and Gold provides award-winning brand and web design for creative small business owners from all over the world.” In this simple, clear, concise statement, any visitor — new or old — will know exactly what With Grace and Gold can be hired for. Your Home page and your website’s footer are great places to include your elevator pitch; your Home page, because it sets the tone for your website, and your Footer, because it is present on every page of your website. This elevator pitch will let your website’s visitors know whether or not they’re in the right place, which can be extremely helpful when it comes to connecting more seamlessly with your Ideal Client.
- Speak directly to your Ideal Client. Use your copywriting — or the words on your website — as a way to speak directly to your Ideal Client. Start sentences with the word ‘you’ and imagine that you’re describing your business while sitting directly across the table from your Ideal Client. Chances are, you’ll share the key highlights of your business, and what your Ideal Client can expect from working with you. A balanced blend of professional and conversational can be extremely helpful.
- Curate your website’s content. When it comes to web design, less is more. You may feel compelled to include every detail of your services, so your website can truly work for you — but too much content can actually create confusion or even prompt visitors to make their minds up before hearing from you about your products or services. We like to think of your website as a place to share a foundation of key information… enough information to prompt your website’s visitors to reach out and connect with you. So, what content should be on your website right away, and what content can be saved for your first phone call or meeting? For help writing your service descriptions, tune into Episode 007!
- Showcase your best work. Curate your Portfolio and showcase the type of work you’d like to do more of. If we think about ourselves and how we browse websites, chances are, we skim and scroll quickly through content just to get a feel for what we’re looking at. And chances are, our Ideal Clients are the same way — they need to see just a a curated collection of work in order to determine whether they feel connected to our work, our style, or our approach. Therefore, don’t be afraid to create a smaller, curated Portfolio — maybe organizing your work by category rather than sharing every session or project. Doing so can help to create a more user-friendly experience.
- Set client expectations. Use your Contact page as a place to set expectations for what prospective clients can expect from working with you. Your business hours, your meeting policy, your communication policy, and your frequently asked questions can all be included on your Contact page. Including these details can add a layer of professionalism and help to set the tone for what it’s like to work with you.
- Keep your website up-to-date. Peek in on your website at least once per week to be sure everything is working well. Aim to write one new blog post per week, too. Like we shared in Episode 003, blogging not only helps to build your Search Engine Optimization, but it’s also a helpful way for visitors to know your business is still operating well!
We are so hopeful today’s tips help you to elevate your website and your online presence as a whole. If you’re considering hiring a web designer to help, listen to Episode 013, where we explore key considerations to make.
Since 2014, With Grace and Gold has provided brand and web design for creative small business owners. Hire With Grace and Gold or shop With Grace and Gold’s pre-made designs and Showit website templates – and come away with an elevated brand and web design for your small business!
About Brand It, Build It Podcast, Hosted by Kelly Zugay
Hosted by Kelly Zugay, co-founder of With Grace and Gold, The Brand It, Build It Podcast is a leading small business marketing podcast for small business owners, creatives, founders and entrepreneurs. Enjoy weekly, actionable episodes to build a successful, sustainable small business from the inside out.
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