As a startup, a well-designed website gives credibility to your new business, which will encourage both new customers and investors. But you need more than an attractive presentation. Your website needs to get found by your target customers, generate interest quickly, and most importantly, drive sales and revenue. Not to mention - this needs to happen fast! To help you do that, let’s talk about the 12 essentials of web design for startups.

1. Clear Website Strategy

Before you go anywhere near your computer to build a website, you gotta have a plan. A website strategy will guide all the decisions you make about design, functionality, and content. Begin by answering these questions:

• What’s our budget for website hosting, domain, design, development, and content creation?
• Who are the primary audiences for the website and what problems can we solve for them?
• What action do we want each audience to take?
• What features do we need? (E-commerce, forms, landing pages, member area, payment, etc.)
• What are our startup’s brand guidelines? (Logo, colors, font, voice, etc.)
• How do we think the website will grow? (Either in content or functionality)

[bctt tweet="Before you go anywhere near your computer to build a website, you gotta have a plan. A website strategy will guide all the decisions you make about design, functionality, and content." username="pacific54"]

Having a written plan helps you make smart decisions as you go through the website design process. Qlutch offers comprehensive (and free) website strategy plans for business owners of all sizes. Source

2. Top-Quality Hosting

Startups are always looking to save money, but hosting is not the place to pinch pennies. When you’re looking to scale your business quickly, you need a provider that can handle high volume without crashing or loading agonizingly slow. As a bonus, when your site provides a good user experience, your search engine rankings will improve. So, before you sign up for that sweet hosting deal, make sure you understand your options and think long term.

Many hosting providers like SiteGround offer tiers of hosting plans so you can grow into what you need, but your first priority should be selecting a reliable provider. Source

3. SSL Security Certificate

As a startup with no brand recognition yet, you need to assure your website visitors that their personal information is safe. Getting an SSL certificate is a must - especially if you’re accepting payments. It provides an encrypted connection between the browser and your website. It’s also a ranking factor for Google since it protects users. Most hosting providers can facilitate the purchase and setup, but fees vary.

Now that many internet browsers indicate the status of your SSL certificate to website visitors, it’s even more important to have this installed on your site. Source

4. The Right Content Management System

Your content management system (CMS) is a critical decision that’s often not given enough attention. A CMS helps you create, manage, and modify content on a website. You’re probably familiar with some of the big players like Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal. Then, there are options for more non-techy folks such as Squarespace, Wix or Weebly. And, to confuse you further, there are CMS platforms that combine marketing automation, like Marketo or HubSpot as well as those geared toward e-commerce, like Shopify.Before you choose a CMS, ask yourself these questions and keep your website strategy in mind as you answer them:

• What functionalities do you need?
• Will the CMS have what you need as your startup grows?
• How easy is it to use?
• How hard is it to transition to another CMS?
• What’s the total cost?
• Does it integrate with other apps and platforms?
• Does it have good customer support?

There are lots of resources online to help you evaluate your options, but if you don’t have the time, consider hiring a digital marketing agency to make sure you set the right foundation.

While Wordpress is a popular CMS (used by 32% of websites), there are many options. Your choice of CMS can impact everything from SEO to functionality, so it shouldn’t be a quick decision. Source

5. Cohesive Branding

You’re the new kid on the block, so your startup web design needs a cohesive vibe. This will help your business look more professional, create a pleasing user experience, and build brand recognition when potential customers find you elsewhere on the web. Here are a few tips:

• Use a defined color palette that complements your logo
• Choose a primary and secondary font
• Get custom design elements that match your color palette (For example, social media icons)
• Select a single type of image (Photography or graphics, not both together)
• Speak in a consistent voice (Are you formal or casual?)

If you don’t have the funds to hire a website designer yet, Wordpress themes like this one can help establish a defined brand with consistent colors, fonts, and other elements. Source

6. Intuitive Navigation

You’re trying to grow quickly, so every website visitor counts. Make sure your potential customers can easily get their questions answered through clearly named, well-organized navigation. The best way to do this is to ask a few people in your target audience to preview the site and provide their opinion. As the startup founder, sometimes you’re too close to the subject to know how others would view it.

This company’s navigation is geared toward the user. It’s easy to understand and provides top-level choices that make sense from the user’s perspective. Source

7. Responsive Design

Web design for startups must be responsive. Mobile users are five times more likely to abandon an online task if it’s not optimized for their phone. As you well know, consumers now use their phones for everything. And here’s another good reason - if your website doesn’t work well on a smartphone, it can negatively impact your search rankings. Bottom line - it’s a must.

Make sure your startup website adjusts to any screen size. You don’t want to lose potential customers due to poor user experience. Source

8. Keywords and Phrases

Using some of the tips above, you’ve already optimized your site for better search engine rankings. However, keyword research is the most important action you can take to boost your startup’s visibility. You need to find out what your target audience is typing into the search engine, how often those terms are searched, and how competitive they are. Once you’ve identified your target keywords, you need to add them to your page titles, descriptions, and throughout your content. Using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can monitor how well your site ranks for specific keywords and phrases. However, paid SEO tools like Moz and SEMRush can give you more actionable insights to guide your SEO plan.

Paid SEO tools provide deeper insights and guidance to help startups make the most of their website. Keyword Explorer is part of the Moz Pro Plan, but you can set up a 30-day free trial before committing. Source

9. Persuasive Copy and Clear Calls-to-Action

Now that you’ve done keyword research, it’s time to create website copy that resonates with your audience’s problem and explains how your startup has the answer. Here are some pointers:

• Tell them immediately and clearly, what you do/offer
• Give them the next step with obvious call-to-action buttons (learn more, signup, contact us)
• Keep it short and easy to digest
• Focus on benefits, not features
• Help them picture how they’ll feel after signing up/purchasing

This website has a clever message that hits on the target customer’s problem, but it’s also very clear. Calls-to-action give the user their next steps. Source

10. Explainer Video

Even if a video isn’t in the budget right away, this is an essential part of any startup website. Consider this - 77% of consumers say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a video. Video is a quick and memorable way to introduce your startup and explain the benefits of your product or service. Not only that, it offers an excellent boost to your SEO. Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine? Plus, sites can double their organic search traffic by including a video thumbnail in search results.

Dollar Shave Club is legendary when it comes to startup videos. Within the first 48 hours of its original posting on YouTube, over 12,000 people signed up online. Source

11. Engaging and Useful Content

With your list of keywords and phrases in hand, it’s time to create some helpful content for your target audience. As a startup, you’re starting from scratch when it comes to SEO. The more pages you add to your website with useful information, the more opportunities for customers to find you online. The best way to do this is through a blog. Keep these tips in mind when creating content:

• Think of the blog as a resource for your readers
• Talk about topics, problems, and ideas directly related to the core of your business
• Use many points of view, including employees, customers, and influencers in your space
• Provide transparent stories about your company

[bctt tweet="As a startup, you’re starting from scratch when it comes to SEO. The more pages you add to your website with useful information, the more opportunities for customers to find you online. " username="pacific54"]

The popular startup Boomerang provides helpful add-ons to Gmail. Their blog focuses on topics related to email and productivity, which will draw their target audience. Source

12. Social Media Links and Sharing Buttons

You want to make it easy for new website visitors to share your startup’s awesomeness with their friends and family. Make sure your website has links to your social media accounts as well as sharing buttons on blogs or offers. If you embed a social media feed, keep it updated so visitors see it’s active and interesting.

Embedding your social media feeds on your startup website can increase followers and social sharing. SourceWeb design for startups requires a lot of preparation and smart decisions. With these 12 essentials, your business can grow an audience quickly and convert website visitors into paying customers. If you need help putting any of these tips into practice, Pacific54 is ready to support your website launch.