Must Have

I've put together a list of 5 must-haves that every small business website needs to include. Whether you're building a website yourself, or have a web designer to do it for you, work through this check list and you won't go wrong.

1. Contact details.

It might seem a bit obvious this one, but you'd be surprised how many people forget to add their contact details. Not only must you have your contact details--at a minimum your address, phone number and email address--but you must make those details easy to find. Don't hide them away in the footer. Make the "contact us" page one of the most obvious ones. Because having a website boils down to just one thing: making more sales. And if your website visitors have a hard time getting in touch, then they're not going to buy from you.

2. Map

A bit less obvious, but a must-have that can make a real difference to the number of leads your website generates. The nature of the Internet is anonymous--we're all dealing with companies and individuals through a computer screen. And because of this, the Internet is a scammer's paradise--it only takes a few minutes to build a website and pretend to be a company. So having a map of where you are adds a real reassurance to your website visitors. It turns a virtual interaction into something more solid, and gives your website visitors the peace of mind that you're real people living in the real world

3. A Lead Capture Form

This is the next step on from adding your contact details. Many website visitors want to know more about your products and services, but are disinclined to give you a call or drop you a line. But they're quite happy for you to get in touch with them. And in order to make that possible, you need a lead capture form. Think of this as a sales assistant approaching a shopper, rather than a shopper going out of their way to approach a sales assistant. A lead capture form allows your website visitors to leave their details and express an interest in you, without going the whole hog of picking up the phone. And since many people surf the web out of office hours, the chances are that the time that they're actually on your website is a time when you don't have anyone to answer the phone. Having a lead capture form allows you to give them more information when it's convenient for you, and lets them express and interest when there's no one around to talk to.

4. Photos of You and Your Staff

This is another great way of reassuring your customers about who they're dealing with. In the same way that having a map gives your web visitors the confidence that you exist, having your photos on the website creates a personal connection between them and you. It's so much harder to turn away from a face than a computer screen. Having a photo kick-starts a personal relationship with your website visitors, and it makes it much more likely that the visitor will then get in touch. The added advantage is that not many websites include personal photos, so get this right and your site will start to get head and shoulders over the faceless ones around it.

5. Newsletter Sign-Up Form

This option is a good opportunity to warm up future customers. Many people surfing the web for products and services will be in a "research" phase of the buying cycle. They're not ready to get in touch or start buying just yet, but they are interested in finding out more information. Having a newsletter allows you to start to interact with them before they're ready to buy. They get the opportunity to "'taste" your service and personality, without having to commit to buying from you. You can start having a conversation with them, so that when they do decide to buy, that relationship already exists. And as anyone running a successful weekly or monthly newsletter will tell you, it can be the biggest source of new leads for your website. So add a newsletter sign-up form, and start emailing news about your company and industry to those signing up, and the customers will surely come.