With so many options to create and optimize your business’s website, it can feel overwhelming knowing where to start. Because of this, so many female entrepreneurs struggle taking the final step into the online world and brilliant visions and dreams end up being held back.
The great news is that there are simple steps that you can follow, to not only boost your website but to also help grow your business. I’m going to share with you my top tips that were designed specifically for female entrepreneurs to help you finally get the website your business deserves!
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Before you even dive into the technical side of things, it is so important to know who you are targeting (if you can, narrow it right down to a single person). Take some time to understand their hopes, struggles, and what really makes them tick. As simple as this may sound, it can be so easy to start designing a website that looks nice to you but it may not resonate with your target audience. By knowing exactly who you want to help, you will be able to start in the right direction.
LESS IS MORE
Now we are onto the content of your homepage and I think this step gets so overlooked. When it comes to your homepage, you really only have a few seconds to make a great first impression. The trick is to make it very clear what you want your new web visitors to do. You may feel the need to include everything on your homepage but focus on featuring only a few important things to avoid page clutter and an overload of copy. Popular things to include would be a short summary of what you do, a featured product or service, an opt-in (more on this in the next tip), or even excerpts of your newest blog posts. No matter what you choose, keep it simple for the best results.
BUILD YOUR TRIBE!
While social media websites such as Facebook can be a great tool to build your credibility (e.g., getting Facebook Likes or followers on your business’s page), you are at the discretion of another company (Facebook) for what those followers see. By only using one platform to engage with your audience, your reach to those people can be very limited.
The best way to build a connection with your audience is by creating an opt-in on your website. An opt-in is an invitation for users to sign-up to receive valuable content from you in the form of a newsletter. Including a free offering (such as an e-book) is also a great way to encourage sign-ups but, always ensure you are offering something of value that would truly benefit your target audience. A great free tool for web-based email marketing is Mailchimp, which is free for your first 2,000 email subscribers!
YOUR PHOTOS
If there is one element that will leave the strongest impression on new web visitors, it’s your photos. Take a moment to think of some of the most well known entrepreneurs and businesswomen, what is one thing they all seem to have in common? Quality photos. Even if you are just starting out, great photos can make the difference between a website looking like it was rushed by an amateur and a website created by a successful, glowing entrepreneur (like you)! Keep in mind that this has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with who is taking your photos. Even though you may look stunning in the photos on your iPhone, investing in a professional photographer will help align the message you want to portray with what is presented on your website.
DESIGN LIKE A PRO
We all have our strengths, however, if you are creating your own DIY website and struggling with designing professional looking graphics, this next tip is for you! I highly recommend Canva, which is a free online tool that allows you to design stunning graphics without needing any graphics design experience. The best part? Their pre-made templates will help guide you with choosing the right fonts, background images and layouts.
JESS CATORC // Jess Catorc
Jess works with female entrepreneurs across a wide variety of industries and coaches them on creating their own website. Being a passionate web and graphics designer herself, she loves to break down the “tech” wall and show just how easy and stress-free the DIY process can be.
