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If the first impression a potential client has of your business is via your website (and this will largely be the case) then you need to make sure that your website creates the correct impression of your company and its products/services.

It is surprising how many businesses actually don’t think about their website in terms of it being their online ‘shop-front’.  Your website needs to encourage visitors to it to stay and purchase a product, make an enquiry, submit a quote and so on. If it doesn’t then they will go elsewhere and that’s not something you want them to do!

If you are not sure if your website does give out the right messages then just ask friends or family to take a look and give you their honest opinion.

To create a strong initial impact your website design must be attractive, easy on the eye and include strong calls to action.  Your logo is also very important so make sure you have a well-designed one and not one that your cousin has put together one evening!

If you have products to showcase then a photo gallery with great imagery is definitely beneficial. On the subject of photos, you should never underestimate the power of photography when it comes to creating a first impression with your website. Photos can make or break the aesthetics of a website. Therefore make sure all photos on your website are of a professional quality and accurately reflect your company and its products/services in the best possible light.

Content must be of a high quality, relevant and easy to read. Break it down into small readable paragraphs with bullet points and subheadings. Don’t mix font styles too much and make sure your spelling and grammar is 100% (don’t use American English on your site!).  A website full of spelling mistakes is not only a bad look but it also makes it hard for anyone to read.

If you sell products online then make sure that your shopping cart is working properly. Errors during the buying process are a turn off and only serve to discourage your customer to continue with their purchase.

Having a website full of advertisements is also not a good look so if you are going to have advertisements make sure they are unobtrusive and do not have prominence over everything else on your site.

Check your site for error messages. The worst possible error message to have is one that says your website is no longer available. 

So, remember that you must have a professional looking site as this will instil trust and credibility. A poor website creates a poor first impression and that is not a risk any business can afford to take.