Putting together a website for your company is a great way to connect with customers in the digital age. It can also be used to boost your revenue and improve your brand’s overall image and reputation. However, if done poorly, your website could demonstrate a lack of professionalism that actually turns customers away instead of bringing them in.

With that in mind, here are five important things you need to think about when creating your company website.

It must represent your brand: One of the biggest mistakes that small businesses make upon launching their website lies in the fact that they fail to ensure their website matches their brand. For example, a company that focuses on clean living should put together a clean, simple website – as opposed to one that is cluttered and overloaded with bright colors and information.

They should also ensure that their content – be that product advertisements or blog posts – aligns with the brand. This is the easiest way to ensure that you are driving the right kind of traffic to your website.

Make the most of free tools: Designing the perfect website from scratch can be tricky – so it is important that you make the most of the tools at your disposal. For example, you could work with a web designer who has experience within your chosen industry. Alternatively, you could use free online templates or logo creation websites to put together a well-designed and cohesive site that matches your branding.

You need to test it beforehand: While it is essential that your website looks good, it also needs to function appropriately. For example, there is no point in setting up a sales page if the ‘purchase now’ tab does not work. As a result, you should ensure that you thoroughly test your website ahead of time, ensuring that your website is user-friendly and accessible. If your website involves many different pages and video content, you should also set up a sitemap, which can help improve the user experience and ensure that your website is SEO-friendly.

Images are more useful than text: While you must provide the viewer with a variety of engaging content on your website, the images you use- particularly when selling a product – are often more important than the description or text featured alongside them. After all, this gives the customer a chance to see what they are buying ahead of time, so they know exactly what to expect. As a result, you should ensure that you use high-quality photographs that are not over-edited.

Your website should enhance your brand: In the same way, in which your website should represent and reflect upon your brand – it should also provide you with the opportunity to enhance it, by growing your reputation. For example, in addition to your sales page, you could begin running a blog that focuses on the kind of topics that your customer would care about. This gives you the opportunity to demonstrate the fact that you are an expert within your field – meaning that you are a brand the customer can trust.