You have more than one front door to showcase your identity to potential customers. One is the tangible entrance to your brick-and-mortar establishment. The other — equally important, said Marla Zwinggi, co-owner of Zwinggi Creative, a Cleveland-based website development and design company that has provided services for lots of small businesses — is “your virtual front door,” your website

You invest time and effort making your physical storefront inviting, and your website requires the same level of attention. It serves as the gateway to your business in the digital realm, where first impressions are formed and lasting connections are made.

A well-maintained website “not only establishes who you are but also lends credibility to what you’re providing,” Zwinggi emphasized. Social media platforms are accessible only to customers who use the same ones — having a Facebook page is like having a taco truck in a gated community, according to Zwinggi’s husband — but a website is open for anyone to find.

To create a compelling small business website, Zwinggi offered tips for engaging audiences and maintaining connection.

Think About Your Audience

Before diving into website development, Zwinggi said, understand your target market thoroughly. She advises small business owners to think through questions like:

• Who is your target market?
• What do people want?
• Who are you trying to reach?
• How can you get to them in an effective way?

Answers to these questions can lay the foundation for structuring your website’s information architecture, including what specific elements should be featured on the landing page. Your customers’ needs may lead you to prioritize certain products or feature a highlighted sale, for example.

Knowing your customers’ tastes also can influence your design choices, content tone and functionality. “It’s important, if you have a small business, to get a feel for what people want. Why spend all this money doing all this technical stuff with everyone before you know what your customer wants?” Zwinggi said.

Understand Your Purpose and Goals

Every website should have a clear purpose and specific goals, Zwinggi said. Whether it’s to showcase products or services, to generate leads or to provide information, the purpose will guide the design and content. If you just want to indicate that it’s a legit business, for instance, “you can have a couple pages here and it can sit static.” Or if your primary goal is drive traffic to your store, you’d highlight your address and hours up front.

But if you are trying to sell products online, your website needs to be optimized for e-commerce functionality with seamless navigation, compelling product descriptions and secure payment options. That means that you need to ensure that your website’s infrastructure is equipped to handle online transactions securely and efficiently. “You want to reassure your customers that this is a safe site for them to be on,” she added.

Consider the Voice and Content You Want to Present

According to Zwinggi, a conversational tone establish a genuine connection with your audience. “People want that authentic-sounding conversation. They like humor, they like kitschy — unless, of course, you’re a funeral home,” she quipped.

Zwinggi likened a website to a newspaper, emphasizing the importance of crafting compelling titles and headlines to attract readers and convey the content. “Just like a newspaper or magazine, your website should have headlines and punch lines that stick with people,” she said.

However, Zwinggi cautioned against overwhelming visitors with excessive text. “Attention spans are shorter nowadays, and people crave instant gratification,” she noted, so kkeep your verbiage concise and focused.

She underscores clarity about a website’s purpose. For instance, if your objective is to sell products, ensure that the “Buy Now” option is displayed prominently. “You never know at what point someone might decide to make a purchase,” she explained. “A prominent “Buy Now” button ensures that potential customers can take action at any moment during their visit.”

Decide if You’re Going to Work with a Website Developer or Design Your Site Yourself

“Small business owners deserve the same quality as a large-scale global company — and maybe even more so because they don’t have oodles and oodles of people on marketing teams and PR; it’s just them,” Zwinggi said. Still, the choice between building your site with platforms like Wix or Web.com and hiring a professional developer depends on factors like budget, time constraints, design requirements and long-term goals.

DIY platforms are cost-effective and offer control, but they demand time and technical skills, not just for setup but also for maintenance. A hired professional ensures a personalized, professional outcome that can elevate your brand image and credibility, albeit at a higher initial investment.

If you work with a professional developer, Zwinggi advised requesting sample sites and evaluating both their form and function. “You could have the most beautiful website ever, but if it doesn’t work, then there’s no point,” she said. Also inquire about the expertise needed to make future changes to the site. “Some [web developers] restrict access,” she said. “Every time you have a change to make, they will have to do it rather than you.” You should have full access to passwords and logins for hosting to avoid being locked out of your own website.

For those considering building their own websites, Zwinggi said to choose a reputable platform with a strong track record. “Research [the platform’s] client list to gauge their reliability and reputation,” she advised. “If major companies trust them, it’s likely a safe choice.”

Optimize Your Website for Search Engine Optimization

Optimizing your website for search engines increases visibility and drives organic traffic, Zwinggi said. This involves using relevant keywords, creating valuable content and optimizing meta tags, among other strategies. Web designers “used to put a lot of emphasis on search engine optimization,” Zwinggi said. “It’s still very important. If you’re an Ohio real estate firm, for instance, you want your pages to come up when somebody is typing in “real estate firm + Ohio.”

However, she noted, SEO practices have evolved significantly since the 1990s. In the past, repetitive use of keywords was common for ranking purposes. “As algorithms have advanced, search engines now rely on artificial intelligence to better understand user intent,” Zwinggi pointed out. Consequently, content no longer needs to be structured rigidly around keywords.

Modern SEO tools, such as Yoast and SEOClarity, help optimize website content and improve search engine rankings. “They will get you to a point where you can feel good about the content that you’re putting out there that’s going to appear on Google or Bing,” she said.

Make Sure Everything is Responsive

Once you have a prototype of your site, make sure the navigation is intuitive and user-friendly and that it shows up well on esktops, tablets and phones. “Beautiful desktop designs are great, but from a mobile perspective, people are looking for functionality – getting where they need to go quickly,” explained Zwinggi.

Additionally, ensure that all links work seamlessly. “If you have a crappy user experience, you’re done,” warned Zwinggi. “Somebody’s going to visit your website and just be like ‘I am not doing this’ because there’s always another place to go.”

Figure Out a Strategy for Sharing Your Website, and Monitor Analytics

Websites are not like a Field of Dreams. If you launch it, people won’t just show up. “There are plenty of people [who] have built a website and then just let it sit, but a website isn’t this magical potion where, once you build it, you’re going to be at the top of an organic Google search,” said Zwinggi.

Use vehicles like social media email marketing campaigns to promote your website and drive traffic. Send newsletters, updates and promotions to your subscribers, encouraging them to visit your site and explore its offerings

And then, of course, look at the data, Zwinggi said. Monitor and analyze website analytics regularly to track your performance and identify areas for improvement. Pay attention to metrics like traffic sources, user engagement and conversion rates to optimize your website’s effectiveness. “If after six months, for instance, you see that ‘Oh, nobody went to that page, it’s time to reassess. You can tweak it or try something new,” suggested Zwinggi. “The ability to take risks with websites is not as scary as with old-school print. Once you print something, that’s what it is, whereas with websites, you can change it in two seconds.”

So as you embark on your journey to establish a robust online presence, remember that your website is more than just a digital placeholder; it’s your virtual storefront, open to anyone seeking what you have to offer.