14 Key Website Design Improvements for Small Businesses to Enhance Customer Experience

Credit: Style My Soul, www.stylemysoul.com | Website Design Tips; Customer Service

Optimize for Mobile and Direct Actions
Two things can really make a huge difference for a small-business website:
First, make sure it works flawlessly on smartphones. It needs to load lightning-fast, look great on any screen size, and be super easy to tap around. I’ve seen too many frustrated customers bounce off sites that weren’t mobile-friendly. Second, don’t be shy about telling people what to do! Every page needs a prominent ‘Shop Now,’ ‘Get in Touch,’ or whatever fits your business. Bold colors help it pop! These might seem like small updates, but they make a world of difference — not just for your bottom line but also for your own sense of satisfaction when your online presence truly represents your business.
- Ihor Kirpichnikov, Senior Graphic Designer, Ikagency.com

Strategize Calls to Action and Load Speed
Having led multiple digital marketing initiatives at Raincross, where I am the founder and president, I’ve gathered substantial experience in improving the customer experience through effective website design. A crucial element I’ve found is the strategic use of calls to action (CTAs) tailored to the audience’s behavior and needs. By placing clear, compelling CTAs throughout the website, you can guide visitors smoothly through the site, enhancing their engagement and increasing conversion rates.

In our tasks at Raincross, streamlining the user journey was significantly enhanced by clear, action-oriented buttons like “Get Started,” “Learn More,” and “Contact Us Today.” These were not just randomly placed but were the results of analyzing visitor data to understand what visitors are most likely to look for. For example, when we revamped a local home services website, integrating prominent CTAs led to a noticeable increase in service inquiries, proving the impact of well-placed directives. Another vital factor is accessibility and readability. Making sure your website is easy to read and navigate, regardless of the device used, adds enormous value. In my experience, implementing responsive design isn’t just a technical necessity; it speaks directly to giving users a seamless experience. For instance, when we examined the user interface and modified the typographical elements to be more screen-friendly across devices, our client’s website experienced reduced bounce rates and longer site visits.

Lastly, always prioritize loading speed. In our overhaul of a client’s e-commerce site, reducing image sizes and optimizing backend codes to enhance load times resulted in a 35% uptick in user retention and an increase in page views per session. In short, when your site’s design and functionality focus on facilitating the customer’s navigation and access to information, the quality of user interaction improves dramatically. This‌ positively impacts customer satisfaction and overall business performance. - Kevin Watts, President and Founder, Raincross

Compress Images and Enable Caching
In today’s fast-paced digital world, customers expect websites to load quickly and efficiently. If a website takes too long to load, customers are more likely to bounce off and look for alternatives. Large image files can significantly slow down website speed. By compressing images, businesses can reduce their file size without compromising on quality. Caching stores frequently used data in a temporary storage location, allowing for quicker access and reducing the time it takes to load a webpage. Every element on a webpage requires an HTTP request, including images, scripts, and stylesheets. By reducing the number of requests, businesses can improve website speed. Enabling browser caching allows for faster loading times for returning visitors, as their browsers will have stored previously accessed data. A CDN stores copies of a website’s files in multiple servers worldwide, allowing for quicker access to website content regardless of the user’s location.

By optimizing website speed, small businesses can enhance the overall customer experience and increase their chances of converting visitors into customers. It also helps with search engine optimization (SEO), as faster loading websites are favored by search engines and rank higher on search results pages. - Alex Taylor, Head of Marketing, CrownTV

Test Usability and Simplify App Design
Here are a few exercises to optimize your website design to actually improve UX:
1. Test your app’s usability. Either watch people use your app in person, use testing software, or open it up to a group of beta testers. Get feedback from only real users and take notes.
2. Simplify your app. Review your app and think about what you can remove. Cut out unnecessary features and duplicate controls.
3. Try new designs. Come up with two to three completely different designs for your app and experiment with them. You can start with simple sketches or build a working prototype.
- CJ Looi, Co-Founder and CEO, Pixcap

Feature Testimonials and Streamline Navigation
In my capacity as a specialist in local SEO and digital marketing for small businesses, I’ve discovered that one effective strategy to improve the customer experience on websites involves prominently featuring testimonials and reviews. This approach leverages social proof, which can significantly influence consumer behavior by building trust and credibility. For instance, for a local café client, integrating a dynamic section on their homepage that highlighted customer reviews led to increased engagement, with a measurable uptick in online reservations. Another pivotal aspect is the integration of an intuitive call-to-action (CTA). CTAs are vital for directing visitor behavior and enhancing user engagement. In this respect, ensuring that these buttons or links are visible and compelling can drive conversions. We implemented this with a local landscaping business where strategically placed CTAs for free consultation offers resulted in a 40% increase in service inquiries, demonstrating the power of clear and immediate actions for users to take. Furthermore, streamlining the information architecture of the website to ensure that users can navigate the site with ease is crucial. Simplicity here is key. A project that perfectly exemplifies this involved simplifying the menu structure for an artisan bakery’s website, making it easier for visitors to find and order their preferred products. This change not only improved usability but also enhanced the overall aesthetic appeal of the site, which in return boosted their sales significantly. By emphasizing ease of navigation and effective use of CTAs, small businesses can create a pleasantly efficient user experience that directly impacts customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
- Steven Morse, Owner, SEM by Design

Prioritize Accessibility and User-Interface Design
In my journey through founding and managing multiple startups focused on digital marketing and software solutions, I’ve seen the pivotal role of user-focused website design in enhancing customer experience. One effective strategy that consistently delivers results is optimizing website accessibility and inclusivity. Ensuring that your website is accessible to individuals with disabilities not only broadens your potential customer base but also enhances the overall user experience. For example, during my tenure at my second startup, making our clients’ websites fully accessible led to a noticeable increase in customer satisfaction scores and a broader customer demographic.

Additionally, incorporating intelligent user-interface designs can significantly improve the ease of site navigation and overall user interaction. Based on my experience, implementing features like predictive search and a logically organized navigation menu can drastically reduce the user effort required to locate information or products. In one instance, tweaking the navigation structure based on user journey analytics led to a 30% decrease in bounce rate and a significant increase in session durations.
Moreover, keeping your website’s loading speed in check is vital. Users are increasingly impatient with slow websites, and even a one-second delay can drastically affect user satisfaction and conversions. At my digital marketing company, we prioritized optimizing page load speeds across all client websites by compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing JavaScript, which cumulatively cut down load times by over 40%, significantly enhancing user retention and conversion rates. This hands-on focus on technical performance, along with strategic user-interface design and accessibility, forms a cornerstone of delivering an improved customer experience for small business websites. - Joe Amaral, Founder and COO, Anthem Software

Develop a Personalized Learning Hub
Small businesses can significantly enhance their customer experience by developing a personalized learning hub on their websites. The importance of education in consumer interaction cannot be overstated. Understanding not just what a product or service does, but also how to use it best and why it fits their specific needs, can give customers the confidence to make a purchase and increase satisfaction afterward. A personalized learning hub could be an integral part of the customer journey, showcasing interactive tutorials, in-depth how-to guides, and informative webinars. If these materials address frequent queries or specific interests of your target audience, they not only solve their immediate problems but also pique their curiosity to explore the topic further. Offering such valuable content can establish your business as a trusted expert in your field.
- Mary Tung, Founder and CEO, Lido.app

Enhance the Visual Content Function and Aesthetic
I’ve extensively dealt with various aspects of website design that directly impact user experience and business outcomes. One fundamental area small businesses can enhance is the aesthetic and functional integration of visual content. For instance, in a project documented on July 14, 2017, for a rubber surfacing solutions company, we streamlined the arrangement of small images to improve navigability and aesthetic appeal. This not only balanced the visual elements but also made the information more digestible, which is crucial for retaining visitor interest and improving user interaction metrics. Moreover, understanding and implementing an effective call-to-action (CTA) strategy can dramatically shift the customer experience. On multiple projects, including the design of an extensive digital portfolio, we’ve deployed strategically placed CTAs that are visually distinct and contextually placed based on user behavior data. This method has proved effective in guiding users through a seamless flow, significantly boosting conversion rates. For example, subtle changes like contrasting colors for CTAs increased visibility and user engagement, according to our website analytics.

Lastly, my experience has shown that responsiveness and speed optimization are non-negotiable for enhancing customer experience on small business websites. Implementing responsive design frameworks and optimizing image sizes and scripts ensures that websites load quickly and function smoothly across all devices, which is instrumental in reducing bounce rates and improving overall satisfaction. During a marketing revamp for a local boutique, addressing these facets resulted in a 40% increase in time spent on the site, correlating directly to higher sales conversions.

These practical, data-backed improvements to website design not only enrich user experience but also drive substantial business growth. - Ronak Kothari, Creative Director, Rubcorp

Regularly Update Content for Freshness
From my insight in this industry, it’s important that a brand regularly updates content and keeps their website fresh in order to enhance the overall customer experience. Fresh content not only provides value to your visitors but also signals to them that your brand is active, relevant, and invested in keeping up with important trends to meet their needs. It helps to consistently create and share new blog posts, articles, product updates, or other relevant content so you can keep visitors engaged and encourage them to return to your site for valuable insights and information.

Updating content can also improve your website’s SEO performance as search engines favor websites that regularly publish fresh, high-quality content, which can result in higher rankings and increased visibility in search results. This, in turn, drives more organic traffic to your website and exposes your brand to a wider audience. Also, keeping your website fresh with different graphics and content draws people in. It creates a small amount of excitement that is great enough to keep them on your website and keep people coming back. - Sean Carroll, Founder and Director, Vixen Digital

Focus on Intuitiveness and Accessibility
In my professional journey designing and enhancing digital platforms for startups and established companies, focusing on intuitiveness and simplicity has consistently proven to drastically improve user engagement and satisfaction. For example, while redesigning the search experience for an online marketplace in 2019 using React components, we prioritized creating an intuitive user interface that could handle complex queries with simplicity. This redesign was positively received and used by millions, significantly reducing user effort and increasing interaction rates. Another area that small businesses could focus on to enhance customer experience is optimizing the accessibility of their web design. While working with a fintech startup in 2018, part of our design overhaul included ensuring that the software was not only visually appealing but also accessible to a diverse user base, including those with disabilities. This inclusive approach fostered wider usability and was crucial in the startup’s successful acquisition later on.

Delving into technical specifics, implementing responsive design principles is non-negotiable. At DriveTribe, a community for automotive enthusiasts that I assisted in growing, we managed a full redesign for their platforms across iOS, Android, and web, which was responsive across all devices. This overhaul was pivotal in helping the platform scale to one million users by offering a seamless experience whether on a desktop or a mobile device. Ensuring that your site performs efficiently across different devices not only enhances user interaction but also impacts your SEO positively. - Hansjan Kamerling, Co-Founder, Adaptify AI

Tailor Responsive Design and Optimize Visuals
As someone with experience in digital marketing and website design for small businesses, I’ve often witnessed the significant impact of prioritizing user experience. A critical element that enhances customer experience is developing a responsive design tailored not only for desktop but also for mobile and tablet use. Considering that a substantial portion of internet traffic comes from mobile devices, ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is paramount. One practical example from my tenure at AQ Marketing involved redesigning a local bakery’s website where we focused on a mobile-first approach. We found that converting their menu into a simplified, touch-friendly navigation interface increased mobile visitor retention by over 40%. Such an approach is not only beneficial for user satisfaction but also critical for improving search engine ranking since mobile-friendliness is a key ranking factor for Google.

Another impactful strategy is optimizing the visual elements of the website. A balance between high-quality images and overall site speed is crucial. For instance, we employed image compression techniques and responsive image solutions to ensure faster loading times without compromising on quality. This change helped a small business client improve their page load speed, which directly correlated with a decrease in bounce rates and an increase in page views per session. In providing these tweaks, businesses can drastically improve the navigational experience and satisfaction of their end users. Successfully implementing these strategies requires a keen understanding of both technical SEO and creative design — areas where my past roles and experiences provide valuable insight. - Robert P. Dickey, President and CEO, AQ Marketing

Adopt a Mobile-First Website Strategy
One of the most effective ways for small businesses to enhance their website design and improve their customer experience is to optimize their website for mobile devices. According to statistics, more than half of the world’s website traffic originates on mobile devices, which has steadily increased over time. At Fuel Logic, one of our top priorities was creating a mobile-first website. We wanted it to be responsive and easily navigable on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This strategy includes streamlining the site’s structure, speeding up page loading times, and making buttons and links as simple as possible to tap with your finger. Features like ‘click-to-call’ buttons can also significantly improve mobile users’ experience. Not only does this improve the user experience, but it also helps improve search engine rankings, as Google prefers mobile-friendly websites. By optimizing for mobile, small businesses not only meet the needs of today’s mobile-centric consumers but also set a new standard for convenience and accessibility that can help them stand out in a crowded market.

As more and more people access their services on their mobile devices, it’s only natural for small businesses to want to reach as many people as possible and as many customers as possible. By optimizing for mobile, you’ll be able to reach more people than ever before and have a better chance of keeping them coming back for more. - Eliot Vancil, CEO, Fuel Logic

Prioritize Simplicity and Mobile Optimization
I’ve found that prioritizing simplicity and user-friendliness is an effective method to improve their website design for a better customer experience. Streamlining the navigation and layout of the website ensures that customers can easily find what they’re looking for without feeling overwhelmed or confused. This involves organizing content logically, using clear headings and labels, and minimizing clutter to create a clean and intuitive interface. Optimizing the website for mobile devices is essential, as more and more customers are accessing websites through smartphones and tablets. By ensuring that the website is responsive and mobile-friendly, businesses can provide a seamless browsing experience across all devices, enhancing customer satisfaction and engagement.

By focusing on simplicity, user-friendliness, and mobile optimization, small businesses can significantly improve the customer experience. This approach not only makes it easier for customers to navigate the website and find the information they need but also reflects positively on the brand’s professionalism and credibility. Ultimately, prioritizing these aspects of website design contributes to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, business success.
- Dickie Paterson, CEO and Founder, Homegrown Cannabis Co.

Organize Site Structure for Navigation Ease
In my experience leading That Local Pack, a premier SEO agency in Sacramento, I’ve found that one effective way small businesses can enhance their website design for better customer experience is by optimizing the site structure for ease of navigation. A well-organized website with a logical flow can significantly reduce user frustration and boost engagement. For instance, we recently restructured a local auto service provider’s website by streamlining their service categories into a more intuitive layout, which resulted in a 30% increase in user session time. Another key aspect is the implementation of responsive design. Ensuring that your website performs seamlessly on desktops, tablets, and smartphones is crucial as it affects not only user experience but also SEO rankings. From a project where we transitioned a home repair company’s website to a fully responsive design, we observed a 25% decrease in bounce rate and a notable uptick in mobile traffic.

Lastly, prioritizing page load speed can tremendously improve user satisfaction. Users tend to abandon sites that take too long to load, so optimizing images, leveraging browser caching, and minifying CSS and JavaScript files are essential steps. When we implemented these speed optimization techniques for a cleaning services website, there was an impressive 40% improvement in load time, which corresponded with a growth in page views and a reduction in user abandonment rates. These real-time improvements are central to not just retaining visitors but also converting them into customers.
- Ken Fortney, Founder, That Local Pack