small business

How to Make Your Small Business Website Easier to Read

small business website readability

Are you looking for a quick way to lose customers to your competitor? Just build a shoddy small business website! Some 89% of consumers shop with a direct competitor after suffering through a poor website experience.

While there are a number of ways to spruce up your website, we suggest you start with a boring but essential aspect of a solid business site: readability. Simply put, if your customers can’t easily read your website, they’re going to bail. But readability is about more than just the words on the page.

Here’s what you need to know.

White Space Is the Right Space

The average goldfish has a longer attention span than most humans, which means your website needs to have as few distractions as possible. Walls of text, kitschy graphics or other gimmicks meant to attract the eye are actually doing the opposite, overwhelming and distracting your reader.

White space is key to a good website. It gives the eyes a break and allows them to focus on what really matters. And the less information they have to take in, the more they’ll remember!

Fonts Are Your Friends

When people talk about your small business website, they’re probably not going to lead off with “The fonts they use are awesome!” But the fonts you choose are making an impression, even if it’s only subconsciously.

Imagine a neurosurgeon’s website using Comic Sans or an online toy store using 16-point Copperplate Gothic Bold. It’s a mismatch from the start, and your would-be customers will definitely notice. Fonts that are too small or “artsy” to easily read are also no-nos.

Contrast Your Colors

Like fonts, the colors you choose for your website invoke an emotion in people and can make or break your readability rating. Too little contrast creates eye strain. Too much contrast (or clashing colors) looks gaudy and unprofessional. (Remember your very first MySpace or GeoCities page? Do the opposite of that.)

When in doubt, stick with colors that accurately reflect your brand and complement your existing marketing materials like your logo and signage.

Make It Simple to Scan

Most people aren’t heading to your website because they’re looking for a long pleasure read. They’re there for a purpose, whether that’s to browse your wares, get an answer to a question or find your contact information. Make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for by making your site simple to scan.

Lists and bullet points are a great way to keep your information scannable. Instead of searching through walls for text, the information your customers are looking for is right at their fingertips.

Use Pictures to Tell Your Story

Who says a story can only be told with words? The brain processes images 60,000 times faster than it does text, which means that graphics and pictures will resonate with your audience far quicker than words will.

We’re not suggesting you turn your website into a Dick and Jane picture book from your kindergarten days, but there’s nothing wrong with adding visual elements to help your site read better!

Small Business Website Readability Is FUNdamental!

Your website isn’t a bestselling novel, and no one is expecting it to be. But the way you convey the information matters more than you think! From creating more white space to using the right colors and fonts, a few simple tweaks can make your small business website easier than ever for your customers to read.

Looking for more ways to make your website stand out from the crowd? Mischa Communications has you covered. Let’s get started!