To succeed, every business needs to allocate part of their budget to website design and marketing. In fact, for companies who make less than $5 million in sales annually, it’s recommended that 7-8% of that should go on marketing.

The purpose of marketing is to promote and grow your business, and designing a killer website will only enhance your company’s prospects. If you’re starting an IT company, congrats on taking the first step. Here’s a helpful guide to website design and marketing, so your company will succeed!

Website Design

Your website is the online storefront to your IT company, and it needs to look good, otherwise, all those potential customers are going to just walk on by. After all, a company specializing in all things digital needs to keep its online game strong.

Maybe you’re wondering how to improve a website if your site’s up and running, but needs an injection of new energy. Or, if you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need to get familiar with the basics. Either way, the following tools will give your website the professional look and feel it needs.

Maintain a Pacy Loading Speed

By virtue of the fact that your company is based in information technology, having a fast website that’s quick to load is a given. If any potential customer finds your site clunky or slow, you can pretty much kiss that sale goodbye.

High speeds cost money, but for your business, it’s an investment worth making. Your website can serve as an idea of what makes a good website design. Use your site as part of your portfolio and show customers what to expect if they pick you.

KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

Don’t over complicate your site, period. Before you start, sit down and plan out exactly what you want your website to achieve. If e-commerce is part of your business plan, make sure your products are easy to access and clearly visible.

By ensuring your website has a clear and structured flow to it, clients will find it easy to understand and navigate. Fancy effects and cool graphics are great in context, but if they complicate navigation, get rid of them.

Choose Your Colors Wisely

Remember those groovy retro colors from the 70s, all bundled together in wavy lines and lava lamps? While they’re great in context, would you want to decorate your living room with them?

When thinking about what makes a good website design, the psychology of color shows that color can affect the mood of a consumer. And a few well-chosen colors lead to greater results than many different hues, which tend to confuse rather than amuse.

Use a Legible Typeface

To make the content on your website really pop, you’ll need to also choose your typeface carefully. Research has shown that certain fonts make a greater impact due to their legibility than other, more intricate fonts.

Choose a font that is easy to read no matter its weight, or if it’s italicized. And while it’s fine to use more than one typeface on your website, it’s best to limit it to 3, and use them comprehensively.

For example, pick one font for your titles and run with it. Your client base will quickly learn your method, and they’ll be better able to navigate and understand your website, which is just what you’re looking for.

Write Quality Content

The text and information contained on your site make up your content. Any written information needs to be properly spelled and grammatically correct. While it may seem that your ideas are more important than the way they read, this simply isn’t true.

Many consumers will judge a company based on how professional they appear, and good spelling and grammar are the basic nuts and bolts of professionalism. If proper punctuation isn’t your thing, why not hire a writer to do it for you.

Remember: Less Is More

Any web designer worth their salt will use white space. White space is basically all the nooks and crannies and spaces on a screen between your buttons, images, and text. It might be tempting to fill in those gaps, but you need to resist.

The clever use of white space will leave consumers wanting more. It will make your website and blog easy to read, and your main points will stand out as intended. Using this ‘less is more’ approach will help give your IT website the edge over your competitors.

Marketing

Now you’ve got your website done and dusted, the next step is hooking some customers. There are lots of ways to get people interested in your business. Let’s look at a few marketing tools you’ll need in your arsenal.

Offer Customer Discounts

Who doesn’t love something for nothing? In the world of business, an investment in customer discounts will yield far greater rewards than your basic spend. Offering a discount to prospective customers could be the thing to reel in new clientele.

And you don’t want to forget your existing customers, either. Rewarding your client base for their loyalty will further incentivize them to use your IT services above anyone else’s.

Reward Word-Of-Mouth Marketing

Never forget that the best kind of marketing is word-of-mouth. After all, before modern advertising methods, word-of-mouth was one of the only means of promotion around.

Businesses often work in a community setting, so always remember the potential of your clients’ professional network. Do a good job, and it’s likely they’ll recommend you to a friend. Offer an incentive to one or both parties, and you’ll be sure to get their tongues wagging.

Don’t Dismiss Email Marketing

It can be easy to think that email marketing is a thing of the past, but in this new age of consumer knowledge, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather than being blindly sold a product or service, today’s consumer wants to be educated.

An email marketing campaign is a great way to flex those intellectual muscles and give consumers a little taste of the knowledge your company has stored away.

Opportune emails will also remind customers you’re there and ready to help when the time comes, whenever that is.

Remember Social Media

Social media has taken over in terms of digital marketing. There are over 2.5 billion users of social media, with 1 million new users being added each day. When you think in terms of new customer potential, the only limit is your imagination.

When creating an online social media presence, don’t stick to a single platform. Rather, research your target market and choose a few or several platforms to promote from.

The social media channel you use will depend on your target consumer. For example, if your IT business is marketing to fellow business owners, then platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are a few obvious choices.

Educate Your Client Base

As we just mentioned, today’s consumer wants to learn more about a product or service before they invest. A blog is a great way to fill clients in on things they didn’t know, and show there’s plenty more where that came from.

Reviews of your services on a company blog could be a good way to show what makes you different or better than the competition. And how-tos or tutorials will give them a nugget of value, another something for nothing, that promotes goodwill and shows off your expertise.

Collaborate with Others in Your Field

Guest posts are another great way to reach out to potential clients. Writing a guest post for a business-leader or non-competitor will allow your business to be seen by hundreds, thousands – potentially millions – of prospects.

For example, imagine your IT company specializes in software implementation. Collaborating with computer network services will open you up to a whole host of potential clients. If these clients need the services you provide, then you’re in business, baby.

Show Them You Care

More than anything, customers like to feel like more to a business than a figure in a bank account or a number on a spreadsheet. By personally reaching out to customers, you show them you’re interested and that you care.

Again, reaching out through well-timed emails is a great way to remind consumers that you’re there, and available to help. A bi-monthly or quarterly automated email could be just what you need to build trust and goodwill with your customer base.

Get Going with Website Design and Marketing

Website design and marketing are essential for your IT company to succeed – there’s a reason why big businesses spend tens of millions of dollars on their websites and marketing campaigns, with no signs of stopping.

To appeal to customers and show your substance, you’ll need a strong online storefront (your website), and a comprehensive marketing program. When you get your ducks in a row this way, your fledgling IT business is sure to take off, and you’ll have customers rolling in, in no time.

Is your IT company looking for graphic design business advice, but you don’t know where to turn? Why not check out our blog for tips and advice that’ll help grow your graphic design business.