Top Service Business Website Designs and How to Get the Look

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Search Engine Land’s Local Consumer Review Survey found that about 85% of consumers use the Internet when seeking a local business. In today’s digital economy, having a beautifully designed and user friendly website is a must. That’s easy to say, and you may even have a few competitor websites in mind that you love the look of, but achieving a top service business website design isn’t that simple. Fortunately, you can learn a lot by studying successful designs.
#1 Responsive Designs
A responsive design adapts to the size screen the browser is utilizing. Since around 52% of those online now browse websites from their mobile devices, it only makes sense to make sure your website will adapt to smaller screen sizes, but still look amazing on larger screens. You should look in the description of the theme you want to use for the word “responsive” or for the words “mobile friendly”. If you are hiring a designer, talk to the designer about making sure your site will respond well to different screen sizes.

A great example of responsive design can be seen at the site for Sasquatch Festival. Notice how the look is similar on both the desktop and mobile device options.

# 2 Navigation
Have you ever visited a website and can’t figure out where to go to find the info you need? What did you do? Likely, you bounced away and went to a different site, possibly a competitor. It takes a lot of effort to drive traffic to your website, so the last thing you want to do is have that traffic bounce away because they can’t figure out your navigation.

It is probably best to stick with a standard navigation structure that people are used to seeing. You should have some categories across the top of the page or right/left top, and repeated at the bottom of the page. Don’t try to get cutesy with the wording. Leave it simple, such as “Home”, “Contact Us”, and “About”.

A good example of basic navigation can be found on the site Three Sixty Property Group. Notice how the navigation is just simple across the top and the wording clearly indicates what each page contains.

# 3 Color Psychology
Books have been written about the psychology behind color. It is a very complex issue and no two sources seem to agree 100% about the meaning of different colors or their effectiveness. In the Impact of Color in Marketing Study, scientists discovered that 90% of first impressions about a website or logo can be impacted simply by how much the visitor things the color is appropriate to the brand.

The best thing to do is look at your current branding. Make sure it fits your missions and goals of the company. If so, then your website design should somewhat match your logo and color scheme you already have in place. When a customer sees your logo on the side of a technician’s van or online, he should easily recognize the similar design as your company branding.

For example, think about Lipton Tea. You likely think summertime, sun tea, and refreshing drinks. This is due to much of the branding the company has put in place. Note how their overall website design uses sunny colors that tie into their logo color.

# 4 Call to Action
Call to actions (CTAs) drive your site visitors to take some type of action. You want to grab those site visitors and add them to your mailing list. This can be as simple as adding a button or some text that calls for action on the part of the site visitor. Even better, offer a free home insulation guide or video if they’ll sign up. Gathering some basic info from your site visitors allows you to market to these potential customers over and over throughout the year.

Keep call to actions short and to the point and use action words. Examples: “Get Free Insulation Guide” or “Learn How to Change a Filter”.

A strong CTA example can be seen over at Less Accounting. This service business offers easy online accounting options for businesses. Notice how they add a free trial option. The amount of info required to start the free trial is minimal (an email and name). They use a CTA button with the words “Start Now: 5 Minute Setup”. In addition, the site uses a CTA Popup that asks if you want a guide called “10 Ways You’re Probably Messing Up Your Invoices”. This is an excellent way to stay connected with those who visit the site and turn visitors into leads.

You can easily find WordPress themes on WordPress.org, purchase them from sites like Theme Monster and from private designers. However, taking the time to plan out the features of your design is equally as important as the design itself.  With a little planning, your site should stand out above the competition and get you more leads than ever before.

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