Small businesses need to stand out. Getting started in any niche is hard when there are already more prominent players; that\'s why having a website that distinguishes you from the rest is vital. Let\'s face it, everyone has a website, from your local mom n\' pop shop to your mini-influencer. It\'s your digital real estate on the internet to help you connect and reach new clients. A website is a cost-efficient marketing tool that focuses on YOU and the content you want to focus on. It will also help people get to know your brand better without you having to exert much effort. If you don\'t have a website yet or are looking to start one, we want to share 10 Creative Website Design Ideas For Small Businesses In 2020. You don\'t need anything too fancy to get started. It would help if you had a little push in the right direction. MAKE IT FUN Would you go through a website that\'s full of text and slideshow photos or a creative and engaging page that entertains as well as informs? Audiences love being able to consume content easily while being presented with your product and information. Information from SEMRush suggests that website users\' attention span only lasts for eight (8) seconds. Within that period, users can get distracted or click off for several reasons as it takes too long for the website to load, or the website might be hard to navigate. By engaging your audience efficiently with fun illustrations or designs, you can hold their attention longer, and visiting your website won\'t seem like such a chore. MAKE IT MOBILE FRIENDLY Everyone is on their phone. You might even be reading this from your phone. A website has to be mobile-friendly to increase your reach and to be accessible everywhere. Your website needs to be able to look good on both the PC and mobile. Google released a statement back in 2015 that they use mobile-friendly sites as a ranking signal. If you\'re unsure about making your site mobile-friendly, you can always tap a design company that can make this step much easier for you. In a way, this situation is two-pronged. You need to rank first on search results when customers look for your niche, and your potential clients need to have a website that is compatible with their mobile device. Phones are here to stay, and they\'re becoming more and more ingrained with our lives, from contacting our loved ones to online shopping. A profitable business knows that this form of marketing is essential. TELL A STORY The human brain is programmed to understand stories. One example of a website that knows how to sell their product and tell a story is Bagigia. They sell bags in a way that showcases their best product, then gives you a history of the designer and makes it fun while you scroll down, having a navigation bar that looks like a zipper. This is an example of what a website that tells a story looks like. You don\'t have to tell an actual once-upon-a-time story; you only have to structure the content into a story-like format. This will keep readers engaged, and your content will be easier to digest. You can find more examples of story-telling websites here. The best one would have to be the one by GoSquared, which tells the story of the Olympic games. CLEAR COPY When visitors look up your website, they want a solution to their problems. Whatever it may be, they\'re there to see how you can help them, even if the website\'s content is all about you and your product. That\'s why utilizing clear, and quality content copy is what you should focus on. Customers want to know the benefits of how you can help them rather than just only learning about your product or service. It\'s also important to note that some websites try to fit in as much \"below the fold\" when actually, what they should be doing is only including \"key\" features, which doesn\'t have to be all. Yes, we know, you\'ve got an amazing brand or company with all these fantastic features....but the thing is, not everyone will take the time to read it all. For example, Campos Coffee (no relation to the author of this post ) focuses on their product and how their customer would feel if they buy from them. Tapping into emotions is a key factor in keeping the attention of your audience. Aaron Walter wrote in his book, Designing for Emotion about how important the emotional experience is because they have a special imprint on your long-term memory and how users want to experience a human not machine connection on the other end. Never underestimate the power of key features and an emotional connection when writing content for your website. VIDEO One of the most underrated techniques to getting onto the first page of Google search rankings is through video. By having a video, you can get your message out to prospects faster, and it\'s easier to \"digest\" than reading blocks of text. A study by Biteable concluded that 6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television. You can hire a design team to create a short video for your company with your key points. Something fun and creative that catches the eye will have more engagement on your site. 92% of marketers consider this an essential tool. Think of it as a way for your prospects to understand your company or product better and for you to quickly get your message across. However, as pointed out by rocketspark, there is a time and place where the video is needed. Make it too long, and people won\'t click on it. Just like reading, a video requires a certain amount of time commitment. There are different kinds of videos like the introductory kind, the customer testimonial, and the instructions. A design company can help you decide what goes best on your website if you\'re unsure. FONT Fonts and their sizes may seem like a no-brainer, but it\'s one of the essential parts of your website. Your website should balance at least two to three fonts in different sizing so that you can highlight what\'s important and so your viewers can navigate your pages easily. If everything is the same size and font, your viewer may get lost in blocks of the same text. You can distinguish what is essential and what else is content when you use varying sized fonts. Neil Patel does a great job of making an example of a font and a typeface. Yes, there\'s a difference. An example of a website that uses this kind of technique is the blog itself. However, a designer will be able to tell the difference and can work with you about this. TYPEFACES It\'s important to note that there is a difference between typography and font. The thing about saying \'font\' and \'typeface\' is that they can be used interchangeably, but if a designer or anyone else asks for specifics, it\'s good to know the difference. Check out Google Fonts, they have a great selection of typefaces or \'fonts\' that you can use for your website. Your chosen typeface will have a huge impact on your website. It needs to be easy to read and understood by everyone. If you have a certain fondness for a typeface, but it\'s unreadable to everyone except you, then only you are enjoying it. We recommend browsing through Sans Serif. Most notable websites generally use this. The point of a website is to market yourself, yes. But it has to be about catering to the needs you can fulfill for your customers, and it needs to be understood easily, that can\'t be done if no one else will have the patience to read through rows and rows of a curvy or too compact typeface. Now isn’t this fun to read through? COLOR Did you know that colors can increase your brand recognition by up to 80%? Choosing your website\'s colors will create consistency and recognition that immediately will have people remembering you. There\'s a lot that goes into choosing the right color for your website. Colors are more than just a feature to make your website pop and standout. They can have an emotional effect and varied meanings depending on culture, personal history, and preferences, and you can\'t forget to think about those who are colorblind. Everyone has a different way of interpreting the color palette they like. Now, the impact that this seemingly minute detail can have on your brand or business is immense. Forbes has a small list about which colors affect which emotions can go with your brand or logo. Don\'t forget color consistency is key to keeping it clean and pleasing to the eye. STRUCTURE An important part of SEO is knowing how to structure your website to rank in Google\'s search engines. The structure is pretty self-explanatory too. Like this: Yoast can teach you website structure if you\'re having a hard time learning or can\'t figure out what to do. Another option is to hire a design team to give you some pointers. Simply put, website structure is how you organize everything on related topics about your website, business, or product. This way, it\'ll be easier for Google to scan and organize your website on where it should go on search engines. It isn\'t all about Google; it\'s about the user experience as well. Think of it like this; you want a site that can be understood for its content and enjoyed because it\'s easy on the eyes. If your site isn\'t structured well, users will have difficulty navigating where they want to go and may click off. Luckily, Yoast has more explanations about how and why structure is important. WHAT\'S NEXT? BRIGHTSAND designs is a full-service digital marketing agency that intends to help you get started on scaling your business! If you\'re looking for additional information on whether your website\'s effectiveness that you\'ve just created is working, we have more information in our blog post. There\'s a lot to learn now that everything has gone digital, and we can help you with that. About the author: Christina is a reader, art enthusiast, and dedicated to bringing ideas to life with heart and ingenuity through words. Thanks to more than one coffee, she can pluck words out of thin air and sew them into a magical content carpet.