Small business web design FAQs

Key takeaways

Summary/Overview

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Getting web design right

A lot goes into a good website for a small business. It needs to attract visitors, look appealing, and be easy to navigate. When planning how to create a website for your small business, getting direction from others is a great place to start.

To find out what types of web design tips small-business owners and designers are looking for online, we analyzed search trends for the most frequently asked questions and topics. We also surveyed hundreds of small-business owners about their biggest web design questions and potential redesign plans. Their answers may inspire you to start planning or improving your small business website today.

Common website building questions

The website building process often begins with researching how to do it and what works best. These top web design-related internet searches can help you get started.

Many people start by deciding on the look and feel they want their website to have. Since 2019, online searches for “website design inspiration” have increased more than any other web design topic, indicating that more people are taking an interest in web design. And in the past 12 months, these related topics have stood out among the rest based on search volume increase:

What else can we learn about website design and management from online searches across the U.S.?

Top questions by state

Now that we’ve seen which web design searches are trending, let’s look at how these increases vary by U.S. state.

Compared to national averages, we saw more searches related to web design coming from California and New York than any other state in the last 12 months. But that might have more to do with their large population than general interest. The less densely populated Kansas made the most “website design” searches online per person: 176 searches per 100,000 residents.

The states searching the most for the other top website-related terms we studied were:

We also found some U.S. cities were more curious about these things than others.

Top questions by city

Next, we’ll break down the top website-related questions by U.S. city.

In Los Angeles, “website design” got the highest number of total searches out of all the related topics we measured. But accounting for population, Atlanta might be the most curious about it since it made the most of these searches per 100,000 residents (425). This was also the city searching the most for “website builder.”

By this measure, the other cities doing the most online searching about each topic were:

Small business plans for 2023

The information you’ll need to make a great small business website depends on what you want to promote or sell. Let’s see what small-business owners are focusing on this year when it comes to their website design, content, and management.

We surveyed hundreds of small-business owners about the most important features of their websites, and almost half said it was design (46%). Those who owned marketing companies were most likely to say so (68%). After all, first impressions are everything when it comes to marketing, and the first thing a visitor notices is how a website looks.

But while design is one key to a successful website, the content is what brings people there in the first place. That’s why SEO optimization is so important and what most small-business owners we surveyed said they’re most focused on for improving their websites. They also shared other website features they plan to revamp this year:

Building or revamping your website

Design has been the top focus of website-related searches for years, but there’s never been a more crucial time to improve the look and navigation of your business’s website. People across the U.S. are also comparing website builders and learning more about web design these days, from the populous New York and California (especially Los Angeles) to more rural states like Kansas and Idaho. So, if you’ve been wanting to hone your web design skills, now is the time.

Most small-business owners agree that design is the top factor of a good website (especially for marketing purposes). But they’re also looking into SEO to ramp up their web efforts. So, keep in mind that your site’s content is just as important as how it looks and feels. If you’re not well-versed in SEO, you can spruce yours up by hiring an SEO expert.

Are you searching for design inspiration, too? Adobe Express helps you make standout content for any platform, and if you’re not a designer, it’s not a problem. Our intuitive tools help you make anything you need — from company logos to website banners — quickly and easily.

Methodology

For this study, we leveraged Google Search trends to gather search volume for commonly asked web design questions. Question topics ranged from SEO and marketing to design. The date range of search volume collected was from January 2019 to December 2022. Supplementarily, we surveyed 466 small-business owners about their biggest web design questions and potential website redesign.

Fair Use Statement

You’re welcome to share any of our above findings for any non-commercial purpose, but we kindly ask that you link to this study in doing so.

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