10 Things Every Small-Business Website Needs

NEW YORK (BusinessInsider.com) -- The Web is full of horrendous sites, and we're not just talking about bad design. There are many other elements besides how your website looks that go into making it customer-friendly -- not to mention something that inspires people to actually do business with you.

From thorough contact information to customer testimonials, here are the essentials every small business website should have to help you do business best.

There are many bad small-business websites out there. Don't let yours be one.

1. A clear description of who you are
Someone who stumbles upon your website shouldn't have to investigate work to figure out what, exactly, it is that you do. That means clearly stating your name and summing up your products or services right on the home page, says John Zhuang, of Web-design and SEO-optimization firm Winning Interactive.

"Tell people this is the right website that they have been searching for," he says. "A clear description will attract the visitor's attention immediately within 2-3 seconds, and encourage them to stay on your website longer."

2. A simple, sensible Web address
Don't make things complicated.

"Your domain name is like your brand. It should be easy for a user to type it into a Web browser or an email address," says Ron Wright, the founder of business Web design and online marketing firm Accentix.

He adds: "I always recommend the .com domain, as users are conditioned to type that extension when they enter a Web address. For nonprofits or organizations, I usually recommend using a .org domain for branding purposes, but also recommend having a .com version of the domain in case a user accidentally types the .com address."

Wright also suggests avoiding dashes (which can cause SEO headaches) and numbers (which can cause confusion for customers).

3. An easily navigated site map
Clear links to the most important pages, and a site map, are crucial for guiding visitors to the information they're looking for.