People are getting used to giant companies providing all of their services and products. That's why I believe you have the advantage in many cases. Sure, some people will always go for the larger company when provided the choice but I believe most people are more inclined to do business with a small business. That is why I think you should make your website personal. Here are my 3 favorite ways to make a website seem personal_

1. Pictures of You and Your Staff

Nothing says "personal" like a face. People love to see faces. They feel more comfortable about spending their dollars with you when they see who you are. That's why I believe you should provide a fairly apparent way for people to see pictures of you and/or your staff. An about page would be great for this purpose. You don't necessarily need to put your pictures on the home page but make it easy for people to find you.

2. Use Natural Language

When you're talking to a customer face to face, you aren't spouting marketing jargon or technical knowledge. You are being friendly and helpful and using the best terminology you can to relate to the layman. This is what you need to do on your website. Make sure it is compelling and makes them want to take the next step to use your product or service but make it down to earth at the same time.

3. Have a Phone Number

A huge mistake that many big businesses make is not having a phone number. Apparently, when their revenues blow up and they get thousands of customers, they don't proportionally scale the phone answerers... anyways. Having a phone number on your site will make you seem more personal. Even if you aren't able to answer the phone 24/7, let them leave messages and get back to them.

Making your website more personal is a very important step. It will lead to your customers being more comfortable with spending money on your site and trusting your business. There are many more ways to do this through the website you build, social networking, and others so don't limit yourself. Get out there and make it happen! Make a free website at http_//webstarts.com/.