Top 8 Website Mistakes And How To Fix Them
Did you create your website without really knowing what you were doing? Or maybe it’s been a long time since you really looked close and evaluated your website? It’s always a good idea to check in on our websites and re-evaluate the value they are bringing to our business and our potential customers. Here are some suggestions for improvement!
1. Lack of Content Planning
Desperate to get their website online as quickly as possible, business owners end up rushing through the most important part– the content. Your website content, when done properly, is what connects your potential customers to your story and your brand values. Your content should answers questions and inspire action. Learn more about content planning for your website here.
2. Missing a Clear Call to Action
Users need to be guided seamlessly through your website and told what to do. Each chunk of content should have a purpose to help users accomplish their goals and drive your business objectives. So if your goal for your hero area is to help users understand what you do to solve their problems then what action do they take next? Using an active and direct voice like Shop Now, Contact Us, Learn More etc. will drive action.
3. Bad Mobile Experience
With numbers now leaning to over 70% of people will only ever see your website on their mobile devices, your website needs to perform and work the same if not better then your desktop experience. If this is your website it is time to do what you need to do to make this experience right for your users.
4. Poor Navigation
Are you guilty of just throwing up pages or products on your website without thinking through how your users will intuitively navigate to these pages? Do your potential customers a favour and take the time to think through what category structures will help them navigate to what they are looking for as quickly as possible. And while you are it, drop the “unique” or “funny” navigation items. These only confuse people, your categories should be clear and conventional to prevent confusion.
5. Poor Quality Photos And Images
Pixelated unclear photos really detract from the overall user experience. Do your brand and your customers a favour and use professional stock photography and a professional photographer that will really help you show up for your business and your clients. A few favourite Stock Photography sites of mine are Stocksy and Clio and Fox both Canadian with beautiful photography. My favourite brand photographer is Nathalie Amlani of Pictonat
6. Broken Links and Blank Pages
Never show your users pages that are not ready, (ie coming soon) keep them hidden as this looks unprofessional, and makes for a bad experience as users don’t want to spend time navigating to a page that brings no value. Make sure every page on your website is bringing your customers value and solving a problem, answering a question, or enhancing the discovery of content that is relevant. Also, double-check those links, mistakes happen but be respectful of people’s time and make sure that their clicks provide them with content not 404 pages!
7. No Email Newsletter or Sign-up strategy
Statistics say a customer has to be exposed to a brand 7x before they buy. Grab potential customers and keep your business top of mind with email campaigns. Make sure your website has a strategic opt-in to capture names and emails, and it’s prominent on your website!
8. No Blog
A blog brings personality and life to your website and helps to differentiate you from your competitors. Additionally, a blog will position you as an expert, build brand awareness and credibility. And finally, a blog that utilizes keywords, relevant content, and collaborations for link backs is an integral part of your website's search engine optimization (SEO)
