Is your website working hard enough for you?
Your site should be a 24/7 sales and marketing tool for your business, but if viewers can’t find what they’re looking for or get frustrated, they’ll leave. Fast.
In fact, recent research from Stanford and Missouri Universities showed that viewers size up your brand within the first 2.6 seconds of arriving on your site. If they don’t like what they see, they’ll move on – and you may lose a sale. If they stick around after those first few seconds, they need to be able to find what they’re looking for.
Here are 7 common web design mistakes that can mean the difference between gaining new customers and losing them:
- Your site doesn’t work well on mobile devices
Having a mobile-ready site is no longer an option – it’s a must. Over 64% of American adults now own a smartphone, and they’re using those phones much more often to browse the Internet, do research, make contact and buy online. Your site will be viewed on all kinds of devices – a variety of smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, etc. – and should work on all of them.
- You have bad links
Inactive or bad links frustrate viewers and hurt your SEO rankings. No one wants to navigate through your site only to find that the one page they’re REALLY interested in is gone. Check your site frequently for outdated links. There are a number of free tools available, such as Google Webmaster Tools, that can quickly crawl your site and identify problems.
- You have bad copy
Here, “bad” refers to a number of possible problems, including multiple typos, errors, outdated information, boring or unhelpful content. Fonts that are hard to read or too small also hinder viewers. Make sure you proofread, pay attention to readability (or have someone review the site for you) and keep your content updated. Your content should be engaging and help tell your story. If you need help creating good content, consider hiring a professional.
- Your site has poor navigation
Viewers want to be able to find their way around your site quickly and easily. Links should be easily visible and clickable, and menus should be easy to follow. With the proper navigation, you not only help your readers find their way around, but direct them to take action – buy your product, join your email list, call you, etc.
- Your contact information is hard to find
Rather than dig through your site – or if they tried and couldn’t find what they were looking for – some customers want to contact you directly. If nothing else, make contact information easy to find so people can reach out by phone or email.
- Your contact form is too long
How much information do you really need? No one wants to spend all day filling out a form with their business name, industry, date of birth, area of interest, name of their first grade teacher, etc. And most of the time, they won’t. Especially on a first visit to your site, viewers won’t want to share too much personal information. The simpler you make your form, the more likely people will be to fill it out.
- You don’t really know how – or if – your site is working for you at all
Do you have Google Analytics set up? Do you check your reports regularly? Have you done a website analysis/audit to see where your site could be improved? If the answer to all of these questions is “No,” it’s time to take action. What you don’t know could be hurting your bottom line much more than you realize.
Need help improving your site or completing a website audit? Contact us today to find out how we can help.
