Are You Embarrassed by Your Website? Avoid These 10 Mistakes {Updated}
How much time does the average person spend on a website before they decide it’s useful or simply navigate away from it? Less than 15 seconds. To avoid common website mistakes and make a positive impression, it’s crucial to optimize your website’s design and content. With so many websites competing for attention, avoiding these mistakes will ensure your company stands out.
To help you get it right, here are 10 mistakes to avoid.
Cluttered Homepage
Your homepage is the first impression anyone visiting your website gets of your company. When setting up your website you may be tempted to “get as much in there” as possible, thinking that the more your customers see, the more interested they will be. One of the biggest website mistakes is having a cluttered homepage. Keeping it simple and streamlined helps create a great first impression.
Think of your home page as a jewelry box. You wouldn’t wear all your jewelry at once, so why would you clutter your homepage with too many images, sounds and fonts? When it comes to your home page, less is more. Keep it simple and streamlined. Stick to one font and use a limited number of images.
No Call to Action
You might not deem it necessary to add a call to action on your website because you don’t want to appear too pushy. Well, in this digital age, it’s all about marketing.
Your call to action needs to urge your potential clients to act now:
- Buy now
- Sign up now
- Invest now
- Order now
Put the NOW back into your website. This goes for your landing page design too. If you want to make your website landing page convert for every lead that lands onto it, then CTAs are the most important design element.
Insufficient White Space
White space refers to the space around your design, images, content, or links. Again, thinking that you need to cram as much information into a small space isn’t the way to go. Imagine a visitor’s frustration at not being able to click on the correct link because it’s placed too close to other links. Following minimal graphic design guidelines you can create a pleasing design without compromising on function. Again, less is more.
Frustrating Navigation
The 21st century is a time of fast-paced everything. We talk faster, we walk faster and we want things done faster than before. With the internet at our fingertips, you can search for anything at any time.
With this in mind, why would you tolerate a website that requires you to follow several links to just view the information that you may or not be interested in?
Make the navigation bars easy-to-use, and suited to the theme of your site. The golden rule here is your page and links shouldn’t take more than three seconds to load.
Lack of a Search Box
Whether you’re selling a product or advertising a service, your website needs a search box. This will enable visitors to find relevant information fast. People won’t follow link after link to find information, they’ll rather leave your page. Make it simple for them and you’ll have more interaction.
Boring Content
The only thing worse than too much content is boring content. Correctly structuring your content will determine the success of your website. Ensure your content is relevant, consistent and organized.
Automatic Music in the Background
When people started creating their own websites, the craze was to create them with all the bells and whistles. Some people are still taking this approach too literal. Your website isn’t an elevator, so visitors don’t want to listen to music while they wait for your links to load. It’s distracting and your choice of music may drive people from your site.
Social Media Icons
You may think that including a social media icon makes your page relevant, but it can distract from the purpose of your page. Yes, include social media details within in your content, in a manner that’s relevant to your page, but don’t let it distract visitors from the reason they clicked on your page in the first place.
Poor Usability
The goal here is to have clear legibility. Visitors shouldn’t have to squint and zoom to try and see what your website is about.
Practical tips like the following can help:
- Avoid bright colors and backgrounds that contrast with your fonts
- Letter size shouldn’t be too small or too big
- Select a font that’s simple to read
Not Mobile Friendly
We are fast becoming a generation of people constantly connected to our devices. We want to be able to access information wherever we are. Your site needs to be mobile-friendly so it can easily adjust to different devices’ screen sizes. Google Analytics is a program that’ll assist you in identifying your visitors’ screen resolutions.
Not Secure
Identity theft and hacking are becoming commonplace and visitors have become more cautious about where they enter their details. If your website asks for any form of personal information, your site needs to be secure.
Conclusion
Your website is one area of your business that you should ask a professional to assist you with. The general rule is to keep it simple and streamlined while creating a professional and relevant look and feel. A successful website will enhance your online presence, so it’s worth the investment! By avoiding these website mistakes, you can create a streamlined, user-friendly experience that keeps visitors engaged and enhances your brand’s online presence. Which of these 10 mistakes are you going to eliminate today?
Blogger Profile
Michelle Richards loves to chew on words, graphic design and bubble gum. Her writing reflects all this combination – practical, aesthetical, and fun. She also likes to explore technical topics such as web development, and gadget reviews.
Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash