7 Biggest Website Mistakes To Avoid

In our online world, it’s become more and more important to make sure that you have an online presence for your business. Regardless of what industry you belong to, your customers are likely finding you and your competitors online. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that your brand is represented professionally with an impressive and easy to use website.

Unfortunately, there are simple things that seem to fall through the cracks for even the most experienced web designers. If it seems like your website isn't helping you win any business, check out our list of the most common website design mistakes that people make.

1. Unclear message

Most people would rather do business with a company who is knowledgeable passionate about what they do, and this is often very obvious in the way that you write your site's content. It’s completely pointless to start writing content for your site without first carefully planning your message and accurately determining who will be looking at your site. You need to make sure that not only is your content catered to your ideal audience, it also must have a clear and defined message. You can’t be bouncing back and forth from one philosophy to another. Consistency is key when it comes to the content on your site, so make sure you clearly identify what your underlying goal is before you write a word of copy.

If you’re have a hard time deciding exactly what your message should be, start by first identifying who your target audience is. Do your product/services appeal to the older generation? Or perhaps those with an interest in technology or home improvement? By knowing who your audience is you are better able to create content that will gain interest and lead to a higher click through rate.

2. Big paragraphs

Research shows that the average attention span of adults is less than 8 seconds. That means that if you don’t grab their attention within that time frame, you’ve likely already lost out on a potential customer. And one of the easiest and fastest ways to turn people away from your site is to have a huge blurb of unintelligible text. Well, it may be intelligible, and it may even have a ton of useful information in it. But if you don’t break it down in to small, easy to read paragraphs with captivating headlines, your browsers will not last very long. This leads to a high bounce rate and unhappy visitors.

Check out our article for clear instructions on how you can strengthen your copywriting and increase conversions.

3. No clear way to contact

Many people think that a contact form will suffice for a contact method. But you have to keep in mind that depending on your industry, most people who are visiting your site are looking to get in contact quickly. And the general perception of contact forms is that it will take days to get a response (even if you diligently reply to all online queries daily).

Make sure that your company’s phone number is on the home page and in a very noticeable area. If you operate a brick and mortar business, make sure the address is visible too. You’ll also want to ensure that both the address and phone number are clickable for mobile versions of the site.

Which brings us to the next point…

4. Mobile Friendliness

Yes, we know, you’re probably sick of hearing how important it is to have a mobile friendly website by now. But you’d be amazed to know how many business owners we have come in who think they have great, functional websites that simply do not work on mobile. And there is no excuse for this! If you use Windows, there is a handy little tool called the F12 button (go ahead, try it!).

Make sure you check your site for each platform to ensure that your user experience is always smooth and hassle free. If there are any clickable elements that are too close together or text that is too wide for the screen, either talk to your web developer or fix those errors as quickly as possible.

5. Font choice

What may seem like a relatively insignificant aspect of your website can actually greatly influence the way your company is perceived. We recommend avoiding fonts like Comic Sans, Papyrus and Impact, which can cause a general perception of amateur. Instead go for more neutral, sophisticated fonts.

6. Lack of originality

Likely one of the most important factors of any site is the sense of originality. The importance of creating unique content cannot be stressed enough, but you also need to make sure that the design of your site is not templated and boring. While of course you’ll want to start with a template, make sure you customize this with your company’s colors and a unique placement of content throughout the site.

7. Difficult navigation

This is also a crucial factor in the performance of your website. Visitors need to be able to find what they are looking for in the click of a few buttons. Generally, if they have to visit more than three webpages, you’ve likely already lost another potential customer. Make sure you go through your site to check that everything is within a few clicks from the home page. If you find that you have to spend more time navigating, you might want to consider adding more links on the home page or restructuring your menus. Keep in mind that if you end up going with the latter option, you may have to either change your back links or set up some 301 redirects.

Well, there you have it. 7 of the most common mistakes we see business owners and graphic designers alike making all too frequently. Feel free to leave your comments and questions in down below, we love to hear your thoughts!

So your site didn’t make the cut? Give us a call. Our talented team can design you a website that will give your customers a pleasurable experience and make you stand out from your competition.