Having a website is so important for any small business. It represents you and your brand online and can make or break your online presence. However it’s very easy to make common website mistakes that can get in the way of a website’s success. In this blog post we highlight seven such mistakes we’ve seen made by small businesses, and seven tips you can action to fix them.
1. What am I doing here?
Lack of Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
A call-to-action (CTA) is a button or a link that prompts visitors to do something specific on your website, e.g. “sign up to our news letter”, “send us a message”, “see some of our case studies”.
A common mistake is not having CTAs that are clear and obvious on the website. This can mean that visitors leave the site without actually doing anything.
To fix this, make sure your CTAs are clear, visible and “above the fold” (this means people can see them straightaway without having to scroll down).
Consider using contrasting colours, button shading etc. to make your CTAs obvious, and use language that encourages people to actually take action.
2. It’s so sloooooooooow
Slow loading times
Websites that load slowly aren’t great for visitors and they also aren’t good for search engine rankings either. Statistics show that websites taking longer than 3 seconds to load can lose up to half of their visitors.
There are a number of different ways to avoid slow loading times including :
– making sure your images are optimised
– using website cache software
– using website speed testing tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to work out areas for improvement on your website.
3. I think I’m lost!
Poor Website Navigation
A website without easy to use navigation can be annoying for visitors and they can end up leaving before finding what they need.
Common mistakes include having too many menu items, menu options with unclear labels and poorly thought out website site structure.
To avoid poor website navigation, keep your menu items simple and easy to understand (using obviously
descriptive labels) and make sure your navigation is consistent throughout your website.
4. This feels wrong
Inconsistent Branding
Your website is one of the most important “touchpoints” for your brand. Inconsistent branding can be confusing for visitors and leave them feeling confused. Common branding mistakes include using lots of different colours, fonts and styles across your website.
Make sure your fonts and colour palettes are consistant; ideally following brand guidelines from your Graphic Designer if you have one.
5. It looks weird on my phone!
Not optimised for mobile
Mobile phones account for over half of all traffic on the internet, so having a responsive website is vital. Websites that aren’t designed to work properly on all size devices can feel wrong on phones and even be illegible.
To fix this, use responsive website design that automatically adjusts to fit any screen size. Try to remember to test your website on different screen sizes just to check it is user-friendly. Some browsers (e.g. Google Chrome) have options that let you view your website on different screen sizes.e.
6. Did they rush this?
Poor Content Quality
The actual content on your website reflects your brand as much as how it looks. Poor quality content can make you lose credibility with potential customers. Common mistakes include spelling and grammatical errors, out of date (or wrong information) or duplicate content that is clearly just there for search engines and not human visitors.
Try to make sure your content is well written and contains actual worth while information. informative, and relevant to your audience. According to Google a quick way to check is to consider E-A-T :
- Expertise: How much experience and knowledge is being demonstrated on the topic?
- Authority: Are influencers who serve the same audience linking to your content because it provides value?
- Trust: Are you protecting user information, providing accurate information, and being ethical?
7. How do I know they know their stuff?
Not having a Blog
Having a blog on a website is a great way for businesses and organsations to engage with their audience. It also works well to show their expertise.
Whilst not vital, we recommend having a blog and using it to share relevant information on a regular basis. This could be answering common questions, sharing what’s new in your industry as well as providing helpful advice.
Our opinion is that quality is better than quantity; a monthly blog post which shares a lot of relevant information is better than weekly ones which are lighter on content.
We hope this was useful, if you have any questions about websites we’re more than happy to have a chat.