)Website mistakes to avoid
With many off the shelf products now available to design and set up your own website, it’s no wonder businesses are turning to them.
However, they’re only as effective as the effort you put in, and in many cases will limit the functionality of what your audience can view and interact with.
Here are some things to avoid when considering the design of your website:
1. Having an unresponsive website: It’s imperative that your website is fit for all audiences whether they view it on a desktop, laptop or mobile device. It’s also worth noting that Google is now penalising those sites that aren’t responsive which is impacting their SEO.
2. Forgetting about the design elements: Not only does your site need to grab the audience’s attention with its content, it needs to look good. Consumers will form an opinion in a matter of seconds so make it count.
3. Slow to load: It’s very easy to lose the attention of a prospective buyer if your site is slow to load – consider the images you’re using and the amount of content you’re trying to display. Getting the balance right is essential.
4. Avoid distractions: You will lose your audience far quicker if you have your social media icons at the top of the page as they’ll be tempted to click on them. Having them further down the page, to the side or the bottom will discourage users from leaving your site the minute they land on it.
5. Hard to navigate: Ensure your website is well signposted and take your audience on a journey of discovery. Don’t have too many tabs or links but ensure they find our information easily without having to search for it.
6. Poor use of headers and sub text: People tend to skim read so make it easy for them to gain the information they need by having appropriate headings and sub headings which will catch their eye and make them want to find out more.
7. Out of date content: It can be time consuming but it’s a necessity. Your website must be kept up to date with content, events, contact details. If you move offices, make sure you let your prospective buyers know where they can find you. If you’re posting news updates and the last one posted was two years ago, it’s not giving the right impression!
8. Having a website that isn’t secure: Nowadays, it’s common practice for a website to be https secure. It doesn’t matter if you’re an eCommerce site or not, if you’re capturing data and personal information, your audience will expect their details to be kept secure.
If you’re in any doubt, give us a call. We’re experts in website design and can help point you in the right direction and will help create a cost-effective solution to showcase your business.
