By now, almost every business, no matter the industry, has a website.
And it’s safe to say that many of these rely on their website for sales, education or customer relations. Whatever industry you’re in, and whatever your site is for, it’s crucial that it’s user friendly.
If your site doesn’t function as it is intended, it turns customers away and your competition leaves you behind in their dust.
Often, your website is the first impression a customer makes in regards to your business and because of this, your site has a direct impact on your business.
Are you making these 6 website fatal mistakes? #webdesign Share on X
Certain mistakes are fatal, so here’s what to avoid…
Ignoring Mobile
In 2018, almost 60% of all web searches originate from a mobile device.
Therefore, your website must have a great mobile experience. If your site doesn’t work on mobile, that’s potentially 60% of your traffic lost!
If that wasn’t enough to persuade you that mobile is crucial, Google’s algorithms strongly favour mobile-friendly sites.
So, it goes without saying that when designing or updating your site, you should focus on mobile users.
Break the content up and make it easy to read, include drop down menus, and make it easy to navigate.
Hard-to-Find Contact Info
Customers come to your site with the expectation of buying, or at least learning more about your product or service.
If they can’t do this with ease, they simply jump to the next site.
Particularly important if you’re selling, your site must have contact information that’s easy to find, from any page on your site.
The best approach to this is to have a “contact us” page, and every other page on your website should link to your “contact us” page.
It’s also important to consider the ways customers can contact you.
Email can be slow and impersonal, so consider including live chat or a virtual phone number from eVoice. This not only makes it simple for users, but it reassures them of your legitimacy.
Having Broken Links
Links that don’t lead anywhere can be very frustrating to visitors.
Just when they think they’ve found the information they’re looking for, they run into a “404” error page.
That’s all it can take for them to leave your site entirely.
Eliminate broken links on your website to keep visitors happy! Share on X
It’s important that you regularly test your site and ensure that there are no broken links. Some sites even encourage visitors to “contact the webmaster” if they run into a problem.
Slow Loading Speeds
There’s nothing much more frustrating for customers than a site that doesn’t load.
Today, it’s inexcusable for slow loading times and, in fact, Google also penalises sites with slow loading times.
Things should load quickly on your site.
First, to appease the Google algorithms, but second, also to please your customers.
Human attention spans are getting smaller and smaller with the increasing amount of distractions we have around us. You want to make sure you get your message across as quick as possible.
If you want to learn how to increase your website’s page speed for higher search rankings and conversions, enroll in my Fast as Lightning Workshop. You’ll have a faster site in just 30 minutes or less!
Old Information
Many business owners obsess over keeping their store tidy, or their products up to date, so why should it be any different for your website?
Update your site as often as possible. Write new content, and update the old.
Fresh content is more interesting to visitors, and it also ranks better in search engines.
Poor Design
Again, your website should make it as easy as possible for the users. A good design usually fixes most of the previous points made.
A good design is friendly to both mobile and desktop users. It makes the information easy to find and read.
It also ensures that the webpage loads quickly. Images can often slow down a site, especially if there are several on a repeating or rotational effect. You might think it looks flashy, but in reality, it slows down your site and distracts visitors from the information.
Make sure your site is easy for users to get around.
Everything should be linked back to the home page, where users can find everything else.
This is important for ease of navigation, but also for when someone shares your site. If someone sends a friend a link to your contact page, can the friend easily get to the other pages of your site?
It’s also important to consider the font and colour you’re using. Try to present information in a unified, non-distracting manner.
Conclusion
Whether you’re designing a new site, or are thinking about upgrading your current one, these six areas are crucial to your site’s success. If you make these mistakes it could very well be fatal to your business.
Thought of any other mistakes? Let me know in the comments below!
