Website Mistakes Which Can Cost You Customers

Your website is often the first impression customers will get about your business, which is why most companies will put an extensive amount of time and effort into creating one which is both attractive and engaging. There are some common mistakes which can be made with the design of a website and these can often cause businesses to lose customers; the type of error you really don’t want to make.

§  Poor Design

We are all attracted to things which look good and this is the same when it comes to websites. If you visit website which lacks any appeal or character, you are unlikely to stick around for long. If your website looks good and is full of life and colour, you will instantly want to find out more. You may not have the expertise or resources to spend time on your website and in these cases it is better to enlist the help of an external agency. This short video will show you an example of a very poorly designed website.

Lack of Activity

No one wants to read old news and if you haven’t bothered to update the blog on your website, it won’t entice visitors to stay there for long. You need to put time and dedication into maintaining your website and this means updating it regularly with accurate news and information. Lack of activity not only looks unprofessional, but you will quickly notice your website slipping down the rankings in Google.

Broken Links

There is nothing worse than landing on a site, finding a link to something interesting, only to find that the link doesn’t actually work. It can be a simple error with your HTML coding, but make sure you test your links regularly to ensure they are working. This can be particularly costly if the link to the page to buy your product or service doesn’t work.

Poor Navigation

Visitors to your website will want to be able to move around it quickly and they won’t to waste any time trying if it isn’t obvious. Try the site out for yourself and ask others to test it as well and provide feedback as to how they found the navigation. You will then be able to determine if there are any flaws you need to deal with. If there are, you should deal with these as quickly as possible, so they do not become an issue.

Adverts

It is perfectly acceptable to have a couple of adverts on your website, as this can offer an additional income stream, just be careful not to overload it. It can be really irritating if every time you move the cursor an advert appears and it is one of the ways you will put potential customers off. Your adverts should be relevant to the content of your website and should be situated somewhere on the page, rather than sporadic pop up’s. Adverts can also slow the website down and consumers will very quickly lose interest if it takes half an hour to load up. Read this article for further information on the risks involved with having too many adverts.