No one told you when you started your business that you were also about to become a marketer, social media manager, salesperson, website designer, accountant, and virtual assistant all in one.
There are a lot of hats to wear when you run a business, whether you’re just starting out or already leading a team of ten people.
No matter what stage you’re at, unless you’re a website designer, I’m guessing you didn’t get into business to design websites. I’m also guessing you’re building your own, right now.
So let’s look at some mistakes that you may be making in your website design that are keeping you and your website from standing out, building trust, and making sales:
Your website looks just like everyone else in your industry
It’s tempting to find a successful person in your industry and copy the style, colors, or general design of their website, isn’t it? If their website looks like that, and they’re so successful, shouldn’t it work for you, too? The answer isn’t what you may think.
When you create your website to look just like everyone else in your industry, you’re hiding from the people who want to hire you or buy from you. You don’t want to be just another face in the crowd, do you?
Fix this mistake by creating a design that is unique to YOU and your business. Don’t worry about what other people in your industry are doing — trust your creative gut!
Your website is cluttered
I know you want people to look at your website and be able to understand everything about everything that you sell, that you do, and that you believe in. But when you have too much text, too many images, or too much stuff on your website, it’s going to overwhelm your dream customers and ultimately turn them away from staying on your site.
Keep it simple, clean, and easy to follow if you want to see website success!
Your website is overcomplicated
You don’t need anything flashy to convert clients through your website. In fact, too many bells and whistles, pop-ups, links to more information, and slideshows can turn away more clients than it attracts. It’s overwhelming!
And when we get overwhelmed, we tend to shut down and walk away from the very thing overwhelming us. Don’t let that “thing” be your website.
Your prospects want to learn more about you already — that’s why they’re on your website. You don’t need to impress them with all the bells and whistles!
Your website doesn’t work on mobile
If someone finds your website through a social media platform, for example a link in your Instagram bio, but your website doesn't work on their phone, do you think they’ll stay on the website as long as you’d like them to?
Most of us are accessing websites from our phones — in fact, more than 50% of all web traffic is coming from mobile devices — so make sure when you’re designing your website, you’re making it optimized for mobile use too.
Your website is outdated
You don’t need to update your website every day — but promoting an item that’s sold out or a sale that happened three months ago isn’t exactly the best look.
It can quietly signal to your customers that you don’t care enough to update your website, it can confuse potential customers, and it can definitely cause them frustration down the line.
So make sure you’re regularly updating your website — at least once a month but preferably 2-3 times a month.
Your website doesn’t match your current branding
If you just rebranded your business, don’t forget to do the same to your website! If your logo and brand colors on social media don’t match up with what’s on your website, you’re going to leave people in your audience feeling confused. Did they click the right link? Is this the same brand?
The fix can be as simple as updating your logo and brand colors on your website next time you go in for an update.
Your website doesn’t have a clear “next step” for your customer
If you haven’t realized yet, us humans don’t like to feel overwhelmed. And when we do feel overwhelmed, it triggers our flight-fight-freeze response.
That’s not to say that users are going to fight you if your website is overwhelming or confusing, but you’re absolutely risking them leaving or freezing up.
If you have seven different places you’re telling people to go first, they’re most likely not going to go anywhere. So make sure that if you want people to buy, you’re directing them to buy. If you want them to book a call, or fill out a form, tell them. Choose one thing, and prioritize that.
Your website is slow
Ever leave a website because it loaded too slowly and you changed your mind? Your audience will do the same to you — no matter how much they love you.
The best way to fix this is to make sure your images are optimized for web and you aren’t bogging down your website with too many large images and media files.
Not sure if it’s your wifi? Take your laptop and phone on the go and try loading your website on data, at a coffee shop, or wherever else you think people will be accessing your site from.
You have broken links or duplicate pages
Just like when a website loads slow, broken links, duplicate pages, and other errors can cause a user to become frustrated, doubtful, or distrusting in your brand, thus leaving your site before buying. Wouldn’t you?
This can be as simple as checking every button and link on your website once every couple of weeks. When you can give people a high quality experience using your website, they’re going to be that much happier with their purchase from you.
Phew. That was a LOT of information. And I get it, it's overwhelming. It’s a lot to keep track of.
But this is a GREAT starting point to make sure your website is on point. So as you’re going through and updating or building out your website, come back to this post and check the list again to make sure that you’re giving your dream clients the experience they deserve!
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