Whether you sell herbal teas or manufacture hydraulics, having an online brand presence is indispensable in today’s business environment. No matter which industry your business belongs to, it will lose a significant number of potential customers without a digital footprint.
A key component of building an online presence is a business website. A website makes it easy for customers to find your business on search engines and learn more about your products. Moreover, it also plays a vital role in converting visitors into paying customers and driving sales.
The benefits of a website aren’t exclusive to large corporations with a major market share. Even if you’re running a small business, a website can put you on the map-literally and figuratively. In this digital age, internet-savvy millennials and gen z are quick to Google or Yelp any business they’re interested. Not having an impressive website would imply losing out this significant market share.
That being said, you cannot have a website simply for the sake of having a website. A poorly-designed website is likely to create a bad impression with your visitors. Imagine the feeling of entering a messy store that doesn’t have any organization, lighting, or customer service. Are you going to purchase their product? Probably not. Similarly, a website is a storefront and customer service mixed into one for your business. The goal is not just attracting visitors but also convincing them to make a purchase.
Considering its importance, you cannot afford to make mistakes when it comes to designing a website. Take a look at some common website designing mistakes you should avoid.
- Including Too Many Elements
There are so many things you can do to make your website stand out. However, too many pop-ups, sound bites, flash banners, and so on can make your website overwhelming. A reasonable amount of whitespace is necessary to make the website easy to comprehend.
- Keeping it Too Simple
In the effort to avoid an overwhelming website, don’t make the mistake of oversimplifying your website to the point that visitors are unable to determine what your business does. It is possible to have a minimalist yet informative website. Aim for that.
- Making Navigation Difficult
One of the goals of designing a website is making the user experience frictionless. Everything a visitor is looking for should be easily accessible on your website. So focus on making navigation as easy as possible. Typically, businesses go for a horizontal navigation bar or a hamburger menu for a cleaner look.
- Using Unreadable Fonts
When it comes to fonts, the simpler, the better. The hand-written fonts may sound good but can impact your website’s readability. Also, avoid using more than one or two fonts. Using multiple fonts is just going to look messy and make your website difficult to comprehend. If you do use two fonts, make sure they complement each other.
You also need to make sure that your chosen font is not only compatible with a desktop but is also legible on smaller screens of smartphones or tablets. - Poorly Planned Content
The content on your website has a purpose. The visitors should find it useful, so carefully plan what you’re going to put on your website.
Beware of grammatical errors. A visitor may overlook a single spelling mistake, but they are unlikely to trust your business if your website is full of grammatical errors.
The content must be curated around the requirements of your target audience. The over use of jargon that most of your customer base doesn’t understand is the wrong move. Use a language and tone that will resonate with your audience.
It’s also important to create SEO-based content to drive traffic to your website. Without SEO optimization, your website will fail to rank on Google and other search engines. If you lack SEO skills, consult an expert for SEO in Frederick. - No Call To Action
In addition to attracting visitors, your website is also responsible for converting them into paying customers. And that won’t be possible without a clear Call To Action (CTA). A CTA helps the user to know what they should do next. Make sure the CTA is easy to spot on your website. - Using Stock Images
Stock images are way too generic to communicate your company’s message accurately. Instead of confusing your customers with useless images, improve your website’s impact with original images and graphics. Visual media is a powerful tool for capturing your visitor’s attention.
There are hundreds and thousands of websites listed online. In addition to carefully curated content, a high-quality website needs attention-worthy images. Customers cannot physically touch products online like they can in a brick and mortar store. Well-photographed products encourage them to feel confident about their purchasing decision. Even if a visitor doesn’t bother reading website content, they will certainly pay attention to intentional and quality visual media. - Neglecting Responsive Design
From laptops to smartphones, people are browsing websites on a wide range of devices. And without a responsive website design, you’ll fail to attract customers from different devices. Make sure your website is accessible on all devices. - Forgetting Favicon
Most people open several tabs at once when they’re browsing the internet. Without a favicon (graphic image or icon), visitors will be unable to distinguish your website from others and may even close it without actually browsing. A favicon helps your website stand out. - Slow Website
Is your website taking longer than three or four seconds to load? This is a problem that needs your immediate attention. Ideally, your website shouldn’t take more than a couple of seconds to load. A casual visitor will probably not spend a lot of time waiting for your website to load. Work on creating a website that loads quickly. - Putting Social Media Links On Top
Along with your website, social media presence is essential to establish your digital footprint. It’s a good idea to include your social media links on your website but avoid putting them on the top. This distracts the visitors and, in a way, encourages them to check out those links without browsing the website. Ideally, you should place social media links in the footer or the side of the site. - Difficult to Find Contact Information
Whether a customer wants to place an order or discuss their requirements, they would need your contact information to proceed. The inability to find the contact information after a visitor has thoroughly browsed your website makes a frustrating user experience. Make it easy for visitors to find contact information on your website to increase engagement and conversions. - Visited and Unvisited Links Are The Same Color
Changing the color of visited links helps visitors with navigation and avoiding clicking on an already visited link. A user will feel annoyed if they unintentionally visit the same link over and over again because your website doesn’t change link colors. - No Headings
H1s, H2s, and so on make your website easy to scan. Many visitors don’t have the time or patience to read a wall of text on your website. Use formatting tools like heading, bulleted lists, and highlighting to make your website scannable.
Final Words
A good website is an investment that has become essential for every business, small or large. A polished and engaging website will encourage visitors to become paying customers. Taking into account the benefits of a well-designed website, it would be best to get an experienced website designer on board.
