Avoid These Common Website Mistakes
Developing a new website is exciting, but it can be very easy to fall into some common pitfalls that can harm its effectiveness. We all know that your website is the face of your brand online, so it’s crucial to avoid making mistakes that could turn visitors away.
At Scorched Media Web Design, we want our customers websites to really stand out from the crowd and get their phones to ring.
So let’s explore some of the 7 most common website mistakes we see daily, and provide you with some simple solutions to help you create a captivating and user-friendly website.
- Poor Navigation: Imagine walking into a store with no signs or clear directions. Frustrating, right? The same applies to your website. If visitors can’t find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, they will leave. So, ensure your navigation is intuitive, organised, and prominently displayed. Use clear labels and a logical menu structure to guide visitors through your site effortlessly.
- Slow Page Load Times: In today’s fast-paced world, patience is in short supply. Slow-loading web pages are a major turnoff for users. You want to aim for quick page load times to keep visitors engaged and prevent them from bouncing to a competitor’s site. Optimise your website’s performance by compressing images, minimising code, and use caching techniques. Jargon I know, sorry, but this is an example of what to avoid. Still good advice though! Oh and don’t forget, Google will penalise you for slow page load times.
- Lack of Mobile Responsiveness: With the majority of internet users browsing on their phone and tablets, it’s crucial to have a mobile-responsive website. Failure to optimise your site for mobile can lead to a poor user experience and lost opportunities. The days of pinch and zoom are long gone. A must, is therefore to ensure that your website adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes, allowing visitors to navigate and interact with your content easily, regardless of the device they use. And guess what, Google will penalise you if it isn’t mobile friendly as well.
- Cluttered Design: An overcrowded website overwhelms visitors and dilutes your message. Avoid cluttered layouts, excessive use of colours, and too many distracting elements. Adopt a clean and minimalist design to enhance readability and the guide visitors’ attention to your key content and calls to action. Remember, simplicity is often the key to a visually appealing website.
- Lack of Clear Call to Actions (CTAs): My pet hate and I see it every day. Without clear and compelling calls to actions, visitors may feel unsure about what to do next. Be strategic in placing CTAs throughout your website to guide users towards the desired actions, whether it’s contacting your business, making a purchase, or even subscribing to a newsletter. We see too many CTA’s in the wrong place and they just annoy the website visitor. Think a popup window that takes over the website as soon as you open it, asking you to subscribe to receive their ebook or signup to their newsletter to get a discount before they have established any creditability with you. Like me, chances are you will just close it and forget it, or simply just click off to another website. CTA’s are a must, but they must be placed where they will have the most impact and entice the site visitor to take the action you want them to take.
- Poor Content Strategy: Content is king 100%, but poor content strategy can be disastrous. You need to have a plan to lead your website visitor from their initial entry point on your web site, through to your desired call to action. Obviously, avoid common content mistakes such as spelling and grammatical errors, excessive jargon, or overly promotional language. Instead, focus on creating valuable, engaging, and relevant content that resonates with your target audience. Incorporate a mix of text, images, possibly videos if they add to your message, that will entice your site visitor to explore more of your web site and contact you. Without a content plan, you are just throwing darts up in the air hoping one hits the dartboard.
- Neglecting Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): Having a fantastic website won’t help if no one can find it. Neglecting SEO means missing out on valuable organic traffic. Optimise your website by incorporating relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptive URLs. Create high-quality content that naturally attracts backlinks. By focusing on SEO best practices, you can improve your website’s visibility and attract a steady stream of organic visitors.
By avoiding these common website mistakes, you can create an engaging and user-friendly website that captivates visitors and drives desired actions.
Feel free to give us a call or find out more about our website solutions, where we can help make the most of your online presence.
