Introduction
Anybody under the sun can develop a website. There isn’t any definite rule that you should be a web designer to create a site. If truth be told, there are myriads of sites online, and hundreds developed every day, not all of them are prepared by web designers. However, not all websites created are well thought-out to be great websites. In no doubt the website you created may look good, but does fulfils its purpose and is it functioning appropriately.
9 Mistakes To Avoid!
There are a lot of reasons why your website may be poorly done, but the most common errors are having an out of fashion website, that is slow and unresponsive. You may not know it yet but this a bad combination, now let’s know why.
Poor Site Loading Time
No one would want to waste their time on sites that don’t give them the information they are looking for quickly. They expect to get information right now, and that’s why they have chosen to look for on the internet. When it comes to professional business websites, time-consuming load times are just not acceptable. Researchers have proved that internet users will only wait 4 seconds for a website to load before they get going. If it takes more than this for your website to load, it’s advisable to make it right. Whether you have got a lot of images that are weighing it down, or have several pop-ups, you must think of making some before it's too late.
No Optimization for Mobile
You cannot ignore the mobile – at least not in this digital era. Maximum people access the internet using their mobile phones. Actually, studies have exposed that up to 80% of internet users use smartphones and 47% of people use tablets. This circumstance is not going to change in the coming future, so you better adjust yourself.
On the other hand, for such a vital aspect, it will be good news to know that mobile optimization is not very costly or out of hand operation. There are web developers available who have the right tools and expertise to make sure your website is accessible from any handheld, be it a tablet, mobile or anything else. There is truly no excuse for it.
A Lot Of Ads and Pop-Ups
Pop-ups and ads are good and almost indispensable for your websites. However, an excess of these are like children harassing a customer at your shop. They are all high-pitched “see me!” This is not right; not at least when you are busy with something like trying to sell.
We would obviously not know how much customers can put up with a certain number of these ads and pop-ups, but common sense will tell you when you have stricken or neared the extreme mark. Have a rational number of ads and have power over how they appear. Always do your best to make them advertisements, not some irritating material.
Irrelevant Graphics
Perhaps having numerous graphics and flash content on your website sounds like a lot of attraction to you, but the customer is not happy with that. It also results in slowing down the website.
For mobile, ensure that the images you use are well optimized for these all the handheld devices. Flash content should also be related and refined. Customers and prospective customers are sick of inappropriateness.
Poor Font
The type and size of the font are possibly one of the most disregarded aspects of a website. These two have a huge role to play when we talk about stimulating reader emotions. For example, fonts like Arial and Calibri (San-serif fonts) doesn't seem as formal as Times New Roman (Serif fonts).
This is why font size is very important. Fonts less than 12pt are considered as too small to read at ease. It’s not superficial that various websites are considering 20pt and more.
Yet, don’t be anxious. As long as you have a web designer expert working for you, they will end up with an ideal font size and type.
Insufficient Focus and Implementation of SEO
SEO must sound like an old tale to you, but how much consideration have you been paying to it? As you design your website, it is significant to have SEO in mind, right from the beginning. A website that looks grand but cannot be found is as good as dead. Nobody will listen to you if you don’t talk loud enough to hook their attention. So SEO is unavoidable.
Broken Links
404 error – how much does it annoy you to see that message? Well, for most people, it is an offense one cannot do much about, but not your potential customer. He/she will unquestionably do something when they see that: they will never visit or think about your site again.
Don’t piss visitors off with broken links and servers; make sure you do away with all broken links before someone gets them. Another necessary measure to take is to include tabs like “Contact Webmaster” so that visitors can without difficulty reach out to you whenever they come across a broken link. They are likely to be less exasperated this way.
Outdated Content
No one needs time-worn news. People looks for what you are doing when they want you. It demonstrates that you are competent of providing new-age services.
A visitor who comes to your site for the first time and finds that the newest article was posted in January 2014 may give an impression that your web site is not active or has been discarded. You don’t have the opportunity to make clear that it’s still working.
A number of websites have a tendency to avoid content dating because of this possibility. But the most vital thing is to frequently review and update your website.
Complicated Navigation Structure
Visitors want to be directed all the way to find their way through your website. Once you make them do the uphill struggle navigating, you are sure to lose them.
Several small business owners are losing their prospective clients to their competition because they don’t have user-friendly page navigation structures.
Your website is like a house with various rooms. Leave the doors of each room partly open to make sure that the visitor can with no trouble access each of them, including those where you have placed “goodies”. Locking these rooms prevents access of the visitor.
No Proper Contact Information and/or Calls-to-Action
Why did you make a visitor come all the way if your main objective is not selling? Sorry, but you were making your visitors read the entirely wrong thing. If you have the eventual goal of making a sale, then you must add your contact information.
But, prior to that comes the CTA (Call-To-Action). Make it clear enough to make the reader actually click on it. Remember if you are an online merchant making people read your website and bookmark is essential, however making them purchase something is more important.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Remember, while designing your website, it is vital to note that it is never about you when it comes to your business or your website. It’s at all times about the customer – that shopper who visits after a search on the internet or after being referred to by a friend. Thus, endeavor to make sure that you make it as accessible to the user effortlessly. Also, if your business does not fix any of the customer’s issues, please try something else.
The majority of the time you will get what you invest, from the amount of money to the professionalism and experience you are ready to put in after your website is up and running. Don’t be in a haste to design a website, not until you have a proper strategy and resources to afford what’s necessary for your business.
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