There are a variety of reasons why a company website is necessary. You want to have an online presence to generate trust in your brand and demonstrate to prospective clients that you are a legitimate business. Simple as it may seem, the goal of a business website is to help you develop your company.
Nevertheless, what should you do if you are experiencing website errors and issues due to which your website fails and preventing you from reaching your aim of increasing sales and income?
There is a wealth of information and eye-tracking tests to draw from, and today you’ll learn about some of the most insightful studies available, explained in simple language that will enable you to integrate their results into the design and interface of your website.
In this article, we will guide you on what should you not put on a website? The following are fourteen frequent website errors and issues that might cause your company to drive away customers and lose money. If you believe your website suffers from any of these errors and problems, you will need an immediate full website audit.
What are the common mistakes in a website?
1. Your website is slow
Websites that load fast are used; websites that fail to load fast are avoided. You’ve probably heard it before: website speed is crucial for sales because people are impatient. But do you realize just how far this impact is? According to a collaborative study conducted by Google’s search team and the Microsoft Bing team, page speed is significant in several critical statistics.
The majority of consumers spend 3-5 seconds determining whether or not to remain on a website when they are there. If they cannot figure out what’s in it for them within that time frame, you have lost their interest, which will drive away customers.
Inform them about your activities and how you might assist them. Communicate how you are distinct from your competitors in the marketplace. Whatever distinguishes your organization as unique should be emphasized.
There’s always the option to go into more depth on your About page or Services page. Still, it’s critical to explain who you are and what you provide immediately on your Home page so that visitors can quickly determine if they’ve arrived at a good or a bad website.
Users are indeed impatient, and your penalty for having a slow-loading bad website won’t be complaints in your email but rather missed purchases from those who thought that what you’re offering isn’t worth waiting for. Keep in mind that when in doubt, cut it out.
When you factor in the possibility that Google would rank sites based on their speed, you’re left with a stark reminder that if you want your company to rise into the big leagues, you’ll need a very fast website to help you get there.
2. You are using low-quality images
If you do not have high-quality images on your website, you are not effectively presenting your brand or your work, this will drive away customers, and your website will eventually fail one day. Colors, typefaces, patterns, and images all need to go together to convey the point you’re presenting, so everything from your visual identity to your text should be consistent.
For your prospective customers to be able to see themselves on the other side of the experience of working with you, they should be happier, healthier, and wealthier than they are now. If your images are of poor quality, it is quite probable that your clients will be unable to see a positive future version of themselves (the person they will become as a result of working with you). In addition, do not ever post images on your website that you do not like!
3. Inconsistent spacing on lengthy landing pages
Neil Patel came to this conclusion in an intriguing case study: extended landing pages might be beneficial since they allow you to convey your argument more effectively because you have more time to do so.
Because individuals have taken the time to read more than 1000 words, the length of the page results in a higher number of qualified leads. On the other hand, the issue is one that many people intuitively understand and that the data support as well. The longer a page is on the Internet, the fewer people who visit it. Examine the findings of a recent study conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group.
This presents a dilemma for marketers: if lengthier landing pages may be effective and generate more quality leads, users dislike reading “walls of text,” which may also drive away customers.
According to Rafal Tomal, lead designer at Copyblogger, the solution is to concentrate on “chunking” content using subheadings and better spacing on lengthy landing pages.
4. Your website is not designed with a specific goal in mind
Make sure that all the essential aspects of your website complement the business model you are promoting. This is the key to having a successful website. The design and functionalities of your website should be governed by the sort of company you have and, more crucially, the stage of development in which you are now operating.
5. Your website’s navigation is confusing
Visitors to your website must locate what they are searching for without difficulty, or they will leave! The primary menu should be organized in a logical order and with a clear hierarchy. The menu should feature a clear call to action, and sub-menus should be avoided at all costs.
Your visitors should be able to follow a clear route around your site, with clear calls to action on each page depending on your targets. As you can see, this may be a difficult task to figure out. This is where working with a marketing professional is beneficial, as they can create your sitemap and establish the most appropriate call to action buttons depending on your company objectives.
6. Your text is dry and boring
This is one of the most often seen difficulties with bad websites that I encounter. First and foremost, the text is dry and boring, and it dates back to the 2000s, your website will fail,and it will drive away customers. If you work with a copywriter or a skilled web designer, they should be able to assist you in crafting your website text in a manner that appeals to your target audience. Your designer will figure out how to make your text more vibrant and attractive to the eye by selecting the appropriate fonts and graphics.
7. Geo-blocking of the site
Geo-blocking completely kills all sales. Not everyone knows what a virtual private network (VPN) is or that it may unblock site, movies and music. People visit a competitor’s website because they cannot access the company’s website for any reason. It is the practice of limiting access to internet content based on your geographic location, known as geo-blocking.
Most of the time, these limitations extend to international boundaries. Geo-blocking is used by online media firms, streaming services such as Netflix, and subscription plans such as Amazon Prime to comply with licensing agreements between media assets, the legal systems of certain countries, and other agreements and regulations.
8. You fail to explain or display your services or offerings adequately
When it comes to services or sales, you should go into depth about what you can provide for your clients. A typical error I find on websites is that they do not take the time to describe in-depth the nature of their services. More information will always convert better than just providing a list of the features and benefits offered in a product.
Consequently, strive to include as much detail as possible about what your customer will get, and if applicable, include information about the outcomes that you want to achieve for your clients.
9. You are not doing Email Marketing correctly
If you want to make people feel welcome as soon as they join your online space, you should have something to give them as soon as they arrive, and you should also ask them to keep in contact with you. Doesn’t it seem like a welcoming gesture?
Make a useful checklist or worksheet that they will find useful and provide it to them. The best-case scenario is that you build it knowing what your customers suffer with so that this present is something they can’t wait to receive! Something they are interested in enough that they are willing to exchange their email address for it.
10. You are not doing blogging
If you have a website that receives no traffic, you’re wasting your time and money.
Blogging is one of the most effective methods of increasing traffic and maintaining high Google results. In addition to sharing your expertise, showing the personal aspect of your company, and marketing your goods, a blog may be a great tool for networking.
It is not necessary to write to a blog! Posting video or audio material is allowed, and you may even utilize your social media platforms to conduct microblogging sessions. It all relies on your company objectives and on your ability to perform consistently and competently.
11. Your website does not provide any client testimonials.
These days, everyone expects to read feedback about a company before dealing with them professionally. People are interested in hearing what previous clients have to say about you since it develops trust and allows them to imagine what it may be like to work with you themselves. Testimonials in many locations on your website so that they do not miss. While it is possible to have a specific page for testimonials, it is recommended that even if a visitor does not make it to that page, they should have read at least one or two testimonials before clicking to that page.
12. Considering that marketing is a one-time effort
I’ve met with people who believe that just putting up a website would result in many businesses. Or they believe they can manage a business by spending just a few months each year on marketing.
This is not a viable method to operate a business unless it is a seasonal one. Marketing is the fuel that powers your company’s vehicle. Unless you continue to invest in website promotion, your company will eventually run out of fuel and come to a halt.
Don’t be the blogger who uses the “Pray and Publishes” marketing strategy to promote their site. Any blogger worth their salt understands that blogging comprises 20% content development and 80% marketing of that material.
It is impossible to develop enough momentum to attract enough people to your website unless you are consistently, and I mean continuously, marketing it.
Any internet business’s longevity is dependent on its ability to attract customers. Your leads and clients will quickly dry up if you don’t have it, and your internet company will die early.
13. Your website is not optimized for mobile devices
Mobile devices account for around more than 60% of all internet traffic today. This is a large volume of traffic that, if you don’t pay attention to the user experience of these people, can wind up costing you money.
Websites that are mobile-friendly boost their Google results. The total number of searches conducted on mobile devices has now surpassed the total number of queries conducted on desktop computers. Therefore, Google indexes your site depending on how it perceives your site from a mobile perspective to give a better experience for most of its customers, including mobile users. Because of this, it is advised that you present the same content to mobile and desktop visitors; otherwise, your rankings may be badly affected.
In addition, while indexing web pages, Google considers the user’s whole experience. It is probable that if you don’t already have a mobile website or a responsive website, you will begin to see a decline in search volume visitors soon.
14. Your website is not protected by SSL encryption
It is becoming more crucial to protect personal information on the Internet, whether your password for logging into your online banking site or your credit card information while making an online purchase. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a way of encrypting data communicated over the Internet between your computer and a web server. Many major websites use this technology to safeguard the information provided by their clients. This is shown by the appearance of HTTPS in the address bar of your browser.
What are the benefits of using SSL (HTTPS)? SSL is important because it establishes confidence. Whether your website has an online form, web browsers will soon present visual clues to users to let them know if your website is vulnerable. When all websites that are not protected by an SSL certificate are visited, browsers will display an insecure warning to the user.
Second, if you operate an e-commerce website, you must need an SSL certificate to comply with PCI Compliance. Additionally, the majority of clients will be reluctant to provide their payment information on a bad website.
Finally, Google is employing HTTPS as a ranking indicator, which implies that when deciding rankings, their algorithm considers whether or not sites are using secure connections.
You have to pay attention to all these mistakes and don’t do it in the future again because these types of bad websites drive away customers, and you will lose a lot of money. Soon, you’ll see a clear connection between a well-designed website and an increase in the number of people that visit it. If you have further questions regarding this, leave your comment below.