First impressions matter, especially when it comes to your business website. There are many factors that come into play that can drive people to or away from your business based on your website alone.
Think about it. When searching for a site or particular business, what catches your eye and causes you to continue navigating a website? What factors cause you to give up and search for another business site?
Knowing what drives people to your site and away from it can help you determine the kind of first impression you are making and whether or not a visitor will become a customer.
Consider avoiding these mistakes when building your business website:
Content Confusion
With one click of a button or a URL, what message does your homepage send? Often we want to fill the homepage with details about our company and catchy graphics. Too much content can be overwhelming. Focus on quality images and text vs. quantity. The homepage should clearly portray the purpose and goal of your company. Choose one phrase that encompasses your business mission statement and allow that to be the driving factor of the entire site. If you want people to know that customers are a priority, design a website that reflects that.
Furthermore, ensure that each page within the site provides the same clarity. If you are just starting out, the homepage, a page with product photos and information, and a contact page are sufficient. You can build your site gradually as you carefully piece together more parts to fulfill the mission of your company.
Absent Contact Page
Most people who visit a business site are doing so to contact the company for more information. If your site isn’t set up with an easy-to-navigate and fillable contact form, visitors will move on to another business site. All you need are a few basic fields (i.e., name, phone/email, and a box for writing questions).
It is also important for the visitor to receive a confirmation after the contact form has been submitted. The contact form should be routed to an email address that is checked regularly, and a response should be given by the end of the business day if not before. If you want visitors to become customers, a contact page with a form encourages them to do so.
Errors in Grammar or Spelling
Believe it or not, spelling errors make the wrong impression. This can indicate that your company lacks attention to detail or professional quality. With AI grammar and spelling check sites, having errors on your website can be avoidable. Using sites like grammarly.com or quillbot.com makes it easy to have an error-free site. Just copy and paste text into the AI site to identify any mistakes.
The most common mistakes are often basic errors your eyes may not catch immediately.
Asking someone with attention to detail to read over the site can help identify errors that you may have missed. There are plenty of freelance editors and writers available who can use their skills at an affordable cost.
Unfriendly Mobile Site
Many people visiting your company site use a mobile phone versus a desktop computer. A website has to be specifically designed for mobile as well as desktop viewing. If the site is not easy to navigate on a smartphone or iPad, the visitor may click away to find another site that is. You will lose half of your potential income if your site is not mobile friendly.
Not Searchable
To drive more traffic to your site, search engine optimization, or SEO, is a must. This means the vocabulary used on your website must be very specific in describing your company and the services you offer. When someone types in words to search, such as “pallet recycling business” or “pallet design,” your company will be part of the results in a Google search.
Outdated Material
Lack of routine maintenance on your site can reflect poorly on how well your company is maintained as a whole. Updating and changing photos and products keeps the site looking fresh and new. When visitors can see recent designs and developments on your site, they know the company must be interested in being in the forefront of the industry. Old photos, content, and graphics don’t encourage visitors to contact the company and inquire further about how you can meet their needs in the industry.
While changes don’t need to be made daily, checking on the site at least once per week to make sure everything is running properly and nothing needs to be updated will prevent it from slipping through the cracks.
Solid first impressions can turn website visitors into lifelong customers. Those lifelong customers can drive other visitors to your website and your business. Avoiding these major website mistakes will reflect positively on your company and demonstrate the value you place on providing the most up-to-date information to your customers.
