Having an online presence is so crucial in today’s digital world. However, that website has to have a particular look, contain relevant content, and be easy to use so that potential new customers are attracted to using it. The days of just having anything online are over.
Websites must meet specific criteria to be crawled and indexed by search engines. Without proper indexing and ranking, your customers won’t be able to find you in the sea of other, better websites online. This article will review several website designers’ biggest mistakes that can harm how your website performs.
Mistake #1: Too Busy, Way Too Busy
Visitors should understand what your website is about within seconds of landing on it. If they can’t, they won’t stick around to try to figure it out. Unfortunately, when your website contains far too much information, it is difficult for a new visitor to sort out what is going on.
This user experience is why the pertinent information on your business or service should be the first thing to stand out when someone new visits your website. Overloading the pages with additional text, images, flashing things, scrolling things, videos, and more will not only slow the page loading process, but it clutters your message, making it hard to figure out your site’s purpose. See some examples of well-designed websites created by the best web design agencies.
Mistake #2: Nothing Much Going On Here
According to Digital Authority Partners , the complete opposite of a bustling webpage is as harmful to your website. Although a minimalist design will speak for itself, going to the extreme with that concept doesn’t always work either.
Leaving everything to the imagination of the website visitor is a bad idea. Using few images, hardly any text, and little or no information about your business work about as well as having an unlisted phone number. No one will find you as they can’t make sense out of your website that says nothing about your business or service.
Mistake #3: Mass Confusion On Board
This mistake is very different from having too much or too little information on your website. Confusion can be in various forms, from too many different fonts and colors to the overuse of themes and images. Even if they are all relevant, the portrayed brand is lost, which adds to the confusion.
Not having a clear and concise concept of the required branding typically results in a confusing website that is not clear about anything. That turns new visitors away as they won’t spend the time necessary to decipher the website.
Mistake #4: Misuse Of Content And Whitespace
Content is the most critical part of any website. It contains the details about your business or service. Because this is vital to the message you are trying to get across to visitors to your website, the content has to be easy to read and understand. Ways to do this include breaking up the information into smaller chunks – two or three-sentence paragraphs – spaced out on the webpage.
The content should also be in a clear and easy-to-read font. Decorative fonts are hard to read on small screens, which may turn away some visitors. Plus, the best way to make your content stand out is to appear in black on a white background. It may sound simple, but it does make reading content far easier on a webpage.
Mistake #5: Navigation That Is Hard To Find
Although it is essential to keep visitors to your website on a webpage for a more extended period, you can’t do that by hiding the navigation. With navigation tools that are hard to locate or don’t make sense, you essentially trap visitors. You end up upsetting them, and they will leave and try not to come back to your website.
However, with proper navigation that appears in the same place on each page, visitors can move in and around your site with ease and will feel welcome to do so.
Mistake #6: Little Or No Contact Details
When a visitor to your website decides to make a purchase, it is helpful to locate the information they require to complete that transaction. However, many customers will view this as suspicious when a website does not contain such contact details as the business name, address, phone contact, email address, or other means of making contact.
When they get to this point, these visitors often leave the website without purchasing. Having pertinent contact information posted helps build trust and makes your website appear professional and legitimate.
Mistake #7: Images That Are Not Attractive or Relevant
Sure, it may be tempting to stuff a photo here and there to fill space on those web pages that have little content. But, on the other hand, it’s not such a bad idea.
However, if your website sells your services as an electrician, the images should relate to that industry. For example, a photo of a cute little kitten has nothing to do with electrical contracting. It may look pretty, but it confuses the branding and the message the website attempts to portray in the first place.
This image selection is why relevance is significant in the ranking of websites. All photos and images should connect to the website’s purpose. Or at least make sense as understanding why including suitable images is vital.
Final Thoughts
A website is the extension of your business onto the internet. As careful as you may have been with the image and message you wanted to get across with your brick-and-mortar storefront, your digital store require the same considerations.
Website developers have great ideas on what may or may not work for your website. However, as good as they are, sometimes a mistake takes place that can harm the odds of your site reaching a top ranking. The typical errors are listed above to help you avoid losing any ground with your online competitors.