Your website is the place where customers and prospects can get detailed information about your business – and perhaps even place orders – and it’s probably the only place where they can get access to all this information 24/7. So it’s important to get everything right. We reveal the five most common mistakes businesses make with their websites. Let’s try to clarify them in order to correct the ones you have already made or to avoid them in the future.
1. Being all things to all people.
Too many businesses try to serve all their audiences on the home page – their customers, investors, employees. 95 percent of the information on your home page should be used to serve customers. Use the footer on the page to have links for partners, investors, and the media. Devote the rest of the space to give customers an insight about what you do.
2. Using vague language.
Remember, if customers visiting your website can’t figure out what you do in a few seconds, you’ve lost them. All businesses should have a clear statement on the home page of what they do and what they promise their customers.
3. Making it too complex.
We advise against employing Flash animation or slow-to-load multimedia introductions on websites. Most people are irritated by these things. It distracts customers from the main purpose of their visit and takes a lot of precious time. Instead, hire a professional artist to design a clean, easy-to-navigate site, and let customers choose whether or not to access your site’s multimedia options.
4. Using corporatese.
Avoid using jargons, acronyms or complex terminology on your site. Keep language simple and easy to understand. Sometimes companies have internal language that is reflected in their sites. Be sure you don’t overuse internal language on your site and it’s not ignoring what you need to say to your customers.
5. Underestimating the value of testing.
It is not necessary to spend lots of money on testing. It would be helpful just to have a group of core customers review the site. Ask your customers to complete simple tasks on the site, like filling out forms or checking different pages. Then, get their feedback, and you will probably come up with great suggestions for improving the site’s performance.
In general, simplicity and easy navigation should be your priorities in creating an effective website. If the site is too complicated, the business misses an opportunity to deliver the message to a customer, which can transform into significant losses.
See also: Protecting websites from holiday breakdowns
