7 Website Mistakes You Need To Avoid
1. Visitor counters
Back in the 90’s, website counters were all the rage. Google Analytics wasn’t around then, so webmasters wanted a way to measure the hits to their website. It was also a great way to show off how popular (or unpopular) your website was.
But now that analytics is freely available and so in-depth, visitor counters only serve to hurt you. The truth is that people don’t care about how many people have visited your site, or how many visitors are currently browsing it. If you don’t have a high number, then your site looks unimportant. If you do have a high number, then people may think you rigged it to skew the hit count. Our best recommendation is to leave the hit counter off all together and go check your Google Analytics reports.
2. Under Construction signs
Perhaps you just launched your website or are just adding a new page, but you don’t have the content ready yet. An “Under Construction” sign is tempting, but don’t do it! And don’t put Coming Soon, either! This especially looks bad if months have passed and your website still displays these signs.
Putting one of these notices on your website puts a stamp on you and your brand that screams amateur. You never see an under construction notice on sites like Target.com or other big company websites. If the content isn’t ready, then don’t publish the page.
3. No copyright or current year
Everything on your website can be copyrighted (provided you created the content or acquired the proper licenses to use the material). So, be sure to include a copyright notice at the bottom of your website.
Along with that, make sure your copyright date is current. A copyright notice of 2003 looks bad on all levels and tells your visitors that the lights are on, but no one is home.
4. Not identifying the benefits of your product or service
This goes back to marketing 101. Don’t just tell potential customers why your product or service is so great, but rather show them how it meets a need or want in their life.
There are tons of studies, books, and reports on why people buy. However, the customer’s motivation to exchange their hard earned money for a product or service boils down to two things: want or need. Show them (don’t just tell) how what you have to offer can either solve a problem (need) or give them pleasure (want).
5. No Call To Action (CTA)
Once you have shown your website visitor how you can solve all their problems and make their dreams come true, now you need to tell them to call, write, or buy now. Letting all your fabulous content convince them your service is awesome is one thing, but the customer needs direction. By having a bright big button that says Buy Now is how your website closes the sale. Even a simple “contact us now” link to an email form is better than nothing. The Call To Action is an essential component of lead generation.
6. Failure to market
The absolute worst thing one can do is forget about their website. It is definitely not “set it and forget it”. Just because the website exists doesn’t mean people will find it. Advertise on Google, use social media, industry listing directories, blogs, and more. Even in today’s digital world, old school marketing tactics still work. Create brand awareness by putting your website address on your business cards, brochures, vehicles, and anything else you can brand. The more you tell people about your website, the more visitors you will have.
7. Not being mobile friendly
A super easy way to get people to your website on the fly is to use a QR (Quick Response) code. These special graphical codes can be scanned by a common smartphone app and send the user right to your website. There’s no better way to put your information literally in the palm of your customer’s hands.
However, if your website is not mobile friendly, then you end up punishing your visitor and showing your company is out of date and irrelevant. But by having a mobile friendly offering, this is a great way to offer a special promo and a call to action to get them to volunteer their contact info or buy now.
Next steps
The ideal solution is to get your website into the WordPress Content Management System which empowers you to avoid the above mistakes and leverage your website to generate leads and close sales. If you need help in moving to WordPress, or you already have WordPress and just need advice on how to achieve the best results, contact us right now for a free consultation. King Web Design is here to help you transform your website into a marketing machine.
