Investing in an experienced and reputable web design company is the first step in successfully planning your new website designed. However the best websites are often forged from a collaborative effort between a client and a web designer. Getting your website design wrong could mean a bad first impression with customers and a loss of thousands in potential revenue.
Below are five common mistakes that businesses make when having their websites designed and how to avoid making them yourself.
Anything Will Do
Small businesses have a bad habit of an ‘anything will do’ approach to their first website. However, a poor website for your business will do more harm than good, and may be worse than having no website at all. According to a recent study, 92% of users said they would be unlikely to do business with a company after a bad first impression of their website. Before engaging a website design company be sure to have examples of websites that you like, basic branding such as a logo and an idea of what you would like users to do once they arrive on your website. This will be the start to having a website with a solid purpose.
Trying Too Hard
This mistake is the opposite side of the coin from the previous one. In this case, a company tries too hard to impress with their website, and winds up making a mess of it in the process. A site with a design that is too complicated or too confusing will only frustrate visitors – and increase load times. A poor load time will cause 66% of visitors to leave within 5 seconds. You don’t need to show off fancy design tricks or unnecessary functionality. Aim for a site that has a clean, simple design and successfully communicates a clear message to your audience.
No Call-to-Action
Speaking of communication, a proper call-to-action should be one of the top priorities on your site. Reports show as many as 70% of small business websites don’t have a clear call-to-action anywhere throughout their site. A call-to-action, or CTA, is something that directs the visitor to what you want them to do.
Make sure the language you use is eye catching, specific and relevant to your audiences. By simply having ‘buy now’ buttons all over your website, you’re being too generic and cliché and are unlikely to have any tangible increase in your conversion rate. Whatever action you want the visitor to take, make sure it is obvious and easy to find on your website.
Short-term Thinking
Your website is going to need to change and evolve over time as your business offers new products or services, changes prices, hires new employees, etc. Make sure the site is built in a way that will make it easy to update as time goes by. An out-of-date website gives off the impression that a business isn’t relevant or credible– and that certainly isn’t the image that you want to portray.
A website with a robust CMS (content management system) will allow you to keep your content up to date and will rely less on your web design company to do this for you. When choosing a CMS be sure to consider how scalable it is for the long term. Are you able to easily add functionality, run updates and integrate with other online services? These are all questions to discuss when initially scoping your website with your web designer.
Not Investing in Mobile
According to some estimates, as much as 60% of internet traffic is now coming from mobile devices.
A great number of people are going to be accessing your site through their mobile devices, and your site needs to look just as good on mobile devices as it would on a desktop. Responsive web design allows your website to re-adjust to the size of device which it is being viewed from.
By having a responsive website you can ensure the user experience of your website will not degrade for your growing mobile audience, thereby lowering your bounce rate and increasing your mobile conversion rate. Even if you’re not planning an entire re-design anytime soon, depending on its complexity, your web designer may even be able to convert your existing website.
Good web design doesn’t have to be complicated or cost the earth, often the best website are simple, to the point and professional, but most of the works well for end users. First impressions matter a great deal in business, and your website is the front door to your company. Make sure you get it right from the outset to avoid costly mistakes and ending up with a website that you’re not happy with.
This article was contributed by Magicdust, a Sydney Web design agency providing web development, online marketing and ecommerce solutions.
You must be logged in to post a comment.