It’s time to take a look at your website and see if you’re making any of these common mistakes.
There’s no call to action
First of all, what’s a call to action?
It’s an instruction to your customer to interact with you further. It could be as simple as ‘sign up’ or ‘subscribe’. Whatever you choose, it tells your customer what you would like them to do next.
Remember, what’s obvious to you isn’t necessarily obvious to your customer. It may be obvious that your blog about a certain product is to encourage them to buy it, but it doesn’t hurt to add that call to action in – actually, go one better and link in the product itself, so they don’t have to search your site.
It…doesn’t look good
Do you like the look of your website? Does it look modern and fresh?
Look at websites you like and use regularly – would you say it is in the same league? It sounds shallow, but some people will turn away if a site isn’t pleasant to look at. It really is enough to put someone off.
Your website doesn’t have to be flashy, just in good taste and in keeping with the times.
While we’re on the topic – if your website does look good, does it also look good on mobile? Everyone’s website should be optimised for mobile by now. If you’re not sure if your website is mobile optimised, it’s time to check. Studies show that most people will not return to a website if they struggled to use it on a mobile. If your website is mobile optimised, take a look at it on your phone anyway. Is it as easy to use as the desktop site? Does it look good? Can you find what you’re looking for easily? If your answer to any of these questions is no, it might be time for a redesign.
It’s out of date
When did you last update your website?
You may not realise this, but it is pretty obvious to a customer when a website has been abandoned by its owner. There are many giveaways – broken links, latest news posts dating back months if not years, old fashioned design, the list goes on. By not updating your site, you give the impression that the company itself is being left to languish in a similar way. This could be enough to turn a customer off and into the arms of your competition.
It’s slow
Have you ever noticed how terribly impatient we are when online?
We start moaning if we have to wait any longer than a couple of seconds for a website to load! Don’t lead your customers to hit X in pure frustration. If you want them to stick around, you have to make sure your site is fast. If you’d like to see how fast your website loads, try using GTmetrix or a similar free tool to analyse your website’s speed.
You’re asking for too much from your customer
There’s nothing worse than trying to contact a business, or buy from them, only to be met with huge forms.
It shouldn’t take ten minutes of filling in details, addresses and more just to talk to someone! You’ve probably never tried using your own website in this way yourself, but we’d recommend it. Sit at your computer (try it on mobile too!) and pretend you’re a customer or potential client. You might find that your processes are lengthy and could be easily cut down. Look at the data you ask for from customers and ask yourself what is necessary and what isn’t.
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