Websites are as diverse as the businesses they represent. What works online for one business may not necessarily work for another. Internet marketers, online stores, Internet based businesses, and entertainment sites follow a different set of rules than regular physical businesses or service providers that are looking to promote and represent their business online. A lot of mistakes are made by small business owners with their websites, and even more so for those that attempt to build their own website with no prior knowledge of how to do it properly, or take the time to learn how.
Competition for traffic and readers on the web is intense, more so than any other medium. So if/when you do get actual visitors that are interested in what your company has to offer, it is vital not to waste that precious time and send them backing out of your website to search a competitor. There are several ways to really tick of your website visitors and have them never come back. Here are some of the quickest ways to do it:
1. Make them guess who you are, and what you do.
Step outside and put yourself in the shoes of your website visitors. Just like you when you go to a website, they are looking for information, or looking to solve a problem. A business website should be presented and displayed with the first time visitor in mind, and you should assume that a visitor as no idea who you are, and what you do, because in many cases, they probably won’t.
You need to make it clear what your business is, what it does, and how to contact you above the fold (the fold is the area of your website that is immediately seen without having to scroll down). At the very least, your well placed navigation menu should have an “About” page with a description of your company, and a “Contact” page with options to get in touch with you, hours of operation (if applicable), and a contact person and when ever possible that should include a contact form with a minimum number of required fields.
A lot of business owners like to place the companies mission statement, industry statistics, thesis and other information or ideals that have no place on the first page of your site before you have identified yourself. Skimming is the new reading on the web and you have a limited amount of time to make a good first impression, and promote your business. Don’t waste that time and space with a bunch of rhetoric that leaves the reader still wondering what it is that you actually do. If you make them search for the information, odds are that they won’t and move on to the next site.
2. Unnecessary Flash Intro.
Flash is great for Entertainment sites, night clubs, car companies, electronics makers and companies that have large marketing budgets that enforce brand recognition through out multiple mediums. It’s not so good for the average small to medium sized business. Don’t make your visitors sit through a flash opener just to get to the meat and potatoes of your website. Even if you add the popular “skip flash intro” button, it’s still an annoyance to most visitors and most times completely out of place and unnecessary.
3. Unrelated Advertising on your site.
Nothing says amateur and unprofessional like a business website with Google Adsense or other kind of unrelated advertising plopped on a website. Are you trying to attract clients for your business, or make money from ads ? If it’s the later, then open another site to practice your web marketing skills. Do not try to combine the two. A business website with ads tells potential clients that business must not be good if you need to place ads on your company website. Besides, the money you make from unrelated ads is not going to be significant enough to overcome the negative impression that having ads on your site gives off in the first place.
Advertising your product or service on your own site is completely acceptable and sometimes even expected. Maybe a special offer, new product, timely promotion and so on. If I were a Plumbing company, I may want to advertise a new design for fixtures that we have in stock, that’s fine. Just make sure that any in-house ads are appropriate, and don’t over power the rest of the site.
4. Pop up boxes.
You hate them, I hate them…everybody hates them. They make pop up blockers for a reason…nobody likes pop ups (especially the ones that move around the page so that you have to chase it down to get rid of it) They are annoying, and spammy and it comes off as cheap and desperate. If you want to offer your visitors something special…a free e-book, or something to that effect…a well placed sign up area will do the trick just as well. The last thing you want to do is annoy a potential client. Give new visitors a chance to see who you are and what you have to offer first without throwing a “Sign up for this” ad in their face. If people are interested, you won’t have to hit them over the head and throw flashing things in their face to get them to sign up for your newsletter.
It goes without saying that any pop up advertising is a no-no, especially one that attempts to redirect the reader to another page.
5. Bad Design
Even if you manage not to annoy your visitors with all the other irritations, a bad design cannot be overcome and visitors will never return to a badly designed website. It screams of unprofessionalism, and yells that you have no idea what you are doing in business. There is nothing worse than a business website that was obviously build by an amateur, or a “Do it yourself” business owner that did not do his/her homework,and has no clue about the basics of business marketing and web design. It’s sad actually, and it will usually include one of more of the following mistakes that turn people off and send them running to a competitor:
- Fonts too small or too big.
- Music (there are some exceptions but as a general rule it’s a no-no)
- Bad color combinations
- Horizontal scrolling (at the bottom of the page)
- Requires extra software or a download to access the information.
- Require sign up before viewing
- Bad grammar and misspelled words
- Disable browser navigation (Seen as dishonest)
- Long page load times (Too many graphics and flashy things)
- Personal information or photos (Unless it’s a family owned business, leave the family photos out of it)
- Under construction signs and banners (Don’t launch the site until it’s ready..plain and simple)
There are of course thousand of other ways to scream “unprofessional” to your website visitors. When in doubt, consult with a professional or at the very least attempt to gain some insight on a business or design forum. It is common for business owners to ask friends or relative for opinions, and that’s great, but just remember, if they are not in the business, have a business, or have any experience in web design and marketing, they are probably not going to be able to give you an informed opinion. It is important to look at your website through the eyes of the visitor and be sure that you are answering the basic of questions that people have when they don’t know who you are, and have never heard of your company.
For some great examples of web pages, and what not to do, check out http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/
