What’s Wrong With My Website - The Honest Truth
Anyone who owns a business today probably has a website, it’s actually become a rarity in today’s modern culture not to have one. If you were to ask many website owners however how much of a positive impact their website has on their business the honest answer many would give you is “not much”. As a web designer I’ve been asked countless times “what’s wrong with my website?” or “why isn’t it generating the results I want?” Here are some of the answers I’ve had to give them…or didn’t have the heart to at the time.
No One Is Looking At It: Having a website is usually better than nothing but if the only people looking at it are your mother, your co-workers and a few of your closet friends it’s invisible to the rest of the world. If you own a website make sure you know how to track the number of visits and analyze where you web traffic is coming from. Most hosting packages today come built with features that allow you to view not only the number of hits but what pages are most popular and what keywords your website is being found under. If you’re getting a small number of visitors it’s a clear sign that you need to promote your website better…and to seek out help in doing so.
You Think You Are a Good Photographer: Everybody loves to take pictures and since most people own a camera you might as well use it right? Imagine however if you were to pick up a magazine or newspaper and the photographs looked like they were taken by somebody’s cheap digital camera from Walmart? Quality photos can make an average website look great while poor photos can have the exact opposite effect. If you don’t want to pay for a photographer visit some of the many stock photo websites currently online. You can download professional high resolution pics for sometimes less than a dollar per image.
You obviously wrote the content yourself: Don’t be offended. Most people are not copywriters and asking them to write several pages of quality web content is like asking a 5th grader to finish their math homework. You don’t need to be a novelist in order to create good copy but it still needs to be compelling enough to keep your audience’s attention. Well written text can have an equal or greater impact on your visitors then even graphics or photos. If writing is not your thing assign the task to someone who will give it better individual attention. Remember people are there to READ your website not to marvel at how pretty it is.
You are not telling your customers what you want them to do: Having a strong “call to action” is one of the most important aspects of online marketing. When you get a flyer in the mail from a car dealership you’ll often read something like “no financing for a year if you buy now”. Imagine if that ad were to say instead “hi we are a car dealership and we sell cars”. You want to say something in your website text that prompts customers to take quick or immediate action. If you want them to pick up the phone and give you a call tell them so, always make sure they understand clearly what their next step should be.
Your website is not finished: Believe it or not this is actually a common one. So many websites will have “coming soon” or “check back shortly” pages which stay that way for months, or if not years. Having unfinished sections will tell your audience that your website, and therefore your business, are not a priority. Your website can be one of your strongest first impressions with customers so don’t make your online motto “I do things when and if I feel like it”. Remember your website is there to SELL your products and services so make sure it is giving you the best chance to do so.
You are doing nothing to promote it: Huh??? The reason I got a website in the first place was to promote my business. Now you’re telling me I need to market my very own marketing tool? Sadly yes, having a good website is only half the battle when it comes to online business. Once you have a site you must get it out there in as many ways possible. This includes getting your major keywords into search engines, submitting to online directories, blog & forum posting, pay-per-click advertising, link building and more. Once people know your website exists it can be a very powerful marketing tool but you must find a way to spread the message.
Your website never changes : Once people finally get their website online you’d be amazed how often it looks exactly the same even a year later. No new updates, no fresh content and no reason to come back a second time. Your website is an opportunity to inform your customers about the ongoing growth and progress of your company. If you have nothing new to offer your audience they won’t stay interested for long. It can be as simple as adding a latest news section, updating your product line, or writing an informative article. Always give your audience something or you’ll get nothing in return.
Some of the links on your pages DON’T WORK: Really there is no excuse for this and it is something even professional web developers can be guilty of. If you are serious about your business and how it is being perceived by the public take 10 or 20 to go through your site and make sure there are no broken links. Clicking on a link that leads to an error page or an inactive URL just looks BAD and so will your business. If you are struggling for time assign this task to a friend or love one, it’s the easiest improvement you’ll ever have to make.
You are cheap: You have decided a website should only cost $300 or $400 dollars, a random figure you have come up with in your head or that has been thrown around by a clueless associate of yours. This has lead you to hire an inexperienced freelances off of Kijiji or your cousin’s nephew instead of getting the job done right the first time around. Ironically some will pay thousands of dollars for yellow page ads or large scale mailouts but peanuts for their very own website. Your website is arguably your most important marketing tool, show it the respect that it deserves!
You have obviously put off getting an upgrade: Technology is always advancing in the world of web design with new things being done now that weren’t even 2-3 years ago. Having your website done properly will improve its shelf-life considerably but you will still need to consider upgrading eventually. Older websites begin to show their age and won’t produce the same wow factor they once did upon first launch. Be prepared to upgrade your website at least every 3-5 years depending on your market and audience. This means planning ahead with your marketing so when the time is right you are ready to move.
You’re too involved: Web design clients are an interesting bunch, some want to just get out of the way and let you take the reins while others want to be involved in absolutely EVERYTHING. Make no mistake you should be involved in creating your website as you will likely know your audience and their tastes best. Remember though you are not a designer nor do you have experience selling products or services online. Most web developers are flexible regarding their client’s wants but if he/ she is telling you repeatedly something should be done a certain way try to heed their advice. In the end it’ll be you kicking yourself if something YOU demanded is not generating the results you had hoped for.
November 14th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
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