1. Cheap Web Design Prices are the Worst
The first and probably the most common mistake that businesses make is going down the cheap and cheerful path when it comes to choosing your web designer. The temptation is there and I am very sympathetic to this that business owners want the best value for their marketing dollar. But, there are so many web companies out there offering cheap deals that the end results are websites that do not perform well. as stated above if they are not better than what’s out there online already, how are they going to entice customers and take some of the market share? The graveyard of businesses are littered with heap, template web designs. Saving money at this critical stage of your business is a recipe for failure and I urge al business owners NOT to be seduced by these companies offering ‘cookie cutter’ solutions. Also don’t be tempted by these free websites, they have very limited design options and they simply do not work – you have to trust me on this as I get people calling me all the time who have tried the free WIX style web option and they hate it.
2. You are not offering a Unique Value Proposition
Another very common mistake is not clearly communicating exactly what you do on the home page. That is, what is your unique value proposition and what are you offering your clients. This is the result of a poorly designed website and not planning a web site strategy from the beginning. Too many businesses feel that having any old web page up there with their logo is enough. Well I have new for you; its not. You need to plan each and every step of your web process including the content on the home page. The issue with this is that people will and on your website and simply exit. Think about how much money you are loosing case you do not clearly state what you do. You can compound this issue if you have an eCommerce site that relies heavily on online sales. If you are serious about your website performing like an olympian athlete then you need to invest the right funds and resources by using a web agency, like HOPPING MAD DESIGNS that can get you to where you want to be.
Let me give you an example here. On your home page; rather than saying ‘your local Plumber specialist’ wouldn’t it be better to say ‘ Emergency plumbing service…at your house in 2 hours!’ It’s these small details that can make a huge difference. You have to know what defines your brand or business and you have to market this to its full potential.
3. A difficult to use Website littered with errors
A professionally designed website that has covered off all aspects of your business in regards to design, site speed, content and SEO will outperform and outsell your rivals. Poor websites with difficult navigation and broken links will damage the user experience and in turn you are going to turn potential paying customers away. Get Google analytics installed on your website and see if you have high bounce rates. That is, people coming to your site and exiting without looking at another page. I will bet anything that if your site is poorly designed it will have above average bounce rates.
Your market, your clients now demand fast, easy on the eye websites that clearly define your brand. Anything less than this will be disastrous for your business. That I can guarantee!
4. Ignoring all MUST HAVE ‘On Page’ SEO Requirements.
So many businesses simply ignore this web killing mistake and they let it go on and on. What happens here is they sign up with a woeful web agency that is offering them a website for a couple of hundred dollars and what they get is a disgusting looking site that has no SEO strategy or planning in place. The worst part about this is that business owners, are oblivious to this and think that their website will rank on Google because they have a site.
WRONG!
How do I know this, cause, people call me up and ask me why their site is not ranking 6 months after it was built. I have to break the bad news to them that their site is crawling with errors and it is totally non Google compliant. What a waste of time and potential lost revenue.
This blog article is intended to shake those in the business community up a bit who think that they can survive online with a website that they have paid peanuts for. I want them to realise just how dangerous this is for their business and if they think they can get away with it, they are sorrily mistaken.
Moving forward, for a discussion on how a website should be properly designed and built for success, why not give us a call here at Hopping Mad Designs on 02 9360 8514. It’s only 1 phone call and could mean the difference between you boasting about how good your website is and how well it’s doing OR complianing that your site is an utter failure online.