Ten Website Design Mistakes to Avoid
As the economy took a downturn and fuel prices soar, more people are turning to spending money online. But, with millions of sites competing for every customer, competition is tough, to say the least. To complicate matters, studies show that the average website visitor spends approximately 8 seconds on your site before moving onto check out your competition…unless your product or service hits ‘em right between the eyes with the kind of impact that makes them want to stay and buy.
To stand head and shoulders above the competition, you should know these ten business website design mistakes to avoid. With only a few seconds to convert browsing visitors into paying customers, striving to become the first —and best —destination for your products and services will be much easier if you follow these key points:
- Using Design Templates
- Dull, Drab Colors and Words
- Too Many Words
- Confusing Menus
- Inaccessibility; Poor Navigation
- Lack of Professional Appearance
- Hard to Read, Frustrating Fonts
- Only One Purchase Option
- Neglecting Upkeep & Site Maintenance
- Annoying Ads, Pop-Up and Otherwise
Looking over this list, you’ll notice all of these points fall under three main points vital to your business website design success:
- Presentation
- Precision
- Prioritisation
Presentation
The main goal of any profitable business website is to attract potential customers and convert them into paying customers. Thus, presentation is vital to the appeal of your website. Grab ‘em while you got ‘em, or risk losing them to your competitors. It’s that simple. The best business websites combine great design with the features customers want most, to get their attention, draw them in closer and open their wallets.
Precision
Have you ever landed on a site where the home page has ten paragraphs of detailed information in a teensy-tiny font you can barely see? How long did you hang around? Do you remember what they sold? Better still, did you buy anything?
Wordiness, confusing navigation, poor quality images, insufficient explanations of who you are and what you offer are just a few of the problems web sites often encounter. Here’s the problem: Most website owners create the site based on what they think people want to know, not what people really want to know. They miss the mark in serving the needs of their customers, and it can mean death for their business.
Uncover your customer’s real needs so you can precisely address those needs via the design and features of your business website. That’s a sure path to success.
Prioritisation
Finally, no business is successful without prioritization. For example, the needs of a customer should come first. When a question or problem arises, can you be reached for customer service, or are you unreachable? Does your business website design make it super-easy for people to contact you for help, or do they have to hunt all over the site to find your phone number or email address? If you make your customers feel as though you’re happy to take their money quickly, but not so quick to respond to questions and problems, your low conversions and high bounce rates will show your website’s true colors.
Likewise, if a visitor is sitting in front of the computer, open wallet in hand, is your sales process simplified? Does it offer several payment options? Is the product or service up-to-date? A customer friendly business website, where the buyer feels they are a priority, means repeat patronage in the future.
To get started designing an incredibly efficient, effective and functional business website customers will love, and to avoid theses common mistakes and others, knock the socks off your competition with a cutting-edge, highly interactive website design from Ring Alpha Web Design.
