Setting up a new business is a brave and sometimes daunting task. There are so many things to think about and one of these is having a website. In the digital world, we now live, a business website is a key element of your marketing.
Why is a website so important for businesses?
- It presents a professional image of your business to your potential customers.
- It showcases your products or services.
- It offers opportunities for people to contact you through Call to Action buttons and forms.
- It gives you access to the Internet, which almost 60% of the population of the world are using.
So having taken these facts on board and being eager to present a professional, informative online presence, you create a website or have one designed for you. Job done! Right? Not necessarily.
What makes a good website?
A website needs to fulfill so many needs. It needs to be:
informative, educational, reassuring, easy to use, fast loading. If there are elements which are holding your website back and proving off-putting to your customers, they need to be fixed.
In this blog, I am going to outline 6 reasons your website might be driving your customers away. In some cases, they may not even be getting past your home page. Lets consider these reasons.
1. Your website is suffering from an identity crisis!
Every day in life we are exposed to marketing and each company works very hard to clearly define its brand and what it offers its customers. A company’s brand message is communicated in its logo, typography, images, content and personality. If your website is unclear in these elements and is not easily recognisable, your customers might lack trust in your ability to meet their needs. They aren’t instantly reassured that you know what you are doing and will walk away.
2. Outdated design
I have to say that I am regularly surprised at how often I come across a website that is a single brochure page, with all content written in the centre of the page in the tiniest font size, with few opportunities to interact with the page and few dynamic features. Website design today changes rapidly and a design can quickly look outdated. Take a look at these exciting ideas in this blog by 99Designs
3. Webpage Loading Speed
How long do you think a consumer would wait for a webpage to load, before abandoning it? 10 seconds? 5 seconds?
Would you believe that 47 percent of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less. 40 percent of consumers will wait no more than three seconds for a web page to render before abandoning the site? That is not very long at all, but we all know the frustration of watching the icon spin as the page fails to materialise. What does this say to you? Poor quality? Unprofessional? Lacking in attention? It doesn’t inspire customer confidence, that’s for sure. Your bounce rate will be high as people click away from your slow page.
4. Unresponsive Design ( not mobile friendly).
46% of internet use is through a mobile device. Almost half of your customers discover your website through a mobile phone. If that website is not fully responsive, the layout of text and images will not adjust to the mobile screen correctly. Only last week, I was browsing a site which was not responsive, looking to buy a new school uniform for my son. It was so frustrating. I had to constantly slide the page around to try to see the information. Not being fully responsive is unforgivable! If your website isn’t responsive, get in touch!
5. Difficult to navigate.
A website design needs to be instinctive to navigate. The menu navigation, which is usually found at the top of the page, must offer clear signposted directions to such pages as the key services, products, testimonials, company history and contact page. Each page should provide internal links to other pages so that the customer is guided towards booking your service, buying your products, or contacting you.
6. No CTAs!
No Calls To Action. At regular opportunities, throughout the website, your customers need to be offered or encouraged to engage with a Call To Action. This can be a button to click, a phone number to call or a contact form.