A Bad Website Is Even Worse for Your Business

Yes, this is the actual current website.

In today’s online marketplace, every business needs a website, whether they’re selling medical services, home improvement or clothing.

But here’s a scenario we’ve seen plenty of times. Looking to save time and money, some businesses will try to create and maintain their own websites in-house with their own limited staff. Or they’ll use an economical “out of the box” web service that promises the moon and doesn’t deliver.

The results can range from mediocre to downright harmful to your business.

A homegrown website may look amateur and will be difficult to browse, turning prospective customers off. A clunky site full of distorted pictures, jumping emojis and sparkly backgrounds circa 1990 does nothing to instill a prospect’s confidence in the product or service you want to sell.

No, you do not want this.

Conversely, those rubber-stamped websites may look more professional, but they lack personality — and customization. They simply don’t offer the features that Strottner Designs websites provide.

Here are some fatal web design mistakes…

Slow loading speed. When you don’t know how to optimize images, graphics and videos, you can end up with a site that moves like a turtle. Studies show that in today’s fast-paced online world, if your site doesn’t appear in two seconds or less, customers disappear.

Difficulty in navigation. The more you make people look for things, the tougher it is to hold their attention. Your site should flow fluidly, allowing prospects to get from place to place easily. And it shouldn’t have any of the aforementioned unnecessary sparkly chaser light emoji stuff. The user experience should be a pleasant one.

Not making it personal. A business will often forget to include the personal touches that make it relatable as a living, breathing thing. When you put a wall between your company identity and customers, it’s kind of creepy — like there’s something to hide. You must always have an “about us” page with staff bios and pictures. Customer testimonials, blogs and even photo galleries of company activities give prospects an emotional connection even before they pick up the phone.

Meet our staff? Maybe 45 years ago.

Site content is out of date. People notice it when your blog hasn’t been updated in years or the pictures look like they’re from the 1970s. A promo video that was made 10 years ago really needs to be retired. And dead links are a definite no-no. Showing your age will make customers think you’re behind the times. This is especially damaging if you’ve got products or services that need to be presented as up-to-date as possible.

The site is riddled with errors. You may think people don’t notice it that much, but typos and inaccurate information can also undercut your credibility.

You’ve obscured your call-to-action. A good website persuades prospects to do something, whether it’s to make a purchase, book an appointment or get a quote. It must be done in the simplest way possible. Every page should have a means to get in touch, whether it’s a phone number or a contact form.

Your site isn’t mobile friendly. Websites that adapt to multiple screens and multiple sizes are an absolute must these days. As a matter of fact, mobile has really taken over, especially with today’s larger phone screens. One of our clients whose pay-per-click (PPC) advertising we also manage derives 80-90% of its inquiries from phone searches.

Your site gets hacked and doesn’t function properly. Keeping your site up-to-date and safe from hackers is of the utmost importance. Not only does it assure a smooth user experience, it also protects customers from having their data stolen.

You’re losing out on business because people can’t find you. The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is a vast and complicated one. Algorithms, keywords and search terms change on a daily basis, and it’s tough to keep up with it all. You need to make sure you show up high on search lists, especially in this super-competitive world.

Here’s the solution for you

At Strottner Designs, we’re the website specialists. Not only will we custom-build a beautiful site for you from the ground up, we’ll keep it up and running and help you steer clear of all the pitfalls listed above. Contact us for an estimate today.