Written by Sponsored by: Ballistic Arts
Gone are the days when having more elements on a website made it better. Today, it is the simplest designs that performs best. Not only do clean and simple designs feature less clutter, they also improve the user experience.
If you think you have done your best when it comes to your website’s design but notice that it is not performing the way you imagined it, one of the first things you should do is to re-evaluate how your website appears to your targeted stakeholders. Sometimes, the main issue lies in how people perceive your site. If how your website looks overwhelms them, they will leave and look for better options.
To help you spot where you went wrong, here are some common mistakes that poor-performing websites often commit:
Your web pages are disorganized and unreadable
What is worse than a website without a search button? It’s not finding what you are looking for because of the cluttered web pages. Remember that browsing a website is an experience, and if you fail in this aspect, your visitors will leave. Make sure all your pages are organized so that viewers can instantly find what they are looking for.
Another consideration is your choice of font size, spacing, and style. If your site visitors cannot read your content well, you will fail in making them return for more.
You use low-resolution or stock images and videos
No matter how expensive and well thought out your website is, it will appear cheap and poorly made if you use low-quality media. The same applies when you use obviously free stock images from the internet. Committing any of these mistakes can affect your site’s appeal. Remember to invest in the media you post, too. That way, you will have a fantastic website that will capture and retain traffic.
Your internal and external links are broken
One frustrating activity for browsers is clicking onto a link only to be welcomed by an Error 404 message. Broken links can occur due to various reasons; the best way to avoid them is to monitor your site continuously. Aside from the annoyance that they bring your site browsers, having broken links can negatively affect your SEO score.
You do not state clear call-to-actions (CTAs)
Maybe your website looks fine, but you fail to create a call-to-action. This situation can be one of the reasons you are not getting your expected results. Make sure to be transparent with what you want to get from your consumers and visitors. You cannot just assume they will understand what you want them to do and automatically click where you want them to go. They still need some direction to take the action you want. If you want them to download an eBook, book an appointment, call your hotline number, or subscribe to your newsletter, state this clearly on your website.
Your site is not mobile-friendly
This is one of the largest errors constantly made on new website designs. Most people browsing the internet do so with their mobile devices. Even in a B2B market, over 50% of search queries are made using smartphones. Failing to capture these users will make you lose potential site visitors and customers big time. A non-responsive site will only bring frustration to site visitors. It is already 2021, so make sure that your website can adjust to different devices and screen sizes. Depending on your business, it is likely that your website should be mobile-first to best achieve your goals.
Conclusion
If your website is guilty of any of the mistakes on this list, remember that you can still make changes and save it. The great thing about websites is that they can be updated at any time. Find a trusted website design company to help you improve your website’s design and performance, and you can soon gain back all the momentum you think you lost through the years.
Looking for ways to
further your career as communication professional? Connect, learn, and contribute with our friends at CPRS Vancouver. Their members work to maintain the highest standards in communications and public relations.