This contributed content builds on my recent post about getting noticed by Google. Great SEO starts with a great website.
These days, websites are a non-negotiable platform that all businesses need, and with the huge amount of competition out there, it’s more important than ever to make sure your company’s site is up to scratch.
Web-building mishaps can be avoided
There’s no universal method for making any business’s website a masterpiece, but there are certainly some errors which people tend to make. Here are a few blunders that you need to avoid like the plague…
Having Slow Loading Times
Image source: Flickr
The modern consumer is extremely impatient. It seems we’ve all been kind of spoiled by the modern standards of technology, and now, if your website takes more than a couple of seconds to load, it can cause your bounce rate to go through the roof, and hurt your SEO rankings. When you’re setting your website up, do your homework on different hosting plans, and find one that has a good reputation for loading speed. You should also try to be conservative in the features you plan to include, as some of the flashier ones can really drag down the loading speed. It can also help to outsource some of the initial web building, through services like a Magento agency. Once it’s up and running, be sure to follow up every change you make to your site with a speed test. You’d be surprised at how little tweaks can make a big difference.
Trying to Seem Bigger Than You Are
It’s completely understandable for a small, fledgling business or an independent freelancer to use their website to try and seem bigger than they really are. Understandable, but, not really condonable. Yes, implying that you’re a big organisation may give your customer base a certain degree of reassurance. However, it can also attract clients who expect you to perform more work than you can realistically take on. If you try to stretch yourself too thin and wind up underperforming for the bigwig clients and customers you’re trying to attract, you’ll also deal a lot of damage to your professional reputation. It’s great that you have big goals, but be patient! Good business is all about knowing what your limits are, and building your operation in small, manageable steps. Look professional, but don’t try to inflate your brand too much through your website.
Too Many Popups
Hopefully, everyone reading this is savvy enough to avoid letting spammy popup ads onto their business website. However, it can be easy for even competent entrepreneurs to overdo another kind of popup on their site. There’s nothing wrong with having a little surprise window asking people to join your mailing list, follow a social media page, or take advantage of a special offer. However, if you have popups asking them to do all of these things, spread out over different pages, all you’re going to do is annoy people. With each individual page, try to pin down the most important action you want them to take, and then focus any salesy features on getting them to do this. Try to sell visitors everything, and you’ll wind up selling them nothing!
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