A website is the store front for your business. Just like a physical store, the window should be used to tell potential customers what you’re selling (or what service it is you offer). And just like the best stores, a website should help “sell” your products to passing browsers by being attractive and easy to understand, which makes it all the more strange that so many websites are so poorly designed.
Even those with something great to offer often fall into some classic website content faux pas. While many people would never dream of filling a real shop window with old stock and cardboard boxes full of trash, many online sites do just this.
For anyone who has taken the time to look at a number of sites with an eye on obvious errors, it isn’t long before they realize that a few common mistakes are made time and time again. Knowing what these are will help prevent a business repeating these errors.
What’s It All About, Alfie?
It is incredible how many business sites manage to be unclear about exactly what it is the business offers. Think about it like driving a car. You signal which direction you’re about to turn not for your own sake, as you already know, but so others can see your intentions. In other words, it may be obvious to you that you sell collectable vinyl, but is it as obvious to those browsing the site? If not, change your home page now.
Waiting, Wishing & Hoping
Far too many websites take too long to load. It can sometimes be hard to accept this, especially if you have taken a lot of time or money to create a wonderfully artistic screen to greet visitors, but if it takes too long to load, potential customers will go elsewhere. Make your home page quick to load (ideally 5 seconds or less). Life is short, but online browsers’ patience is shorter.
Broken Wings
This should go without saying, but make sure your site works. A common problem is broken links. It looks shoddy and will give the impression of a business that doesn’t have its eye on the ball. Frustrated browsers seldom return.
Words of Love
Make sure your site has enough text. The poor written word can often be overshadowed by images and while they may look good, it can be a bit like living on chocolate. Great at first, but you soon hanker after some substance. Give the browser something to sink their teeth in to (although don’t over do it). The other reason this is important is that search engines love text and it will significantly increase your chances of being found. SEO content is a vital marketing tool, so even if you are a photographer make sure you give the written word the attention it deserves.
Managing to avoid the common pit falls of website content can make all the difference between repeat visits and potential customers heading off in the direction of your competitors. Your business deserves to succeed, so give it every chance by avoiding common website content faux pas.
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About SteveLazuka
I have a question …….just got in my mind while reading the broken wing tip…if some of my links become 404 ….how bad i would be treated by google??/
Thanks for the question. 404′s are a no-no. Run a test on your site and find any of those pages that are 404ing (I use SEOMoz’s crawl test to figure those things out). Then put a 301 redirect in place so whoever is looking for that old page (currently 404ing) will be directed to the correct page. Google wants your site to be user friendly, 404′s are not user friendly. Also: links pointing to that old page should be directed to a new page and will pass the link authority to the correct page, not a 404 page.