Websites have changed so much in the last 20 years. If you compare a website from the year 2000 to one now, it will blow your mind. They used to be simple and purely text-based, but now they’re so complicated and intricately styled.
In general, the development of websites is a good thing for businesses. It gives you a way of reeling in new customers and showing off your business. Also, if you get the design right, then it’s a powerful tool to improve your business reputation.
Nevertheless, there is one pretty significant problem. Websites have become so complex that there are now more and more ways to mess them up. So, here are a few common website mistakes that most businesses make without realizing:
Using an online website builder
You’ve definitely seen something like this before. Initially, a website builder looks like the ultimate solution for small businesses. Why hire a designer when you can go online and build a website yourself. You don’t need any web design knowledge; it’s just a case of following some on-screen steps.
While they might be convenient, website builders aren’t very good at all. Most of them use the same templates, which means your site will look almost identical to thousands of others online. The support is often pretty poor as well, which makes it hard to alter things or respond to issues on your website. Ultimately, they’re just a little bit too restrictive. You’re much better off hiring a web development company to take care of things for you. While more expensive, this approach ensures your site is 100% unique and contains all the latest features. Plus, you get better support, easier updates; it’s just the better choice.
Not having a mobile-friendly site
Responsive web design has been a hot topic for so many years now. The rise of mobile devices means the majority of consumers are on their phones when browsing the web. This means the websites they view are seen through entirely different dimensions to what’s required on desktops. Anyone with a mobile device will know how painful it is to try and navigate a site that’s not mobile-friendly.
All the established businesses have cottoned on to this and made the required adjustments already. But, many small businesses haven’t. They build a basic website for desktop and use it on mobile devices as well. The reason behind this is mainly because paying for a mobile-friendly website is an extra cost.
However, it’s essential that you have a mobile website. This is a huge mistake as you will lose out on your mobile SEO ranking. Websites that aren’t mobile-friendly get a penalty, which means all the mobile-friendly ones are pushed above yours. So, you miss out on potential business leads.
Too much on one page
When someone visits your website, you want them to stick around. In fact, you’re perhaps guilty of wanting them to stick around a little too much. As a result, your homepage or landing page is full of information. You have hundreds, maybe even thousands of words of content. Images and videos are trying to load up – you may also have a pop-up or two! The result is a web page that’s so overly cluttered.
Lots of small businesses make this mistake as they just want to secure a lead. You desperately want to give as much information as possible, but you cross the line. The problem with this is that it slows down your site. Too many things have to load up, and the user is left waiting for longer than they expect.
Consequently, this impacts your bounce rate. It goes through the roof, which damages your SEO. Now, Google is ranking your website lower down the results because your bounce rate is high, and your pages are too slow to load. It looks like your site provides bad user experience, and you’re punished for it.
Infrequent updates
Small business owners think that having a website is enough. They assume that the work is done when it’s created and ready to be found. As such, they never update it. Or, the updates are incredibly infrequent. This leads to lots of outdated information on the site, and it just doesn’t look professional at all.
Websites should be updated at least once every month. Even if it’s something simple like adding to a product description or posting a blog article. Updates keep your website fresh and help you improve on it. But, most importantly, they aid with SEO as well. Google likes websites that update regularly. Why? Because it shows the website is active. If you never update, it looks like your site is inactive, so they don’t want to send people to it. Thus, your ranking goes down the pan.
In conclusion, if you want to have an excellent business website, make sure you don’t make any of these common mistakes!
