Starting a new business can be an exciting and challenging experience, especially when it comes to creating a website. Many business owners rush into the design process without fully understanding the impact that their website can have on their brand and online presence. This often leads to common mistakes that can negatively impact the success of their website. In this article, we will outline the most common mistakes that business owners make when designing their first website and provide tips on how to avoid them.
Lack of Purpose and Plan
One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make is not having a clear purpose or plan for their website. Before starting the design process, it’s important to take the time to define your website’s goals and objectives. This will help you to determine what type of content and features you need to include on your website. Without a clear plan, you may end up with a website that lacks direction and fails to engage your target audience.
Neglecting User Experience
Another common mistake is neglecting the user experience (UX) of your website. Your website should be designed with your target audience in mind and make it easy for them to find the information they need. A poor UX can lead to a high bounce rate, which can negatively impact your search engine rankings and also your conversion rate. Consider the following when designing your website to ensure a great user experience:
- Navigation: Make sure that your website is easy to navigate and that users can quickly find what they’re looking for, with menu items properly laid out and labeled
- Load Time: A slow-loading website can be frustrating for users and can also negatively impact your search engine rankings. Make sure to optimize your images, javascript, css and other ‘techie stuff’. Just talk to your developer, please. And make sure to use a fast hosting service – any optimization you do is useless if the server itself is crap.
- Mobile Optimization: With the increasing number of users accessing websites on mobile devices (about 80% from my estimation), it’s important to make sure that your website is optimized for mobile.
Failing to Optimize for Search Engines
Many business owners don’t realize the importance of optimizing their website for search engines like Google. This can result in a website that is difficult for search engines to crawl and rank. To optimize your website for search engines, you should:
- Produce high quality content
- Include relevant keywords in your website’s content and meta tags
- Use descriptive and concise titles and descriptions for each page
- Include internal links to other pages on your website
Ignoring Branding
Your website is an extension of your brand and should reflect the personality and values of your business. Many business owners make the mistake of neglecting branding when designing their website. To ensure that your website effectively represents your brand, you should:
- Choose a color scheme and font that aligns with your brand
- Include your logo and brand messaging throughout your website
- Make sure that your website’s design and tone are consistent with your other marketing materials
Not including Call-to-Actions
A call-to-action (CTA) is an important part of your website and can greatly impact the success of your online marketing efforts. CTAs usually lead to a final destination page (like a quote form or contact us page) and encourage users to take a particular action. Business owners often forget to include these CTAs (usually buttons) on their website, resulting in a lack of engagement and conversions.
Not Keeping Your Website Up-to-Date
Technology and design trends are constantly changing and it’s important to keep your website up-to-date to ensure that it continues to perform well. Many business owners neglect to update their website, resulting in a website that is outdated and may not perform as well as it could. Make sure to regularly review and update your website to ensure that it remains relevant and effective.
Conclusion
In conclusion, designing a website for your business is a critical aspect of your online presence. To ensure that your website is successful, it’s important to avoid common mistakes such as neglecting user experience, failing to optimize for search engines, ignoring branding, not including call-to-actions, and not keeping your website up-to-date. By taking the time to plan and optimize your website, you can create a website that effectively represents your brand and helps you to achieve your online goals.
