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A business website is now the norm for many companies around the world. It can help introduce new businesses to consumers. For small businesses, a website is a huge part of gaining new customers and expanding their business network. Many businesses have tried creating their website without much success. Here are the most common business website mistakes that can be easily avoided.
Common Business Website Mistakes
1. Creating a website without considering the brand’s identity.
When building a website, getting lost in all the features and designs is accessible. Business website newbies may have difficulty choosing a colour scheme or template. One of the most common mistakes that must be avoided is choosing the design without considering the business’s identity.
Websites are a representation of the business. A business website should show what a company is all about. First-time visitors must be able to get a basic understanding of what the company offers before even navigating away from the website’s home page.
Ensure your brand’s identity is incorporated into the website’s design to avoid this mistake. The website should be designed around what the brand is. Incorporate the company’s logo’s primary colours, font styles, and taglines or call-to-action (CTA) on the website.
2. Focusing on design without considering the target market.
Another often overlooked aspect of a business website is its connection with its target market. Once you have effectively designed your website using the essential elements of your brand’s identity, it is crucial to check how it appeals to the target market.
Keep in mind that the business website is not just there for show. Its primary purpose is to drive more visitors and attract the target market to connect with your business. The interest of consumers will begin with a website that appeals to them. Think of which parts of the website visitors will navigate to first. Be sure to highlight the essential products or services in which your target market will be interested.
3. Packing too much stuff on the home page.
The first thing that visitors will notice when they navigate to your website is the home page. A common mistake of business websites is putting too much information on the home page. This can be in pictures, text, content, and even colours.
It is best to choose a homepage layout carefully to solve this problem. Businesses can use a step-by-step approach beginning with the colour. The background colour speaks a lot about the company. It will lay the foundation for a visually appealing website. It is generally recommended to use a lighter colour as a background. This ensures that the text and images to be placed can easily be seen.
Next, the font type is essential to create an attractive home page. Businesses usually use the font type of their business logo, but other fonts can also be selected. Make sure to choose a font type that works well with the type of business. Along with the font type, carefully selecting the font sizes to complement each other will make a massive difference for website visitors.
Lastly, ensure that the images used are striking and of high-resolution quality. Don’t pack too many images on the homepage. Choose the best images to represent your business. Another tip – use images that come directly from your business events and activities. Avoid using too many stock photos on your home page.
4. Using an unresponsive design.
The best websites are easy to view and navigate on any device. Another common business website mistake is rushing to create an unresponsive design. An unresponsive website design only works with one device, usually on a computer screen. This is a huge mistake because most internet users browse websites on their smartphones.
It is best to use a responsive design from the get-go. Responsive designs automatically adapt to the type of device of the user. The website can be viewed the same way whether the user is on a computer screen, tablet, or smartphone. This enhances the user experience and encourages them to stay on your website longer.
5. Publishing low-ranking and unoriginal content.
Content is one of the essential parts of a business website. A common mistake is publishing content arbitrarily. This means that the content and marketing team behind the website does not plan the type of content to be used. Content may be rushed and unrelated to the business website’s goals.
Publishing content without a clear content plan may result in low search engine optimization (SEO) ranking and unoriginal content. Publishing blogs without the proper quality control measures may also lead to plagiarized content.
Creating a solid content plan and quality control measures is important to solve this issue. This includes proper SEO keyword usage, proofreading for grammatical errors, editing, publishing a good mixture of topics related to the business, and optimizing article length to ensure readability. Good ranking content interesting to the target market will positively contribute to website traffic.
6. Lacking accessible contact information.
When users navigate your website, one of the first things they will look at is your company profile. Who are you? What do you do? What is your background? Some of the best business websites include a dedicated About Us or Contact Us page showing the company’s profile, address, e-mail address, updated contact numbers, and business hours.
Other business websites prefer to add a contact sheet to be filled up instead of updated contact information. Although this is an excellent way to identify interested business leads, you can lose more opportunities if you don’t have contact information on your website.
7. Lacking regular website updates.
Regular website updates help visitors know that your website is still active. It will give the impression that you are interested in interacting with your website visitors and updating them with your business activities. Creating a schedule to regularly update blog posts, company events, activities, and products will drive visitors to return to your website.
8. Designing the website yourself without enough experience.
When deciding to use a website to promote the business, many small business owners try to save too much on server and hosting costs. The business opts to use free hosting services and ready-made website templates. Although this is not frowned upon, doing this without experience will get a business nowhere. Factors to consider include the right website hosting provider to ensure that your website runs smoothly and avoids 500 codes.
It is recommended to invest enough capital in a business website. Remember, this website is how you will introduce yourself to your potential customers. Take the time to look for the best website template, especially if you are a small company. Once a template has been selected, it is best to hire a web developer or salesforce developer to customize the template for your website.
A web developer can assist you in creating your website in the way that you envisioned it. The developer will incorporate the theme, colour, images, and content you want to highlight on your website. Doing this yourself, especially if you have no experience in web development, is time-consuming. It can also be more costly than if you hire the services of a professional developer.
Final Word
Building your business website doesn’t have to be so complicated. The main thing to remember is how to make the website accessible to your target market. Ensuring the website can deliver a clear message of who you are as a business is critical for its success. Be sure to regularly update your website so you can keep up with the different website trends of today.