10 Website Fails Your Business Is Making

We all know having a website is no longer a luxury — It’s mandatory.

A website for your business is a must in today’s marketplace, BUT, just because you have invested in one doesn’t mean that it’s doing its job or connecting with your customers and improving sales.  Although there are many reasons why your website is working for you, here are 10 of the most common reasons for a website fails.

1. It’s Not mobile friendly.

This of course should not come as surprise, but we all know that mobile and tablet traffic has surpassed the desktop. As the mobile revolution continues to grow in rapid numbers, the trend is quickly moving away from desktops to portable devices, this mean your site NEEDS to be mobile friendly. Today, responsive sites are great to tackle this issue.

2. Contains too much gibberish.

We all get that you’re the expert in your field and you wish to showcase your knowledge and authority. However, unless you’re talking directly to fellow experts, the average person isn’t getting what you’re saying or understand your technical speak. AVOID the jargon and use simple and straight forward language that customers understand.

3. Lacks Content

Your customers may have a problem they are trying to figure out, and they’ve come to your site for answers, that said your website should contain new and fresh content to tackle real life questions they may have. Blogs are a great tool to keep up to date content going on the site, PLUS it helps in your quest for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

4. Hiding essential info

Aside from seeking info, customers are looking for specific information about your business. Things like:

• The address of your business – have a map or a link to a map
• Contact information – Phone numbers, or a form
• Social Media links
• Hours of operation

5. Site loads too slow

Users expect sites to load immediately. No one likes to wait. In fact 47% of customers expect a site to load in 2 seconds. There are many ways to speed up the site, talk to us to find out what we can do to speed up your website.

6. No Clear calls-to-action

This is one of my favorite! You don’t have to have visitors in the dark, bouncing from page to page and making them guess what you want them to do. You direct and simple in their face actions like buttons – CONTACT US TODAY or SIGN UP NOW – this should be front and center where it looks best. If you don’t have these simple call-to-actions – you could be loosing out on new business.

7. Outdated Website

This one gets me all the time, I see a site built in 2001 and the business owner think this is ok? Website should be maintained updated every couple of years. More than that you’re gambling.  Honestly, sites get outdated quickly so stay on top of new trends.

8. Annoying and Cluttered.

Yup, there are still businesses that insist on having video or music play automatically too, or have tons of banner ads and a moving ticker news feed. These site are simply and eye sore. Here is a classic! 

Keep in mind that the bulk of your visitors are browsing your site on mobile devices, this means the site should be clean, organized and keep info to a minimum, use headings and sub headings, bullets and some graphic elements so they can digest the content easily.

9. Broken Shopping Carts

Unless you’re relying on 3rd party payment gateway or shopping cart, its your responsibility your shopping cart is working properly, if it’s broken, guess what? NO SALE for you. And ensure you have a valid SSL Certificate as well. They do expire and need to be renewed typically every year.

10. You don’t guide users to other pages.

Many businesses tend to send traffic to the homepage, but keep in mind you have MANY pages which some are more important to some users while others are important to other users. Create landing pages if you can and ensure you are linking your all your service pages and other key pages of your site. Help users find what they are looking for and you’ll be amazed.