Don't Make These 3 Design Mistakes On Your Small Business Website
If you own a small business, you likely know how important your website is for attracting new customers. In many cases, a potential customer may look at your website before they visit your business or make any kind of contact with you. Their experience on your website could have a big impact on their decision to advance their relationship with you. If they have a bad experience, they may opt for one of your competitors. Unfortunately, too many businesses lose out on potential customers because their website isn't up to par. You can avoid that problem by correcting some common mistakes. If any of the following sound familiar to you, it may be time to make some improvements to your website.
The homepage is busy and loaded with information. When the internet was still relatively new and businesses were designing their first websites, it may have seemed innovative to load up the homepage with visual tricks like flashing lights, scrolling text, rotating pictures, and more. However, over time, many businesses and website designers have learned that simple is usually better.
You want your visitors to immediately understand what you offer, what your value is, and how they should take the next step. That's often hard to do if your homepage is cluttered with content or design tricks. Try scaling back and simplifying the design to get better results.
You have low-quality images. Another common mistake is to use amateur pictures on the website. Perhaps you have products that you want to display online. You probably have a camera readily available, so you may think it makes sense to take the pictures yourself. The same may be true of staff headshots or pictures of your facility.
The problem with DIY images is that they can give your website, and thus your business, a cheap, low-quality image. Even though many of your visitors aren't trained photographers, most people can tell when an image is poor quality. Usually the lighting is bad, the angle is wrong, and the image just isn't appealing. Invest in a professional photographer to take clean, attractive pictures for your site.
The navigation is confusing. You may be of the mindset that more content is better. In many cases, that's true. The more helpful and valuable content you have on your site, the more information your visitor will be able to access and the more they will learn about your business. More content may also help you in search rankings.
The challenge, though, is organizing that content in a way that makes sense to your visitor. Some businesses put too many options on their main menu, or they bury links deep within text. Users may have difficulty finding the information they need or even figuring out how to take the next step. A simple navigation menu is often the most effective solution. Your menu choices should be clear and intuitive so your visitors always know how to get the information they need.
For more information, contact a web design company like Scotti Design in your area. They can help you determine what issues you may have on your site and how best to fix them.