Common Mistakes That Put Off Website Visitors

This article will look at five areas or common mistakes you find on the web, which put visitors off your website. We will also discuss quick wins to combat these mistakes, and how you can improve the effectiveness of your website and in-tern your business.

1. Poor Location

Is your site ranking too low for your key words, will your customers find you on Google, Yahoo or Bing?

Is your domain name too long, hard to remember or contain non-alphanumeric characters?

Is your website hosted within your country?

All these factors can and will affect whether or not people can find your website. It is therefore imperative you invest in a web design company who can deliver on these variables, keeping your business competitive in it's market.

2. Poor Presentation

A successful website will be neat and tidy, just the same as you would expect to see a successful shop. It is imperative your site is built and complies with industry standards, is cross-browser friendly and on multiple operating systems, and accessible to users with disabilities who may have specific requirements.

Another key factor for keeping visitors on your site is well thought-out navigation that is easy to use and encourages the user to your end goals. For best practice we would recommend you use site maps (both for your users and search engines), a search bar, and breadcrumb page navigation.

3. High Prices

Have you had to increase your prices due to increasing overheads? Or perhaps as a result of greater online competition. Are you finding it difficult to balance your prices and remaining competitive online.

An effective way to combat this is to run various offers through your website. Experiment with online promotions, vouchers, loyalty schemes and other marketing techniques that will make your products/services more appealing and competitive.

4. Too Pushy

We all dislike pushy sales people; they make you feel uncomfortable and may result in you walking away from a sale. The content on your website can have the same effect. If you are inexperienced in writing content, we would strongly recommend you hire a good copywriter. You want your pages to be friendly and informative, and relate to your target audience. Stay away from using industry jargon, if your customer base in not familiar with the terms.

This does not mean however that you cannot tell them how valuable your products/services are. The best approach is to be tactful, insightful, and display a good level of knowledge about the industry.

5. Poor Customer Service

Avoid complicated forms or shopping carts that could alienate your customers.

A great way to give your customers confidence, is to make them feel they are valued. How do you make a customer feel valued? Through great customer service.

In web design, you want to make the customer feel that you are always available to help. You can do this by providing an FAQ page, a help section, or a support line. Provide your customers with an easy to use contact form, they will use it! When an enquiry comes through, strive to follow it up quickly.