Launching a new website can be the perfect way to increase traffic, convert visitors into customers and add to your bottom line.
However, a poorly designed website can actually hurt your business, so when preparing for a redesign, avoid these common mistakes:
Copying your competitors:
Although you want to take a look at what your competitors are doing so you know what you’re up against, your site should be original. You want to stand out as being a step above the competition, rather than copying a competitor’s format or design. As you get inspiration from competitor sites, consider how your business is different and how you can show customers what makes your business a better choice.
Including time-sensitive content:
The main content on your website should be timeless so you don’t have to update it frequently. Save seasonal or time-sensitive content for your blog, where you can add posts on a regular basis to keep visitors up to date on what has been going on at your business. The content on your home page and other main pages should be able to last at least a year without any changes. And make sure you have at least two people proofread content before it goes live – a typo or misspelled word can potentially drive customers away.
Overcomplicating your design:
Your website needs to have a clean and crisp appearance, and there’s nowhere this matters more than on the homepage. When visitors arrive at your site, they need to be able to see the key points at a glance and figure out how to get to the information they’re looking for. Your navigation setup should be intuitive, and ideally, you should not have layers of menus within menus, which makes it difficult to find content.
Neglecting visual design:
Although you have a lot to say, your website shouldn’t be all text. Even when the content is communicating the main message, images complement it and visually break up the text so visitors don’t feel fatigued from reading all of the information. Plus, remember that there are times when a picture can speak a thousand words.
Forgetting about SEO:
People aren’t going to find your new website if you don’t incorporate search engine optimization strategies into the design. This includes putting keywords in the headers and page titles, getting your site indexed on the major search engines and writing your content with keyword phrases in mind. Promoting your site after the launch will also help you get visitors right away.
Designing and launching your new website can improve your volume of sales, but only if your new website is more functional than the old one. You don’t have to be an Internet expert to have a great website – let a company experienced in web design create your site, and listen to recommendations about what kind of content you should include.
