Branding is the single most important element to marketing.
Any company or organization that wishes for longevity must successfully brand itself. Consumers do not merely purchase products or items, they are purchasing your brand. What does this mean? It means that consumers are buying your image, reputation, and the experience they get when selecting your brand.
Today, more than ever, consumers are turning to the internet to research products when making purchasing decisions.
Your website is your first opportunity to make a good impression. So make it a good one.
Your website is what online visitors will initially consider when making a purchase decision. If your site makes a bad first impression, chances are that online visitors will not conduct business with you.
Even today, a number of website owners miss this very important fact.
Oftentimes I have come across websites that have blurry and poorly cropped images. I see sites where the text fonts do not match from paragraph to paragraph. Some feature a blatant disregard for grammar and contain spelling errors. The worst oversight is the repetition of broken links or images that look like they link to something, but do not.
Many websites today were quickly tossed together – for the mere sake of having a website.
Sadly, these sites are not strengths or opportunities. Therefore, I have compiled a list of some of the most common mistakes that are made on websites.
Although some errors may seem small and inconsequential, these mistakes have a resounding impact.
- No logo. Make sure that you have a well thought and developed logo that is displayed prominently on your website. Your logo should clearly demonstrate who you are and what you do. When creating your logo – look at it from the perspective of a visitor who knows nothing initially about your organization. Be sure to address questions such as – what is my logo saying? Does it reflect my philosophy? Could I honestly explain what I mean by the imagery in my logo?
- No social media profiles are integrated or if they exist, they are in an obscure location. For starters, why even have a website if you are not socially engaged? The two are equally necessary for the other to survive. Without social media, you are missing a substantial component of your branding.
Social media is the modern day word-of-mouth advertising.
- No customer service elements or CTAs. Is there a feedback form to address complaints and/or testimonials? Are product updates and promotions being broadcasted throughout your site? What call to action is available to your site visitors? Can they sign up for a newsletter or send an inquiry for a quote?
- Homepage overload. All content is displayed on the homepage. The rules of website design constantly change. Yes, it is extremely important to reflect as must information about your company on your homepage – but not all of it. Locating all of your content on your homepage forces the visitor to infinitely scroll through your site. Many online visitors will jump off your page if they find they have to constantly scroll. Instead, offer bite-sized morsels of information and taglines that leave your visitors craving for more! Create calls to actions within sections of your homepage that allows your visitors to delve deeper if they choose.
- Content violations. Grammatical errors, misspells, run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, and punctuation errors are prominently found throughout the website. A poorly written website tells the online visitor that you do not pay attention to detail. It also tells the online visitor that quality is unimportant to you.
- The website lacks color or contains an excessive amount of color. Do not develop a website that is all white and one-dimensional. Do not create a site that is busy with color. Both are a distraction.Color should be used for accenting crucial calls to action or important information you wish to bring to your online visitor’s attention. For those on an extremely tight budget and looking to build your own website, many templates exist in various website builders that can serve as a blueprint to follow when creating your website.
- No graphics or boasts too many. The balance of graphics is as important as the balance of color. Some websites use an overabundance of stock photos that tend to loosely represent their products or services. Other sites possess none whatsoever – so the message is not being reinforced with necessary imagery. Make sure that your website offers moderate graphic influence to further emphasize your products and services. Try to avoid using more than four per page, unless you are including a slideshow of your works.
- No means for contact. Oftentimes I still find websites that do not contain contact information. Contact information puts consumers at ease. There is a contact us page, but there is only a form for me to offer my information. I am unable to write down an address, an email address, or even a phone number should I want to follow up without sharing my information.
When developing or re-designing an existing website, make sure you always look at it from the perspective of an online visitor.
Think of it as your important job interview or that presentation you are going to be giving at your next business convention. Ask yourself, “would I do business with me? Am I worth remembering? Did I leave a favorable impression?” If you can answer YES to all of these questions then keep up the good work. If you cannot, then you may need to start updating your site now. Contact the professionals at Invoke Solutions for a FREE consultation for your website design or re-design needs.