5 Common Web Design Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
Today we will be speaking out about web design mistakes entrepreneurs make. We have seen a few over the years and once upon a time we were there too.
As an online business, it’s understood that website traffic is one of the biggest factors in your success. Making sure that search engines find you and push customers to your site is of utmost importance. The real question, however, is what happens when people land on your page?
Getting prospects to your site and converting them into customers are two different things. If people have made it your website, it’s your duty to keep them interested. A professional, well-designed website will build their trust in your brand and make them take action. Unfortunately, there are a lot of turn-offs that may be running rampant on your website right now, if you’re like most first-time site builders.
Here are the five most common web design mistakes entrepreneurs make that should be avoided and/or fixed:
Building a Flash website, a common web design mishap
Flash looks, well, flashy, but it’s not business-friendly. About 40 percent of users will be unable to view a Flash website because many hosts will disable Flash to decrease spam advertising. If a visitor can’t see your content, your site is essentially useless.
Wondering what a “Flash” website is? See the quick video below to learn more and see if this is the type of design you are… or were interested in prior to this post.
Search engines likely won’t even drive people to your site based on your Flash content since the information embedded in Flash cannot be read. A recent article, however states otherwise. The Search Engine Land article here disputes the aforementioned.
However, Flash is high-maintenance, and after all your hard work, you may not be able to even pull accurate website reporting on any of your Flash-driven pages or sites. All in all, Flash is not worth the time you’ll put into it.
There are of course exceptions to this rule, but generally a strong online presence for a business or entrepreneur should not have items that “move around”. Things should load fast and get to the point you only have seconds before a visitor bounces an analytic term used to reference how long people stay on your site before leaving. All and all keep it simple.
Wondering what you should have in a website? Wondering if you need a custom design in 2019? You can read more here Why you need Custom Web Design in 2019 or If you want more direct help or a consultation schedule a discovery session with us here.
Having a weakly defined brand
Your website needs to convey a strong sense of your company’s brand. Good graphics and a harmonious design are visually appealing. Your logo should be right in the banner, and people should quickly be able to determine what you do and who you are. An emphasis on information, rather than sales pitches, lends credence to your brand.
What doesn’t have a positive impact on your brand? Fuzzy graphics, blurry fonts, and loud colors all hurt your image. Each of these items is an eyesore, and most prospects will view these details as the trademarks of a fly-by-night company. Invest time and effort in making your image match your expertise.
That being said it’s hard to boot strap your way to a well defined brand when you are just starting out in the world of business or growing your idea into being. It’s for reason like this that we have affordable web designs and you can learn more there. No matter what you do you need to create a strategy and an inexpensive set of tools to do what needs to be done to make the brand talk across all social media and presences on the web.
Tools like Canva are inexpensive and useful when starting out. Other helpful links such as Fiverr and Upwork allow you to inexpensively hire contract worker to do work for you. That being said be careful have you ever heard the term you get what you pay for? I’ve had several clients that came to me to fix the work a contractor did online.
Call-to-Action message and Common Web Design Mistakes
Calls-to-Action specifically communicate with your clients. These links direct people to take action (“Contact us,” “Post a comment,” or “Buy now!” are common examples). It eliminates any confusion on your visitors’ parts, and it also compels them to do something rather than passively read. Calls to Action are essentially like a web designs road map that tells visitors what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Click here, Get a Free Copy Now.
Determine the cohesive message your calls-to-action will communicate. You should be targeting your audience so you’re pulling in the people who will most benefit from your services or products. Don’t ask visitors to do something that doesn’t help meet this end goal.
As an example here’s a call to action and you can take action on it 🙂
Hosting third-party ads on your site that have no relevance
Allowing third parties to borrow real estate on your site isn’t the mistake here – having ads from companies that may enhance your product, or meet an additional need for your customer, is great. It elevates your standing in your clients’ minds, as they begin to brand you by association. It also provides a helpful asset to your visitors and clients as you provide them with the answer to there problems (especially the answers you don’t hold).
The mistake is bombarding your prospects with advertising that feels random. If it has nothing to do with their interests or business needs, they’re wondering why you would offer it to them. This lets them start questioning your motives, your expertise, and your financial standing as a company. Don’t start that line of thinking.
In brief advertisements are great on a site if and when the time is right, however for most small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs selling a product or service the ads have no place until you are really raking in the coin. Focus on building your brand and your products before pushing others away to spend there hard earned money on another site.
Running a one-man show
As a a small business owner and/or entrepreneur, it’s your business to know your stuff. But just because you’re an expert on one thing doesn’t mean you can handle every aspect of your company solo. Having a website built by one person who’s dabbling in web design is easy, but it’s not efficient for maximizing your business prospects. You’ll want your site to be clean and accessible, even for your mobile visitors.
Check out our guide on the 3 Best Options for Afforadable Web Design.
I find many clients who have walked down the do it yourself path to save money. It makes sense, but once your business grows up a bit it’s time for your web design to grow up as well. Please don’t miss the next point. It is one of the biggest and most important web design mistakes entrepreneurs make.
You are best at doing what you do. If you can make more money doing what you do you should do that. If an expert can help you let them. End of story.
-Jeff@green thoughts consulting
You do you and let the other experts do them. I can almost guarantee you a higher and better satisfaction level along side a higher return on investment that way.
Wrapping it up
Conveying a strong business image and providing the right information to convert your prospects is essential to your company’s growth. You may be a rule breaker in your approach to the business world, but don’t break these five rules when building your site. Your bottom line, and your visitors, will thank you.
If you would like to learn more about why we do not recommend a Do It Yourself strategy read this post about the effect of DIY Web Design and Search Engine Optimization.