Web Design Catastrophes Small Businesses Should Avoid

Web Design Catastrophes Small Businesses Should Avoid

You have created a website that is supposed to be the face of your business. You have added photos. Content has been written to fill all of the pages. You have secured server space and an available domain. Your website is now live. Why isn't having all of the success you were anticipating? It is likely you have committed one of the cardinal sins of web design. Making even one of these errors can turn your company into a dead zone.

Catastrophe #1 - Having A Very Slow Website

Now that high-speed Internet connections are readily available, people are not so forgiving when they are faced with slow loading pages. Typically, consumers will wait 3-5 seconds before abandoning the page and looking elsewhere for what they want. There are several reasons things may not be as speedy as needed.

• Your server speed is not very high.
• You are not using the latest version of the CMS you used to create the site.
• Images on the site have not been optimized.
• Mobile optimization is not something you have considered.

All of these issues have fairly simple solutions. By ignoring these issues and continuing as things are, it is not likely you will attract and retain many new customers.

Catastrophe #2 - Content That Is Inaccessible

When people head to your site, they want to consume all of the content that you have created for them. Even if speed is not an issue, things can take a downturn if customers have a difficult time when trying to access content. There are many ways that content can be inaccessible, including:

• Pages that show color and nothing more; completely devoid of links, images and/or text.
• Pages that have 404 errors
• Visitors are required to install certain programs in order to view content.
• Audio and video files are not playing as they should.
• Downloadable files are not working properly.
• When completing forms, customers have trouble when trying to press submit.
• The site is filled with non-working links.

When encountering these issues, it leaves a very bad taste in a customer's mouth. Staying on top of things and encouraging users to reports issues will make a world of difference.

Catastrophe #3 - Erroneous Product and Service Information

While your entire site should not read like a huge sales pitch, it is essential for you to inform potential customers of what you have to offer, People will decide whether to do business with you based on all of the information they are able to collect when visiting your website. You have to make it a point to be clear about what you offer and why they should become customers. At the very least, your descriptions of the services and products you offer should include:

• Accurate descriptions, including any negative aspects.
• Availability.
• Delivery methods.
• A breakdown of costs.
• Answers to commonly asked questions.

Basically, you need to give them everything necessary to allow them to make an informed decision about whether to move forward with a purchase. You may not be able to predict everything others would like to know, but it should be clear that you are providing them with a solid representation of your business.