Making yourself a website is easier than ever before – even if you have next to no technical knowledge. From free templates to integrated eCommerce systems, building your own website takes just a few clicks. While this level of accessibility is great news for all entrepreneurs and small businesses, it does mean that there are a lot of bad quality websites out there. Just because creating a website is easy doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good quality one.
If you’ve been wondering whether your website is the best it could be, then this blog is for you. Have a read of these common mistakes to see if your website could do with a makeover.
Poor or unoriginal web design
Free templates are fantastic for businesses that are just getting up and running, but they’re not always the best choice in the long run. For one, free templates are usually free for a reason: they’re simplistic and lack features. Some businesses might be quite happy with this, but the other reason you should think twice about using free templates is originality. Every brand wants to differentiate itself from the competition and free templates will mean your website will look like thousands of others. If you really want to stand out from the crowd, hire a web design team for you. Check out fastfwd.com to learn more.
Little opportunity to convert
Your business website exists to make sales at the end of the day, so if customers aren’t being encouraged to convert, you’re going to have a problem on your hands. One of the biggest mistakes business websites make in regards to conversion is giving users only one option. Usually, this is an invitation to make a payment or buy a service. However, you need to remember that not every visitor is going to want to make a purchase straight away. Boost your conversion rate by having more than one choice, such as creating an account, downloading an eBook or signing up for a newsletter. Also make sure your website is ADA compliant for those with disabilities.
Forgetting SEO
One of the main ways customers are going to come across your business is through search engines, but lots of websites fail to consider both on-page and off-page SEO. There are lots of things that impact your website’s SEO, but one of the most accessible ways to boost your rankings is through content. If your website doesn’t already have a blog, then you should consider starting one to improve the traffic to your pages. Spend some time performing keyword research and planning out content clusters to give Google a better idea of what your website is about while building its authority.
Slow loading speeds
There are many factors that can cause your website to load slowly, including having lots of large images on your pages, poorly written code and an excessive number of plugins. If you don’t know much about technology, you might struggle to identify the cause, but a slow loading website will deter customers before they even see your homepage, so it’s worth looking into the issue as soon as you can.
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