Originally posted on https://www.siteuptime.com/blog/2019/06/22/starting-off-on-the-right-foot-the-top-mistakes-to-avoid-when-setting-up-a-business-website/
At the moment, there are more than 1.94 billion websites on the internet.
Out of these, less than 200 million are active. For every search performed by a user, only about ten websites appear on the first page of the search results.
As such, building a business website that ranks well and meets the expectations of the customer should be your priority right from the beginning.
Are you setting up a business website?
Here are the common mistakes you should avoid when setting up your business website:
1. A Slow Website
Having the right content alone on your site will not give you the visibility you desire. Slow websites (those that don’t load in less than 3 seconds) get abandoned by a lot of users even when they are on the first page of the search results.
To increase the speed of your website, choose the best web hosting for small business, and compress the graphics on your site. Remove any plugins you don’t use and only leave the relevant aspects of the site.
2. Having an Exaggerated Title
Your site’s title is the first thing viewers see when they visit it. If it’s exaggerated to unbelievable proportions, few people will continue reading or staying on your site.
Keep your titles and the content reasonable and factual for visitors to stay on your site and return thereafter.
3. Not Structuring Your Text
Most people visiting a business website look for information and when they can’t easily find it, go to other sites. That’s losing visitors and money in the process.
The reason for this is the lack of structured text. You should have titles, subtitles, bullet points, and other text features that help the reader easily find what the pay want from your site. This guide offers a step-by-step guide to building a successful website.
4. Too Many Pop-ups
A lot of websites have pop-ups immediately you enter the site. Most prod the user to enter their email address or allow the storage of cookies in their browser.
The problem with these pop-ups is that they cover the whole page and launch even before the visitor has read anything on the site.
Don’t make this mistake on your business website. Rather, insert smaller pop-ups that don’t cover the whole page. The timing of the pop-ups should also be when the user has read a significant amount of the content. Halfway the article is appropriate.
5. Poor or Lack of a Call to Action
Not having a call to action defeats the purpose of having a website. A visitor to your site will only benefit you if they can take action to engage more with you.
As such, you need to have a call for action that is clear and easy to find. Your visitors need to have the ability to buy something, subscribe to something, share content on your site, and other actions.
Having poor calls to action is another problem in this area. Don’t simply have a button titled “Buy” or “Check” as users won’t know what it is they’re doing.
It’s also advisable to have calls to action that stand out. If your website has a dark theme, for example, let the calls to action be in a lighter color so that they’re easily visible.
Lastly, you should avoid having too many calls to action. Focus on delivering quality content that your visitors will love. The clicks for your calls to action will come with the content.
6. Having a Non-Responsive Site
Responsiveness refers both to your website’s adaptability to screens of different sizes and the loading speed. Design a simple website and employ a good template that allows it to adapt to different screens.
A large number of internet users nowadays do it on mobile devices. These devices come in different aspect ratios and screen sizes. To serve them well, ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Most website hosts provide mobile-friendly sites for their customers at no extra cost.
7. Poor Website Design
The design of your business website determines whether customers will stay, pay it a subsequent visit, or not.
In this category, simplicity trounces any other approach. The most functional websites, such as Apple’s and Google’s offer the user a simple interface while giving having all the information and tools the visitor will need.
You need to make it easy to find information on your site with a clean menu and directions for navigation. Visitors to your site already know what they want. Make it even easier for them to find it.
When there is too much clutter on your site in terms of too many graphics, lack of space between website elements and poor colors, your visitors will have to dig through the information to find what they want. If they do this, chances are high that they’ll move to another site.
8. Poor, Irrelevant or Lack of Images
Your continent benefits from the inclusion of images as they give visitors more information at a glance. Images add information and should thus be included with your content. The problem with most websites is that they use websites of poor quality in terms of relevance, quality, and positioning.
Avoid using typical photos in your industry and go for an image that is unique and informative to your audience.
Too many images make the site look bad and slow to load due to being heavy. Too few make it look plain and not interesting. Aim for two to three images per article to sustain the concentration of the reader.
Avoid these mistakes to make the most of your online presence.
Get Your Business Website Today
Knowing the mistakes to avoid when setting up your business website is a major step towards having a successful business.
Most websites would flourish had they avoided these mistakes and many others. Make the right choice today by choosing the right hosting service, the right template, images, and other aspects that’ll make your site stand out.
Check out our website tricks and tips section for more advice on building a business website.