Having a well-thought-out website is critical for any business trying to succeed in today’s world. Many business owners build websites without knowing what is best for their brand. They overflow the homepage with information and add social media links — and it becomes convoluted, making the site difficult to navigate for potential customers.
The following are three areas business owners starting out should stay away from when building a website for their company.
Difficult Navigation
Poorly organized websites make it difficult for customers to find the services or products they need. Business owners often overlook the importance of easy navigation on the website, making users search tirelessly for information or services they need. Complicated menus and no way to easily get back to the home page are among issues with bad websites. This problem can be avoided by making the site clear and concise. Business owners should create menus that are direct and to the point. It’s important to create an easy layout so customers know where to click. Service pages can be created for specialty issues. Key is to make it simple.
Focusing on Social Media
Too many businesses focus on social media. By focusing on social aspects, all the business owner is doing is inviting potential customers to go to another page — which they will most likely stay on and never return to the first website. Best to stay away from social media links. Those who may be active on social media should remove those links at the bottom of the page and lay them aside for potential future use (stache them). The key to a website is to keep the desired customer on it long enough so that they want to make a call or fill out a form to connect with the business. Posting social links high up on a webpage makes visitors switch their focus —so, this is something to definitely not do. Stick social links at the bottom so the business’s potential clientele stays on its page as long as possible.
Too Much Information
It’s important to not overload a website with a lot of words or images. Many first-time business owners who build websites think they need to put everything they know about the business on the front page. This is something to avoid. Businesses should just highlight what they do: Give the most important information about what the business does and move on. Breaking up what the business does into small subheads and paragraphs is a smart way to go. An even better way to simplify it more is to use bullet points to point out the business’s best services. Limiting any distraction a potential client can have will make them focus on the information the business owner wants them to receive.
Business owners who try to create a website themselves need to understand what information to place on their website and, more importantly, how to arrange it in a way that attracts customers. Others may choose to work with a reputable company to help them design their website.
Steve Comer is president and owner of Split One Technologies, a web-based software development company in Tempe, Arizona, focused on website development, search engine optimization and internet marketing. Comer has designed thousands of websites for commercial businesses in a variety of fields, including commercial, hospitality, sports, finance and business in North America, Europe and Australia.
