5 Common Mistakes That Will Damage The Success Of Your Website

By Gavin Kilgallon on Friday, 15 November 2024

Building a website can be time-consuming and expensive, so ensuring it is built correctly the first time is important. With decades of experience as one of London's leading web design companies, we have discovered some common pitfalls to avoid and the painful consequences they can have on your website and brand image. In this article, we will outline five common mistakes that businesses often make, how they negatively affect the success of your website and solutions to overcome them.

Ignoring Your Website & Not Updating Information

Unfortunately, this is quite a common occurrence. It is often not deliberate, just a consequence of priorities and resource allocation changing once the website is live. We've lost count of the times we launch an award-winning website for it to sit untouched for several months or years.

A website must be maintained with regular checks to ensure that it provides the latest information and content visitors search for.

There are many proven benefits of regularly updating content on your website:

It can benefit your SERPs as search engines like Google know that you are actively updating your website and keeping content fresh.
The content is relevant and not outdated.
An improved UX and brand image by providing the latest information.
Improved exposure and increased possibility of third-party websites linking to your pages due to their high-quality, current, authoritative content.

Many clients who do not have the time and resources to maintain their website post-launch use ID Studio's support and maintenance plan to look after and update their website on an ongoing basis.

Neglecting To Follow Content Strategy

Content is a vital part of the web design process. However, it is often neglected and left to the last moment. At ID Studio, we emphasise the vital role of content and the need to allocate time for its creation. Unfortunately, we have seen clients rush out content several times with no clear strategy and not correctly aligning with the business and website's core objectives.

Content must be planned and aimed directly at your target audience while fulfilling their needs. It allows your website to communicate effectively with potential clients, promote your business and brand, and achieve online objectives.

It is important first to understand the structure of your new website, as content will need to be created for each section and subsection. Some key tasks that need to be included are listed below:

Research your target audience and understand their demographics, needs, preferences and device usage.
Partaking in a comprehensive keyword and SEO strategy, this includes investigating competitors.
Make sure that the content is consistent with your brand.
Use high-quality imagery, graphs, videos and infographics to enhance the UX if applicable.

By including high-quality content, you will improve your brand perception, SEO and, ultimately, the conversion rate.

Broken Links & Errors

Website owners should check their websites' health frequently to ensure they have no link issues or errors.

Broken links are bad for SEO (lower SERP rankings), look unprofessional and create an inferior UX.
They will reduce your conversion rate.
Broken links will increase the website bounce rate.
Reduced trust in your brand.

This process doesn't need to be tedious and time-consuming and can be automated using third-party software.

Ahrefs and SEMrush - Often associated with purely SEO. However, these two platforms can detect broken links and other web-related issues.

Screaming Frog - A great tool that can check your entire site for many issues and improve content (text, headers, titles, descriptions, etc.).

Sitechecker - A powerful tool for checking the health of your website.

Slow Loading Website

A slow-loading website needs to be addressed immediately. Several free and paid platforms can help you determine what is causing the website to load slowly. The best place to check out how your website speed is performing is with Google PageSpeed Insights.

The downside of a slow website can include any of the following issues:

An increase in bounce rates due to loading time frustration and visitors exiting your site before it finishes loading.
A website needs to create the best possible user experience. Slow-loading pages make browsing a website painful user experience.
Reduced turnover: cart abandonment and increased will translate into reduced conversions.
Reduced SEO ranking: increased bounce rates and a slow-loading website can affect SERPs, as many search engines consider these ranking factors.

Lacking Effective CTA Triggers

Not all websites need CTAs. Some are purely informational, while others have specific objectives, such as making an online purchase, filling out a feedback form, or signing up for an event. If your website does have conversion objectives like these, effective CTAs are essential.

If your website lacks effective CTAs, you could experience the following:

Reduced user engagement and conversions.
If you run an eCommerce website, lower sales are due to visitors being less likely to check out.
A substandard user experience due to poor direction could increase bounce rates.

Summary

A seamless, error-free website will encourage engagement and conversions and help build a loyal client base. If you require further information or have questions, contact ID Studio anytime for impartial advice.