The recent explosion in the ubiquity of e-commerce allows entrepreneurs more opportunities than ever to run thriving online businesses from the comfort of their own homes. But while we may live in an era of unparalleled opportunity, it’s also an era of intense competition where customers know that they can afford to be fickle.
The slightest self-imposed stumble can send your business into the doldrums while your competitors race out in front of you. Therefore, if your business makes money through your website, it needs to be absolutely unimpeachable.
If you don’t invest care, effort, and expertise into building and maintaining your online presence, it may end up failing your business in a number of ways…
Your Web Design Is So 2008
Just as the worlds of fashion or interior design are a tapestry that’s in a constant state of change, revolution, and reinvention, so too is the field of web design in a constant state of flux.
As such, if you’re designing your website from scratch or don’t invest in the right creative talent in putting your site together, you may find yourself committing a web design faux pas that turns away prospective customers.
Your website is a digital representation of your business and, rightly or wrongly, the aesthetic choices that you make give users a semiotic idea of how your business is run.
Moreover, if you’re building your website from a scarcely modified Wordpress template that’s not a look that really screams professionalism. It’s more likely to mark you out as an amateur trying to make it into the big leagues.
Instead, you need to use an expert website builder. This website builder is a good example of the sort of tool you should use to ensure your site’s design is on point.
Your UX SUX
Web design isn’t just about the visuals, it’s also about how the overall user experience.
UX is an increasingly important part of web design. If your website is difficult to navigate, lacks a compelling call to action or isn’t properly matched, you could send customers away in their droves.
Take the time to create a sitemap, and invest in experienced UX copywriters to subtly influence user behavior. Even if your website looks glorious, poor UX can quickly alienate a prospective customer.
There’s Evidence of Poor Housekeeping
Nothing screams amateur like evidence of a poorly maintained website. Dated images or photography, blank gray squares where there should be images and broken links are anathema to users. Indeed, not only can broken links be an embarrassment to your website, they can do significant harm to your SEO.
Your Website Isn’t as Responsive as it Should Be
In an era where mobile use has officially become the primary means through which people consume digital content and make e-commerce purchases, it’s essential that your business is responsive.
This not only means that it’s well optimised for use on mobile devices, it also means that it responds quickly to busy users who have limited time and profuse competition for their attention.
A page load delay of a mere seven seconds can heighten your bounce rate by over 30%.
You’ve Yet to Go Secure
Google has begun to take punitive measures against websites that do not have a valid security certificate enabling them to transition from an “http” URL to an “https” URL. Users will experience a warning on Google chrome saying that your site is not secure.
If your site uses e-commerce, this can be kryptonite to prospective customers. While there are other browsers and other search engines, you can’t afford to be singled out by the most popular search engine on the most popular browser.
There are plenty of other ways you can make sure your website is secure too. Of course, you will want to make sure that you have a secure system in place for dealing with online payments.
Furthermore, make sure there are security signals throughout your website so you can create a feeling of trust. This could be anything from reviews to security badges. When it comes to reviews, you need to make sure they are genuine. It is better to include an independent review platform widget than to type up messages yourself.
Fix these five mistakes and you should notice a significant improvement to your website. No business can afford to make online blunders of this nature today!
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