A company’s website is one of its most important marketing tools.
When prospective clients and customers are researching a product or service they invariably visit the company’s website.
Prospective employees also look at an organisation’s website when deciding if they would like to apply for a job.
Yet many business websites are a poor reflection of the business and discourage customers and potential employees unnecessarily.
So what are the five biggest mistakes businesses make in their website copy and how can you avoid them?
- Spelling and grammar errors
As soon as I see spelling and grammar mistakes I view the business as unprofessional. This may be unfair. After all, just because an accounting firm has a spelling mistake or two on their web page doesn’t mean they won’t give you the best tax advice.
However, first impressions do count and if visitors to your website think it’s unprofessional their trust levels diminish. Make sure you get at least one other person (preferably someone who knows the difference between there, their and they’re) to proof-read every page on your site.
- An unprofessional look
Besides spelling and grammar errors, a website’s design may make the company look amateurish and unprofessional.
Garish colours, out-of-focus photos and a complicated layout can make your website look like a primary school student’s art project.
Good website design doesn’t need to cost a fortune. If you can afford a professional designer, it’s a good investment. However, website creation tools such as WordPress and Squarespace have hundreds of designs. You don’t need to be a graphic designer or IT guru as they are very easy to create and then customise to reflect your company’s brand.
- Not enough of the right information
There is nothing more infuriating than trying to find information on a company’s website and jumping from page to page to find it.
Your website should not be a game of mystery or you’ll soon lose people.
Apparently the average attention span is eight seconds so if you’re not getting to the point, or your website layout isn’t clear enough, visitors may lose interest and go elsewhere.
- Outdated information
Businesses should regularly check their websites to make sure the information is current and that there are no broken links.
I recently visited a website that included information about Christmas closing times in a prominent position on the home page. I was visiting the website in March so unless this business is very forward thinking, this indicates that no-one has refreshed the site for months.
- A mobile-friendly website
According to Statista, in 2018 more than 50 per cent of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones.
This statistic is bound to grow so if you don’t have a mobile-friendly website you’ll soon lose a good proportion of your audience.
Website creation tools such as WordPress give you the option to view your website in computer, tablet and phone formats. When you create a page, make sure you view it in all formats to ensure it displays well across the various platforms.
If you would like a free website review, please contact me.