Common Small Business Website Errors You Must Avoid!
These Common Mistakes Hurt Your Website Engagement and Conversions!
Your small business website is an integral part of the branding and image of your small businesses. It serves as a place where potential and existing customers can explore and interact with your brand. But if you make any of these common small business website errors, you significantly reduce the effectiveness of your website and your online marketing efforts.
Since it is responsible for capturing the spirit, essence, and vision of your brand, the design of your small business website is of critical importance. To prevent bad web design from repelling potential customers, here are ten common small business website design errors you must avoid!
10 Common Small Business Website Errors
Simple navigation menus are a must for your small business website. Keep your menu links and tabs as short and descriptive as possible. Lack of an easy to use navigation system can exasperate and drive away visitors.
Too Much Content
Small businesses want to convey as much information about their brand to potential customers as possible. However, a cluttered and packed website can be a huge turn-off. If your small business website contains too much information, text, or even images, you are likely to confuse and turn off visitors.
Focused on Design Instead of Functionality
Many small businesses focus on the design, colors, and layout of the website instead of the content and functionality. A pleasant color and layout scheme is critical to attracting visitors. However, it can be distracting and confuse customers if the website is overly flashy, glamorous, or busy.
No Effective Call-to-Action (CTA)
Your CTA ensures that your site visitors know what you want them to do next. It instructs consumers as to where they can click to learn more about your small business, sign up for your newsletter, or shop online. An unclear or confusing CTA will result in lower engagement and conversions.
Hidden Contact Info
One of the most common small business website errors is to hide your contact info! If a visitor cannot easily find your brand’s contact information on your site, they will most likely leave immediately. Therefore, your contact information should be both easily accessible and visible on every page of your website.
Excessive Third-Party Advertising
Many small businesses like to stretch their website budget by selling at least some advertising space on their website. But be careful! If the advertisements pop up too often or cover essential areas on your website, they will annoy the visitors, compelling them to leave. Therefore, place ads prudently.
Not Focusing on Your Target Market
Another of the more common small business website errors is lack of focus! If a business is unaware of its target market and tries to satisfy the interests of all kinds of visitors, it will sabotage the brand’s clarity of purpose. Therefore, you must identify your target market and stick to it!
Not Speaking Their Language
Focusing on your target market also allows you to speak the language your audience expects. If you rely too much on industry buzzwords, technical jargon, or marketing mumbo-jumbo, you will only confuse and alienate your audience.
Outdated Content
This frequent small business website error is a huge red flag for your site visitors! Your site must contain updated information about your business, products, and services. Otherwise, consumers may assume that your business is preparing to close or is no longer in business.
Grammatical and Spelling Errors
And the last of our common small business website errors are unfortunately also a widespread shortcoming. Grammatical and spelling mistakes can hurt your credibility. One way to avoid them is to engage the services of a professional copywriter. If you intend to create your content, be sure to proofread it to avoid mistakes carefully. Here is a tool that will help you avoid common spelling and grammatical errors.
Did You Make Any of These Common Small Business Website Errors?
If you made any of the above common small business website errors, you need to fix them right away. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to attract new visitors to your small business website and convert them into consumers of your product or service.
Take a good look at your small business website. What do you see? Is this what you want your potential customers to see when they first visit your site? If the answer is yes, you are done, and may now go and have a double espresso. Good for you!
But if you can identify even one of our common small business website errors on your website, you may need professional help. Creating effective website content, writing SEO-friendly links, and building a useful small business website takes a lot of different skills. Doing this yourself is very tempting, but we do not recommend it! Get the results you need and hire a professional.
We Can Help You Avoid Common Small Business Website Errors!
Here at PixoLabo, we offer a full range of WordPress website consulting and design services for businesses and product brands, including custom web design and development, e-commerce solutions, search engine optimization, brand design, and WordPress optimization.
Feel free to reach out to us and learn more about our mobile-first business web design services. Our team can determine what type of website will best support your business objectives and build it for you.
How Did You Resolve Common Small Business Website Errors?
Did you know about these errors when you built your small business website? If so, did they affect your engagement and conversions? Did you eliminate these errors? If so, did you notice improved performance from your website? Maybe you have website errors you can share?
Please leave your comments below so our audience can benefit as well, and grab our feed, so you don’t miss our next post! And help other business owners get an excellent small business website without making any of these errors by sharing this post with them!
Thank you! We appreciate your help to end bad business websites, one pixel at a time!
By Gregor Saita
Co-Founder / CXO
@gregorsaita