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5 Big Website Mistakes – Please, Avoid Them.
DIY Sprocket Solutions
This is an update to "’5 Big Website Mistakes – Please, don’t make them.” dated 12/05/2012.
You don’t have a site and you don’t think you need one.
I could say a million things here in a crazy irrational voice. Instead, I’m going to calmly direct you to engage with us right away. Run, don’t walk, please. You’re only doing yourself and your company a massive disservice if you don’t have a website. I used to work at a restaurant back in high school where the regulars would cry in outrage when the price of their cup of coffee rose three cents. The little old ladies brought Tupperware from home to bag up their leftover pot pie. This restaurant has a website. You need a website.
Your content has shag carpet.
Update your content! Do it now. Really, stop reading right this instant and go update your content. If your coupons are two years old, your site says that the current president is Lincoln, or your latest blog is talking about the weather being so hot (for those who currently live in an ice cube!) go update your content. When your content is old, your site looks like a deserted old western town. A tumbleweed just rolled across the screen and that customer is gone.
Copyright 443 B.C.
This is along the same premise as the content. Your site doesn’t look accurate, current, or even relevant when you have an old copyright statement or when it’s missing altogether. If I was googling mystery symptoms to try to self diagnose myself with a little web medicine and came across a copyright 2005 statement, I might actually turn off my computer and head into a doctor’s office. If you’re not up to date, you’re not relevant and no one can take you seriously.
Long sentences, long pages, long paragraphs.
I want to find what I’m looking for when I get to a site. Having to read paragraphs of content just to find out which direction to head to on a site is not appealing. Label some tabs, make easy and clear navigation available on your site, and cut out what’s not necessary. If you want to write a book, make a blog. Better yet, set up a link to the page that they can buy your book.
Forgetting a ‘Call to Action’
Your customers are at your site, looking at your products, and reading your content. Maybe they don’t want to buy a membership to your Pajama Bicycle League today, but tell them what they can do. “Sign up for my blog”, “Receive our newsletter”, “Follow us on Twitter”, “Buy Now!” etc. etc. etc. Let them know what you want from them. Make, whatever it is that you want, easy and accessible to them. Don’t let them close the window on you so fast.
*Bonus Tip*
There is no magical wand for your business. Having a website is extremely important. However, the moment you launch your site there isn’t going to be a line of flare guns that go off next to a large group of parachuting monkeys that are all holding flashing neon signs reading, “BUY STUFF HERE!” In other words, your work is not done. Please promote your site to see traffic. Promote it often, passionately, and shamelessly. Building a customer base isn’t easy –but, it’s what translates into sales.
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Breanne Bannon
Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.
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