Over the years I've seen many website mistakes being made. And written quite a few! (one day I'll count them up!). Here's the most common 5 website mistakes I see being made ... and how to avoid them!
1. Choosing the wrong website platform
Many of my clients get tied up in knots about choosing the ‘right’ web platform. They find themselves heading off to Wordpress because ‘everyone’ is over on Wordpress. But what they don’t realise is that Wordpress can turn in to a soul-sucking, energy-draining black hole of website despair!
Why does everyone focus on Wordpress? Well, back in the day it really was one of the best website platforms in terms of design and SEO. It still is the number one web platform if you need a highly specialised, high-functioning site.
BUT. If you just want a website that showcases your services and calls people to book a call or appointment with you (or takes them off to a booking platform) then there are plenty of other web platforms to choose from that won’t suck your soul.
Avoid the mistake of choosing the wrong website platform by …
- Taking time to write down what you want your website to do
- Thinking about what you NEED on your site (shop, membership site, catalogue, courses)
- Thinking about whether you want to pay someone to build it for you or DIY it
If you’re happy to pay someone to build and keep your site maintained, and you want membership, catalogue or course facilities on your site then go and talk to a Wordpress web developer.
If you’re a secret-coding-nerd then you can learn to use Wordpress yourself!
If you want a shop site then Shopify, WooCommerce or Rocketspark site. And depending on your level of commitment, you can get someone to easily build these sites for you while you focus on doing the work you love.
If you want a simple site that showcases your services and want to do it yourself, think seriously about drag-and-drop builders like Weebly, Wix, Squarespace and Rocketspark. As a last resort consider the Crazy Domain and Go Daddy type website builders, but be warned that these have limited functionality, template restrictions and often require paying more (and more) for upgraded abilities.
If you want a simple site that showcases your services and DON’T want to do it yourself, reach out and I’ll put you in touch with my team of awesomeness who can build your Weebly, Wix and Squarespace site for you. Or ask me about my Rocketspark website package!
2. Getting the words (copy) wrong
The second website mistake I often see made is thinking that website copy is simple to write! After all, don’t you just go to someone else’s website and mimic what they’ve got?
Common copy mistakes I see are
- Writing in the third person
- Using academic language
- Using too many words!
- Not being clear about why people need to connect with you
Here’s how to avoid website copy mistakes
- Don’t go to someone else’s website and mimic what they’ve got
- Think of your client and what they want
- Think about what they need to read to take the action you want them to take on your site
Think of your website as a conversation. Each sentence should draw people into the next. Often we’re too close to our business to write objectively from our clients point of view. That’s where I can help out! I can get inside your head and untangle all those thoughts about what your clients need to know to make the choice to do business with you.
3. Graphics are more than just pretty pictures!
The colours, fonts, images and photos you use on your website should all work in harmony with your brand message and website copy (words).
Here’s an example of when it can go horribly wrong...
Imagine a website for a massage therapist. The font is spiky, the colours are dark greys with pops of red, the photos are calm and light and the words are all about calming and relaxing you. The font and colours are aggressive and the photos and words are calming. When faced with this kind of website people will feel unsettled and quickly click off your website.
Starting with your brand message a great graphic designer will help you choose colours, fonts and images that work in harmony with the words and tone of voice.
Another graphics mistake is cramming as much information as possible onto your website. And leaving little or no ‘white space’ around images or words.
White space is the empty space around website elements that is used to rest the eye and draw the eye down the page.
Don’t make graphics mistakes on your website by:
- Choosing colours, fonts and images that complement your brand message and tone of voice
- Leaving ‘white space’ on your website around text and image blocks
- Not having more than 2 fonts
- Not having more than 3 font sizes
- Make life easier for yourself by working with a graphic designer!
4. Calls to action mistakes
Calls to action (CTA) are those buttons that click you through to another page or section of a website.
The most common CTA mistakes I see being made are
- Not enough
- Too many different choices to make
CTA’s require a strategy behind them. Not enough and people get lost on website pages and don’t know where to go or what to do next. Too many different choices just confuse and your customer will end up leaving your site as they don’t know what to do next. Or they don’t take the action you want them to take because they got distracted.
Don’t make CTA mistakes
- Create one (maximum two) CTA for each page of your website
- Think of the action that you want your customer to take on each page of your website. It should be to take them to the next place you want them to be
- Think about WHY they need to take this action
- What direction could you tell them that would make sure they take this action
5. SEO mistakes
Ah, those three letters that makes us freeze! There are so many SEO actions we can take on our websites that are easy and make a huge difference. Check out this blog about how to get started with SEO in 2020
Here are common mistakes I see made
- Nothing – nada, zilch done about SEO
- Missing meta tag descriptions
- H1 tags that don’t include keywords
- Pages with too little words on them
- Keywords stuffed everywhere so it reads badly
Avoid making SEO mistakes:
- Read the SEO blog and learn what you can do yourself!
- Get an SEO audit on your website and get fixes you need to rock your SEO
And I’m just going to throw in a number 6: Underestimating the time it takes
Getting your website up and running, or revamped and sprinting WILL take you more time, effort, blood, sweat and tears than you think. I know. I’ve built and written my own websites for years. From when I had my own private Dietetic practice to running a copywriting business.
All you want is to have a professional website that connects with your clients. Do you really want to spend all this time (and wrinkles) on building your own site?
Well, you don’t have to. You can concentrate on doing the business YOU love, and let me do the business I love. Writing your website copy!
I can even build you a Rocketspark site (like mine) and get your wellness message out there, your business growing and your clients transformed.
Swing over to my website services page or drop me a line! Don’t waste time and money making website mistakes.