Website and Design Mistakes to Avoid Making

Many small business owners design their own websites to save money and have more control over the project. Unfortunately, the concept of good web design is often overlooked causing customer losses.

For a growing brand, a professional-looking website is required to gain new customers, establish credibility, and foster client relationships.

Are you guilty of any website design mistakes?

Let's find out below...

Low-quality images

Low-quality images are bad for your e-commerce site and making sales because no one will be compelled to purchase one of your products if the images do not do it justice.

One of the biggest mistakes we see many people make is filling their websites with stock images. This does nothing to set your brand apart. It only hurts it.

🔥 HOT TIP: 🔥 Make sure that you have a good assortment of product visuals, which show off your item from different angles so people understand what they are buying.

Lack of consistency

A lack of consistency in the visual identity, quality of images, copy, style, and tone of your website will decrease the quality and experience of your online store.

• The best brands keep things simple:
• They have a font they rely on
• They have a colour palette they use by default
• They don’t overcomplicate things
• People like simplicity after all!

If you use a mismatch of different style elements, you are only going to confuse people. Your brand will appear messy. The same goes for your tone of voice. You can’t jump from being formal to acting as the website viewer is your best friend.

You need to keep it consistent throughout.

Too many pop-up

Pop-ups are distracting and annoying for users! Think about your own experience with pop-ups. You are browsing on a website, and you keep getting random messages that pop up and distract you from what you are trying to do.

Frustrating, right?

One place where there should never be any pop-ups of any nature is during the checkout process.

When someone is trying to buy a product from your website, the worst thing that you can do is distract them and potentially irritate them in the process. Unfortunately, this can often result in a lost sale.

When incorporating pop-ups into your website, you need to make sure that they are done not to take over the page and distract people from what they are doing.

Ensure they can easily be closed as well.

Substandard product descriptions

The importance of product descriptions, which offer all the information needed, is easy to read and understand and remain faithful to the brand tone, cannot be overlooked.

If your product descriptions are weak, you will struggle to sell your products. It is as simple as that. Your product descriptions need to be informative yet clear and easy to understand.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.

If they are going to purchase a product from you, they want to know that they will be spending their money on the right thing.

They will not be able to make this decision if you do not provide enough information in your product description.

It is also essential to make sure that the product descriptions are optimized for the search engine result pages so that you can boost your store’s visibility.

Not enough customer retention effort

Many business owners today spend so much time focusing on attracting new customers to their website that they overlook just how important it is to retain your customers.

Many people would argue that customer retention is even more critical. This is because loyal customers can bring a lot of worth to your business.

Not only will they make repeat purchases, but they will advertise your company to their friends, family, and colleagues as well.

Therefore, it is advisable to put together a customer retention plan. You could set up a referral program or a loyalty scheme, for example.

Confusing user journey

Next, we have the customer journey in your online store. Again, this should be as simple and easy as possible to guide the user towards making that purchase.

A complicated and confusing user journey is one of the main reasons why eCommerce stores have a high bounce rate.

After all, if you cannot find what you are looking for, you will probably look elsewhere, right? So no one is going to spend the time trying to figure it out themselves.

This is why the user journey you provide must be easy and straightforward. People should be able to navigate through your website without needing to think twice.

Not only should you test your website yourself to make sure that this is the case, but get other people to do it as well. This can help you to unearth any sticking points that need addressing.

Not enough calls to action

Your eCommerce website is an opportunity to use CTAs to retain customers by upselling.

Use CTAs to get them to follow you on social media, sign up for the newsletter, make additional purchases, watch out for sales, read the blog, etc.

There is an opportunity everywhere for Call To Action to keep the user on your site and engaged with your brand.

Call To Actions are very simple on the surface, but they are very effective.

You will be pointing out the obvious you are telling the viewer the steps they should take next, whether to make a purchase or refer your business to a friend.

Your CTAs should be visually appealing; they need to be bold and stand out so that people feel compelled to take action. You also need to make sure you use simple language, which is easy to understand.

Boring visual design & branding

Your online store is an opportunity to create and share an awesome brand identity that will resonate with your target audience.

Simple brands are the most effective. However, there is a difference between clean and simple and just plain dull.

Making sure you go the extra mile by hiring professionals who can help you create a stellar brand identity to bring through your e-commerce website design is crucial for sales and building and retaining a loyal customer base.

Branding experts know exactly what it takes to ensure your business stands out against all of the noise while creating a brand that is cohesive and compelling.

Think about some of the most memorable brands today; from McDonald’s to Nike. They aren’t doing something ground-breaking or complicated, but it is memorable and highly effective.

Over the years, these brands may have made slight tweaks and changes, but they have always kept things consistent, and that’s what makes them so great.

No content strategy

The importance of a content strategy for your e-commerce site that aligns and links through to your social media strategy and email marketing strategy cannot be overlooked.

Make sure your content is on-brand, adds value to your customers, and is used strategically to lead customers to the site and make sales.

One of the biggest mistakes that we see businesses make is simply creating content for its sake. When you do this, it offers no value to your business. Instead, it is more likely to hurt your brand.

Do not simply copy or repeat what is out there at the moment. Instead, think about how you can set your business apart from the rest with unique, compelling, and original content.

You also need to make sure that your content is optimized for the search engine result pages. This involves in-depth keyword research and making sure that you naturally go about this.

Now, it’s time to roll your sleeves and check your website for these errors. If you spot any of them, you know how to fix them.

With all the things to juggle as a business owner, consider hiring professional help. The right partner can help ensure your website generates leads for your business, by providing an optimal user experience for your customers. And more importantly, avoiding all the common website and marketing mistakes.