5 common business website problems
Having a website is an essential part of running a business, whether you’re a one-person operation or a larger company. Your website doesn’t need to be big, complicated or flashy – it just needs to be clear and usable for your customers.
However, for most of us, building a website is new territory, and there are all sorts of pitfalls that you can fall into when setting one up. If you want to make sure you haven’t made any glaring mistakes, now is a great time to give your website a quick health check – here are 5 common problems with business websites, and how to fix them.
1. Errors and typos
All sorts of errors can creep into a website over time as you update it and write new copy. Your content can end up out of date, links to pages can break, and spelling mistakes happen to the best of us. The simplest way to give your website a new lease of life is to read it all and check that every link works and all the copy still makes sense. If you don’t have time to do this yourself, many professional proofreaders offer website proofreading as a service.
2. Missing contact details
One of the main purposes of a business website is for your clients and customers to be able to get in touch with you – yet it’s all too common for contact details to end up in an out-of-the-way corner, or missing altogether! One of the best things you can do right now is to make sure your contact details appear on every page. You can do this by adding your email address and social media buttons to the sidebar, and putting a prominent ‘Contact’ button near the top of the page.
3. Poor copy
Copywriting is a complex skill, so don’t feel that you should be able to write your website copy yourself if you don’t have any experience with this sort of writing. Good website copy is usually short, snappy and engaging, and includes keywords and calls to action. Of course, you know your business best, so the messaging on your website should start with you, but a professional copywriter can brush up your words and really make them shine.
4. Design issues
Your website needs to function well and be visually appealing, otherwise visitors may be put off. Common issues with website design include long loading times, lack of optimisation for mobile phones, unintuitive menus, or a layout that is too complex (or too simple!) and confusing. Take a look at your website and try to imagine you’re visiting it for the first time, with a particular task in mind (e.g. sending a message or buying a product). Is it obvious where the user should go? If not, it’s time to make changes – you could bring on a website designer to do this for you.
5. Lack of SEO
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is needed to make a website appear in the list of results when someone searches using relevant keywords. Many businesses don’t put much effort into their SEO or analytics (detailed reports about the visitors to your website), so investing some time in this can make a big difference to your reach. SEO professionals can give you detailed advice about your next steps, or you can research basic SEO yourself and add Google Analytics to your site to get started.
Do you need specialised help with your business website? Get Ahead VA offers website design services from skilled professionals who can help you to build the website of your dreams. To find out more, please give us a call on 01483 332220 or email us at office@getaheadva.com. We pride ourselves on being the staff you don’t see, but the difference you do.
