As a small business owner, your website is much more than just a chunk of code on the internet. It’s prospective customers’ first impression of both you and your business, and with the amount of market competition-especially in Atlanta-you can’t afford to make avoid able mistakes. Correct spelling, accurate info, and a strong product or service will get you only so far. For your small business website to be effective, it must provide a smooth, positive experience for every visitor-which is no small feat. Is your business website making these 5 fatal mistakes?
1) Your call to action (CTA) is missing or vague.
Small business website visitors want your expertise, so give it to them. Make it easy for them to navigate your website by including clear calls to action like “Start here,” “Book a consultation,” or even just “Read more.” Don’t make them guess where to find information or-worse-what to do once they’ve found it. Every page should offer, at minimum, the opportunity to take the first step in the buying process-even if it’s just “Request more info.”Pro tip:incentivize your calls to action by offering something of value in exchange. For example, “Join our mailing list for 10% off your first order!”
2) Your content is “bad.”
Bad small business website content can mean several things, all of them, well, bad.
For example:
- It’s so keyword-packed it sounds like a robot wrote it.
- It hasn’t been updated in weeks (or longer).
- It’s no longer accurate; your pricing has changed, your business has moved, or you don’t offer the same services.
- It’s poorly written; there are spelling and/or grammar mistakes, it doesn’t flow, or it’s too jargon-y for the average consumer to understand.
- It’s not relevant or tailored to your target consumers.
3) Your site isn’t “mobile-first.”
There is an excellent chance that a prospect’s first encounter with your small business website will be on a mobile device; in fact, according to Broadband Search’s 2021 data, mobile devices make up a staggering 60 percent of all search activity.
Mobile matters more than ever and will only continue to grow rapidly in importance. Start your website design with mobile in mind to ensure a positive first impression, then scale up to accommodate larger screens.
4) Your imagery is “bad.”
Like content, images play a critical role in determining whether a visitor’s experience is positive.
Examples of bad imagery include:
- Blurry or poor-quality photos
- Over-edited, unrealistic-looking photos
- Generic stock photos (even worse if the same photos show up on a competitor’s site)
- Photos missing appropriate metadata (a description of the photo’s content for a search engine to “read”)
5) And, finally … your design doesn’t work.
A strong, effective small business website is attractive, effective, and easy to use. That seems obvious, but there’s a huge number of factors in play and just as many opportunities to get it wrong (and potentially drive away customers).
For example:
- There’s too much (or not enough) whitespace. Whitespace should be used to guide visitors to the page’s most important information and provide space between elements.
- The font isn’t appropriate. Everyone loves a fun font, but your small business website design should reflect reliability and professionalism-not fun.
- The navigation is confusing. Your website visitors should never have to search for the page they need. Titles should be clear and reflect your clients’ most common needs.
- The look is outdated. Even generally un-savvy website visitors can tell a 2010 site from a 2020 one. Small business websites should show that the owner is mindful of modern trends and functionalities.
If your small business website needs some work, Red Tree Designs can help! With over 10years of experience designing functional, attractive websites for Atlanta’s small businesses, we can create a polished, user-friendly site that your prospects and clients will genuinely enjoy.
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