In building websites for a variety of business types I've come across many good and bad websites. Often times the simplest things can make a big difference on whether the user enjoys your website or clicks the back button. Today we'll go over five of the most common website mistakes and how to fix or avoid them. While by no means is this list complete, I've picked issues that are easy to correct and provide the most value in terms of improving your user experience.
5 Common Mistakes in New Websites:
1. The Splash Page:
This is one of the most requested features and also one of the least valuable. You should have an interesting and engaging home page instead of a "splash page" that users must click through first to get to your website. In this age of instant gratification when it comes to searching online you never want to make your users click more than necessary. Splash pages also serve very little SEO value. The pages lack relevant content and as a result are less likely to be indexed by search engines.
2. Music Loading On The Page:
Very few web users want music to start playing when they go to a website unless you are a band. You have no way of knowing what volume the web users speakers are at which can lead to ear splitting or embarrassing surprises. You also run the risk of the user clicking the back button at the very first sound, never even getting the chance to see your website. If you have music you'd like to use with your website we suggest you as background music of your marketing videos.
3. Not Being Listed in Google Places:
Almost everyone these days has a smart phone that comes with Google Maps as a feature. Simply put if your business is not listed in Google Places you are missing out on 1000's of local searches daily. Many of the popular apps pull business locations from Google Maps as well leaving you literally "off the map" if you aren't in Google Places. The solution to this problem is easy, Google Places is free and only takes a few minutes to sign up and get verified.
4. Hard To Find Contact:
Often times visitors to your website are already customers or already know they want to call you. So why what they are looking for under splash pages and on contact us pages? You should put your phone number in an easy to find location on your website. You should also have easy to find "contact us" links that include your phone number. Last but not least you should include your business's address and phone number in your footer of your website.
5. Flash Websites:
Flash is a great tool when it comes to websites. Top level flash designers create beautiful, engaging interactive multi-media rich websites. The problem is they don't index well in search engines. Users get frustrated by lack of "back" buttons and traditional navigation. Many users will copy text from your website to aid in their decisions, get directions or call you. Flash can't be copied to the clipboard resulting in frustrated users leaving your website. Flash websites can be difficult to update resulting in expensive updates that would be easier with a Joomla or Wordpress website. Flash built websites have their place but most businesses will see more positive results from a non-flash website.
Hopefully these tips on what not to do with your website are helpful. Any of these 5 issues can be fixed with just a little bit of work. Often times the smallest changes can have a large impact on your vistors experience. If you apply these 5 tips to your website you are sure to see a decrease in your bounce rate.