Author - Robin Bowman, Senior Business
Editor
These days, pretty much any business that's selling a product or
service has a website. Unfortunately, though, it's clear
that many businesses overlook some fairly basic considerations when
putting together and running a website.
So, here's a checklist of five website howlers all businesses
should avoid.
Run through them and be honest about your own website - are you
committing any of these unforgivable website bloopers?
1. The site has no obvious
purpose or call to action
Here's the first question to ask about a business site - what's
it there for and what is it asking people to do? Once you've
decided this, you can examine whether the site is achieving it
effectively. 
It might sound obvious, but it's probably the most overlooked
aspect of business websites.
Some websites are seeking to 'capture' email addresses, others
to urge customers to call or email for information, others want to
sell direct; perhaps your website wants to do more than one or all
of these things, which is fine, so long as it's clear what is being
asked and it's also clear how to do it.
The other important thing is to prioritise the site's
objectives, so the most important one for the business is the most
prominent.
Really, the objective or objectives can be anything, so long as
they are obvious, the site makes it easy for a visitor to see what
action is called for and easy for the visitor to take that
action.
2. Don't design for yourself - design for
your customers
The customer is always right, as we all know; which is a good
reason for making sure that the kind of website your business is
presenting to the world is the sort that appeals to the right
people.
There's plenty of research out there on the web that reveals how
different groups of people - older people, the middle-aged, male
and female, teenagers and so on - react to different kinds of sites
and what they each value most about a site. It's worth
spending a little time to think about the demographic your business
appeals to most and then shaping your site to fit. This includes
look and feel as well as navigation.
One thing's for sure, it's almost impossible to guess what's
right for each group - almost all the research throws up surprises
about the assumptions we tend to have.
Once you have decided how your site should work, it should, of
course, be designed to look professional, not like it was thrown
together over the weekend by someone reading from a 'how to use
WordPress guide'. After all, this is your shop window and it speaks
volumes about what kind of business you are.
3. What's your
USP?
This is as much about your business as how you choose to project
it on the internet. Either way, it's a vital
question.
To put it another way - how are you going to show that your
business is different from all those competitors? You can't expect
a site visitor to spend more than a minimal amount of time digging
around your site to find why they should bring their custom to you.
So you need to communicate how you are different almost
instantly.
Many businesses make the mistake of offering weak, abstract USPs
- ones that sounds rather grand and corporate, but actually mean
zero to a customer, who is interested not in abstracts, but in
concrete actions.
So, instead of offering a 'wonderful customer experience', it is
far better to translate that into something a potential customer
can quantify and identify with, like always answering queries in a
certain time, or offering a guaranteed next day delivery, for
example.
4. Poor
Copy
Once you have your design right, you should focus on what the
text on your site says. Many businesses don't! Do you use
bland phrases, the same ones everyone else uses about being the
'best', 'fastest' or offering, as mentioned above, the 'best
customer experience'. If you do, what you're really saying is
'we're pretty much like everyone else out there'. After all,
who wouldn't claim these things?
What your website copy says is a key ingredient. A business
website should focus on what matters to potential customers and
address the product or service entirely from their
perspective.
Keep what you say simple and direct. That comes down to having
something concrete to actually say. If you don't, then perhaps you
need to revise your proposition.
And, of course, make sure the text on your site is completely
error free, which means checking and re-checking for sense, bad
grammar, over-complicated writing and spelling mistakes. Make
mistakes and the discerning customer will draw negative conclusions
about how much attention your business pays to detail, whatever it
might claim.
5. Not maintaining and
updating
A web site should never be static and, if you want search
engines to find you, you will need to make sure your site is
running smoothly, like a well-serviced car. That means checking
links work regularly and updating information. Content should
be added as often as possible because search engines will not give
your site priority if it simply sits there doing nothing, no matter
how pretty the design.
Robin has been a journalist for more than 20 years,
during which time he has held several senior media management
positions in both Fleet Street and Hong Kong. Robin recently
returned to the UK after being based in Italy for six years. He has
a passion for business innovation.
The content of this article reflects the views of
the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Premierline
Direct.
