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12/30/14 | Uncategorized

New Year, New Website – 5 Things You Have to Fix

Your website could actually be losing you business. Time to refresh your content.

By Siedah Mitchum (Web Designer & Consultant)

Over the past 13 years I have run, edited, built, customized and tested website after website.

There are a handful of core reasons why business owners need a website. The top three are to educate, inform and sell. Sometimes a combination of all three is required in order to really connect with your target audience and turn a profit.

Take out your notepads and pencils because I am going to share with you five common mistakes I’ve seen again and again as a web designer, and tell you how you can avoid making them on your website.

1. It’s Not Easy to Contact You

We all communicate differently. Some of us can live by text message, some of us like to only chat on social media, and some of us prefer email or phone. It’s your job to make it easy for your potential client, partner or endorser to be able to contact you. Don’t miss the opportunity to easily and effortlessly to convert visitors.

If you’re on social media doing business, but there are no social media button links on your website, I only recommend you post if you’re using social media for business. Make it easy for your visitors to connect with you socially.

It’s not enough to have an email sign-up form on your website. Some of us need time to write a proper email to you. By only providing a sign-up form on your website, it limits your visitor. Maybe we want to draft our email and finish writing it later on.

Make it convenient for your visitor. It doesn’t hurt to have a professional email address available for the convenience of your potential new client.

Most people don’t feel comfortable with displaying their phone number on their website. Most of us don’t wish to answer calls from potential clients right away. And honestly, you don’t have to.

Thank goodness for voice mail, right? To mask your private cell phone number, sign up for Google Voice and download the Google Voice app on your phone. When you get free time, you can return your voice mails.

If you provide local workshops, classes, conferences, retreats, etc., it is extremely important to display your city and state for locals. If you don’t teach, it’s still great to display this information in the event that your visitor is local and they might be looking for a local professional and are not sure where you’re based.

The key is to make everything easy for your visitor/potential client.

2. You Don’t Share Stories or Testimonials

We all like a good story and testimonial because it’s proof that you can actually deliver what you say you can. That’s why you need some social proof in order to show that you can obtain results.

It’s not enough to talk to the talk – you have to walk that walk as well.

3. You Aren’t Sharing Your Knowledge

Sharing your knowledge showcases your expertise. Blogging isn’t new to us, but blogging consistently and not on the fly would change your business tremendously. This shows you’re knowledgeable and positions you as an authority in your industry.

Blogging consistently sends the message that you will show up to give value and that your visitor can trust you as an expert.

4. You Don’t Offer Something for Free That Solves a Real Problem

It’s not enough to get traffic to your website. The best way to excite people is by being authentic and helpful. This is the start of a valuable and awesome conversation.

5. Locals Don’t Know You’re Local

Have you ever went to someone’s website and they had a really cool local conference, workshop, or class on their website but you had no idea where they were located? Who says there are no locals visiting your website?

If the visitor is local, they might want to see you in action, in person. This is another reason why you should have your city and state displayed on your website – so John Doe (your visitor) knows you’re local and can make it his or her business to meet you in person or sign up for your local activity.

In Conclusion

Don’t get in your own way when it comes to thinking about the components of your website. Make it simple, strategic, and purposeful. Deliver value and social proof that not only starts the conversation but also takes your visitor on a journey that will have them swept off their feet in no time.

Is a website refresh one of your New Year’s Resolutions?

Image credit: rvlsoft via Shutterstock.

Kate Brodock

Kate Brodock

Kate is the CEO of SWITCH and General Partner of the W Fund. She combines her operational experience in startups and her deep expertise on and central commitment to gender and representation in the startup ecosystem to position her as a leader on the creation and development of a more equitable future for our innovation economy.

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