Too Much Text — Nothing gets a point across than a visual image to go along with your website text. Adding a few graphics to your website to show the products or services you provide will help break up the text on the page and also make the site easier to read. Unlike traditional print you have just seconds to capture the attention of your reader so a targeted message and great graphics will capture your audience better.
Too Many Font Styles — The rule of thumb is no more than two font styles on a page. In a whole website, maybe three. Studies show that using more than a couple of font styles makes the site look less professional and organized. Also staying away from bright colors and lots of bold or over sized fonts to get a point across. Instead look to use graphics (see above) or simple highlights like underlining or italics, but sparingly. Too much can make the content hard to read.
Inconsistency in Design and Layout — Ever go to a website that has a completely different look, layout and design as you go from one page to the next? Some pages have a top navigation menu while other pages have the menu on the site, if at all! These inconsistencies make navigating the website difficult and will loose the visitor quickly due to frustration.
While there are ways to achieve a unique look for different sections of your website, a common layout and navigation are important to keep the visitors from getting lost or frustrated. A good local example of a site that uses a unique color scheme well for different sections of the website is www.MySantaClarita.com . Four different colors, but a common layout and navigation keeps the site consistent and easy to use and navigate.
Under Construction — Many people will opt for a place holder page on their website with a “coming soon” or “under construction” message on the page to let people know that this page is not quite ready. Understandably, the intent it to let the visitor know you have more information coming soon, but in most cases this can be counter productive. If the visitor returns to your website in a few days and sees the same “coming soon” message they may stop returning and figure the site is not being regularly updated.
Instead use your new pages or content on your website as a way to drive visitors back to your website. Send out an email newsletter or post cards to your customer base introducing the new information, product or service. The more you can drive your customers back to your website the better — and using new additions is a perfect way to keep your site and company top of mind.
Static or No Updates — One of the most important aspects of a website is it’s evolution and ability to grow with a company and change as the business changes. Whether this is a new product, new service, or updates about the company, it is critical that companies update their website on a regular basis and for several reasons.
One, change brings back visitors. If your website is updated regularly your visitors will be assured that they will get updated information each time they come back and will revisit your website more often.
Two, search engines love change. Search engines will come back to your website to re-index new and updated information almost as often as you update your website. The more often they see changes, the more often they will return to pick up the new content and add it to their index for searching. This helps businesses that are using search engines for marketing to keep their high position and driving more traffic to their website.
Rob Gardner, founder of Santa Clarita Web Services, has more than 15 years’ experience working with computer, web and IT technologies, including information security, regulatory compliance, and data loss prevention for Fortune 500 companies across the country.
If you’re a business owner/manager and have questions about your website or IT services please call him at 661-799-9100 or email support@eSCV.com .