A website is the first impression of your company. It's how potential customers find you online. And if your site looks bad, it will reflect badly on your business.
In this post, I'll share with you 7 common website mistakes that you should never make again. These mistakes cost companies thousands of dollars every year because they look terrible and send poor signals to visitors.
If you've made any of these mistakes yourself, then you know exactly how frustrating it is to fix them. But if you've avoided making these mistakes, then congratulations - you deserve a big pat on the back!
I'm going to tell you everything you need to know to avoid these mistakes and create a great looking website that makes you proud.
The first thing people notice about a website is its title. It's what pops up when someone types in a search engine or clicks on an ad. The page title should be short, descriptive, and easy for users to understand.
If it's too long, it will get cut off by the browser window. If it's not descriptive enough, it won't help visitors find what they're looking for. And if it doesn't match the content of the page, it could confuse users.
Meta descriptions are snippets of text that appear below the main title tag. They describe your page to search engines like Google and Bing.
They're important because they influence which results show up in search results pages. A meta description should be between 60-160 characters long. Anything longer than that gets cut off by the browser. Anything shorter than that makes it harder for readers to scan the page.
In addition, meta descriptions don't work well on mobile devices. That means they shouldn't exceed 70 characters.
There's one big problem with keyword stuffing: Search engines penalize sites that do it.
Search engines want to rank high in search results. So they try to figure out what words people use to find things online. When they see lots of keywords stuffed into a single page, they assume it's spammy.
That leads to lower rankings.
So instead of cramming as many keywords as possible onto every page, focus on using relevant ones. You can still include some keywords in your titles, but keep them brief.
When people click images, they expect to see something interesting. They don't need to know what the image is called or who made it.
Instead, give them information they can use to decide whether or not to click through. For example, "This is a picture of my dog." Or "This is a photo of our new office space."
You can add alt tags to images to provide more details. This helps screen reader software read the text aloud so blind people can navigate the site.
But alt tags aren't just for visually impaired people. They're also useful for SEO purposes.
Google uses them to determine what each image represents. So adding alt tags increases the chances that a visitor will click through to your site.
It's tempting to put all the text on a page. After all, most browsers let you scroll down indefinitely.
But there's a limit to how much text a person can read at once. People have different reading speeds. Some may only be able to process 20% of the text before moving on. Others might be able to handle 100%.
As a result, you should always aim for a balance between text and visuals.
For example, you could write a paragraph explaining why you're offering a product. Then you could link to a video showing the product in action.
Or you could write a few paragraphs describing the features of a service. Then you could embed a YouTube video demonstrating those features.
The key is to make sure both text and visuals complement each other.
Analytics help website owners understand their visitors better. It lets them learn about their audience demographics, interests, and behavior.
And it gives them insights into how visitors found their way to their site.
If you're running a blog, analytics can tell you if people are finding your posts via social media or email. If you're selling products, they can reveal where customers came from. And if you're building an ecommerce store, they can show you which pages are driving traffic.
In short, analytics help you improve your business.
But they won't do you any good if you never install them.
You can use Google Analytics for this.
People hate slow websites. They think they'll get stuck waiting forever while they wait for a page to load.
They'll leave without clicking anything.
And when they come back later, they'll remember how long it took to load.
So you'd better make sure your site loads quickly.
There are several ways to speed up loading times. But one of the best is to reduce the number of files you include on every page.
That means removing unused scripts and stylesheets. It also means reducing the size of images and videos.
You can even compress your HTML code using tools like GZIP compression.
These techniques work well because they reduce the amount of data being transferred over the Internet. That makes it faster for users to download.
But they also make it easier for search engines to crawl your site.
So make sure you take these steps to ensure your site loads fast.
A responsive website automatically adjusts its layout based on the device used to view it.
This means it looks great no matter what kind of screen you're looking at.
But some sites don't support mobile devices. Or they look terrible on small screens.
Either way, they're not responsive.
Responsive design is important for two reasons:
First, it helps you reach more people.
Second, it improves user experience.
When someone visits your site on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, they expect certain things. For example, they want to see content that fits the screen.
They also want to be able to scroll through the page easily.
If your site doesn't meet these expectations, then it's not responsive.
Website Security is all about protecting your visitors' personal information.
It includes keeping hackers out of your system.
It also involves making sure your site isn't vulnerable to malware attacks.
For example, you might want to keep your visitors safe by installing SSL certificates.
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It encrypts data so that it can only be read by the person who sent it.
Then there's cross-site scripting (XSS). This occurs when malicious actors insert harmful code into a web page.
They can use XSS to steal cookies, passwords, and other sensitive information.
To prevent this, you need to secure your site with anti-malware software.
The most popular tool is WAF (Web Application Firewall).
WAF filters incoming requests for known threats. Then it blocks those requests before they ever reach your server.
WAF also protects against SQL injection attacks. These occur when attackers trick users into entering commands in their browser instead of URLs.
SQL injection allows them to access databases and steal private information.
To protect yourself, you should run scans regularly.
Make sure you have updated antivirus software installed. You should also check your firewall settings.
And finally, you should update your database frequently.
Your database stores critical information. If an attacker gets hold of it, he could do serious damage.
So make sure your database is protected from unauthorized access.
Forms are a common part of websites. They allow visitors to submit comments, sign up for newsletters, or request services.
But a long form is bad for conversion rates.
That's because it takes longer for visitors to fill it out. And it makes it harder for them to get back to your site.
You should always keep forms short and sweet.
Here are three tips to help you create shorter forms:
Use labels. Labels let visitors know exactly where to click. So they won't waste time filling out unnecessary fields.
Keep questions simple. Don't ask too many questions at once. Instead, ask one question per field.
Use autofill. Autofill lets visitors enter information without having to type it themselves.
A call to action is what tells visitors what to do next.
When people visit your website, they're looking for something specific.
They may want to learn more about your products or services. Or maybe they just want to leave feedback.
Whatever it is, they'll find it if you give them clear instructions.
This means giving visitors a button or link that says "Buy Now."
Or "Sign Up Today."
These calls to actions tell visitors what to do next on your site.
If you don't include one, then visitors will assume that nothing happens after they finish reading your content.
And they may not return to your site again.
Contact Info is Hard to Find
Visitors expect to see contact info right away.
It's like a phone number or address.
It helps them connect with you.
But some sites hide their contact info until later.
This makes it hard for visitors to follow through with a purchase.
Plus, it makes it difficult for potential customers to share your business with others.
So make sure you put your contact info somewhere obvious.
For example, you can add it to the footer of every page.
People love photos.
In fact, they spend over half of their online browsing time looking at pictures.
But most businesses use low-quality images as thumbnails.
These tiny previews show visitors only a small portion of the full image.
This makes it tough for them to decide whether or not to click through.
Instead, you should use high quality images.
The best way to do this is by using free stock photo sites.
There are thousands of these sites available.
Some even offer royalty-free images.
So you can use them in any project without paying extra fees.
Navigation is important. It shows visitors how to navigate around your site.
Without good navigation, visitors might have trouble finding things.
And they may be confused when they reach the end of your site.
To prevent this, make sure your links lead to pages that are relevant to the topic.
Also, make sure your links are easy to spot.
Make sure they stand out against other text.
And make sure they're big enough so visitors can easily read them.
You can also use color coding to highlight different parts of your site.
Font size matters. Too small, and visitors won't be able to read everything.
Too large, and visitors won't enjoy your site.
Choose fonts that are readable and attractive.
Then adjust the font sizes to fit within your design guidelines.
Color is another issue.
For example, dark blue against dark background would be difficult to read
So choose colors wisely
Hosting refers to the server software that powers your site.
Poor hosting can lead to website down time, customers not able to reach you
Read between the lines to choose the right hosting
A strong brand message is something people recognize.
When someone sees your logo, they know exactly who you are.
They associate your name with your products and services.
Your brand message tells visitors what to expect from your company.
And it gives them confidence in your business.
But many websites lack a strong brand message.
They look generic, bland and boring.
This makes them seem unprofessional and less trustworthy.
If you want to create a professional website, then you need to take care of all these details.
In conclusion, knowing what to avoid will help to ensure your website is helping your business and not hurting it.
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