Your website will be one of the first impressions that potential customers see when researching your company or a specific product or service. We always ask our clients, how hard is your website working for you? What we mean by this is are you thinking of your website as your storefront or first impression of your business? If you were on the other end of the computer, would you want to go on the site? If you are finding the traffic and sales are down, it might not be there isn’t a demand for your products or service – it might be that your website is in need of some assistance. Check out our six tell-tale signs below as to why consumers might not be using your website:
Information is outdated
Outdated information on your website can leave new and existing clients confused. If you have a post on your homepage about welcoming someone to your company and it’s still up after they’ve been an employee for two years, that’s a red flag that needs to be taken care of. Website copy needs to be maintained with updates or announcements, and remaining stagnant is not something that you want to do if you’d like to remain credible. It can be as simple as changings your days and times of operation or adding/removing employees, but even the things that seem the most simple can draw people off the most.
It’s not mobile friendly
Not everyone has access to a computer at any time of the day, but the chances of them having a smartphone are high. This leads to what can be possibly be the biggest problem with your website – the lack of a mobile-friendly platform. Now more than ever, people are on their phones when researching products, purchasing items, finding businesses, or interacting with brands. If your website isn’t mobile friendly, more than likely your customer won’t even try to deal you. If your site isn’t mobile, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers.
It’s frustrating to navigate
If your potential customers can’t find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, they’ll move on. Navigation on your website should be fast and smooth through each landing page, keeping the number to clicks to the information they are seeking to only a few. Products, services or solutions should be easy to find on the website. There is actually a way to have too much information on your site, and you don’t want that information to be overwhelming people who visit the site. If your site requires a consumer to go through multiple pages, making it difficult to find what they need, that’s it, you won’t have a relationship with that consumer.
Parts of the site no longer work
One of the reasons that your website might be to frustrating to navigate is that there are parts of your site that aren’t working. If your website is having glitches, moving slowly, certain buttons are no longer working, or pictures have suddenly disappeared, it’s definitely time for an update. If your site doesn’t work properly, what could have been a potential customer will leave and go to a site that works. Try and imagine that your website is your car. You want a car that is reliable, works great, and doesn’t require much maintenance; you don’t want a car that breaks down and is unreliable.
Your brand no longer matches
Even worse than having outdated information is when your website no longer matches your business’s personality. The style of your website should match the values of your company and should should reflect your company’s current identity. This means that if there is a color scheme change or your logo is updated, your website (and your social media) need to reflect those decisions. The easiest way to remember: When your business gets an update, your website needs to get an update too.
No social media
We mentioned social media quickly in the paragraph above, but it leads into our next, incredibly crucial point – your website needs to have social media components and interact well with existing social media platforms. Social media isn’t going anywhere, it’s important for consumers to see how your social media is integrated with your website and give them an easy way to move between the site and your social media platforms. If your website is static and/or antisocial, it’s time for a refresh.
If you are looking for a website update (or even build a new website!), look no further. Pulse develops attractive websites that are professional, functional and easy to navigate. For more information, send us an email and say hello!
