1. A Graphic Disaster
We are living in the land of templates. A do it yourself logo and clunky template don’t look professional and could give you that impression of a “fly by night” operation. You need consistency in brand and a nice blend of the right colours, images and text.
2. It’s Boring
The website feels like you are reading a small novel. Fonts are small, and the site is very text heavy. Images are stock photography that you’ve seen before. Websites should show the reader that they understand clearly and concisely what the reader needs to know. Punch out important text and add some original, creative photography.
3. It’s Old News
You can tell that the website hasn’t been updated in ages. They have old resources and the blog hasn’t been updated in months (or years). Websites should be a place for visitors to learn about what’s happening in your industry as well as about your company. Keeping it fresh, and engaging keeps visitors on the site longer.
4. You Can’t Find What You’re Looking For
In other words the navigation sucks and there are way too many “clicks” required to get to important information. It’s a common fact that the more clicks required the more you lose visitors. Keep key information like contact info in your footer, header or sidebars so it shows up on all pages. Summarize products or services on one page. In other words make it easy for people to get to the right solution quickly.
5. A Whole Lot Of Hoopla
These are sites that over promise and under deliver. The headlines promise one thing in the content and the content is completely different. The testimonials don’t have names or companies attached. Statistics aren’t footnoted with sources. The results seems to too good to be true, which normally means they are too good to be true. You get the picture.
Here you find music for $129.95, but the source is “Royalty Free Music Library”.
6. Everything requires an email address
So you want to know about our products, fill out this form first. Commonly called “squeeze pages,” these websites give you no other option if you’re interested but to leave your information to take the next step. You can then expect daily emails for weeks trying to get you to buy.
7. It’s a Whole Lot of Nothing
When you are searching and visit multiple sites, you soon discover that these sites say exactly the same thing as a handful of other sites you have read. They use the same language. They promise the same results. You might think you want your website to be like your competitors, but that could be the biggest mistake you make. Sites that are all the same can be the biggest reasons people don’t trust you. Be bold and be proud of what makes you different.
So now that I’ve shared my list of what sends me packing online, what are your biggest website no-no’s?
Source: Hubspot 2
