5 reasons why your website sucks
Most of you don’t even know it.
This may just be more of a free-wheelin’ venting session for me. My day-to-day job is a website copywriter for a marketing agency. I also audit them and dig deep into why they’re so horrible. Many people created their websites for their businesses when the internet really began to take off and not everyone has the time, money or foreward thinking to revamp those websites for 2021. This is a huge problem. Sure, it creates tons of work for me, but if you’re low on cash, time and resources just read through this list to make sure your website doesn’t suck.
1. You’re saying too much
A website is more agile when it has less to load. It will also improve overall usability. The goal here is to streamline the content that exists while creating a seamless experience for your users. Read your website! It’s likely that 50 per cent of it is not important to your users (looking at you puppy photos, personal stories that don’t matter — you get it). Shorten your copy significantly while still offering important information to your customers. Bonus, this will increase the speed of your website meaning more retention (yay)! It’s a win-win.
2. You’re using the wrong tone
Simply put, do you know who you are talking to? Have you researched your users and made archetypes for each possible one? By doing this you are able to understand how to talk to communicate to your audience. If you own a computer repair shop and your language is filled with jargon and confusing sentences then its likely you aren’t reaching your customers in the way you would like. Research and choose your words wisely.
3. You’re old news
Let’s say you have a website that hosts a page for blog posts, news clippings or clinical research. The biggest mistake (and nightmare) I run into is when website owners don’t update these items. If you want to stay connected and need to convey accurate and timely information you have to maintain that. If people are using your website and notice that the last updated blog post was three years ago, it tells them that you’re not on top of your business.
4. You’re haven’t answered the question
We humans have a very limited attention span. Think of your website as a not so obvious sales pitch. If someone has bothered to visit your site at all, you should at least tell them why they’re there. Don’t leave them to search through pages and pages of nonsense (if they even bother to look). Websites need to answer the question many users have: Why am I here? Tell them who you are, what you do and why you do it best. Be clear and put this information where everyone will immediately see it.
5. You don’t look so good
Yes. Fixing the above will put you on the path to a better website, but are you happy with how it looks? Are you using stock photos over real photos you’ve hired a professional to take? Are you using your brand colors and font? Choose a design that is simple to navigate on mobile and desktop to start and then tackle the rest. Remember, if your website looks bad, so do you. It is often the first impression so make it a strong one!
