All business owners who set up websites have a common mission in mind – to grow their franchises, and to build on revenue. However, in some ways, web design could actually work the other way. Did you know that there are a few marketing mistakes you could be making that actively harm your chances of making bank from your online presence?
Creating and maintaining a website that generates money, regularly, is perhaps not as simple as many may assume. Building a website from scratch not only takes great care and attention from the get-go, but years of careful maintenance. Otherwise, you are going to expend plenty of time, money and effort into something that simply doesn’t drive any returns. A poor website, or one which doesn’t make money, is just going to sit there.
But how do you know if your website is actually losing your money? How can you tell if your online store or presence simply isn’t driving revenue, or worse, that it’s stagnating?
There are more than a few tell-tale signs to consider. Here are just a handful of them that the team at Digifolk have come across over the years.
Slow Loading Equals Instant Loss of Revenue
If a website or online store simply takes too long to load, it is likely to lose interest right away. That interest, of course, could be a potential sale, or a potential lead that connects with future sales and purchases. Think of your own online experiences. Would you be likely to continue navigating to a website and make a purchase if it simply grinds to a halt every time you try to access it? Probably not.
Statistics show that if your website isn’t up and clear to them within five or six seconds, you’ll lose more than a third of your visitors. It won’t be surprising to see this figure go up as and more and more people demand instant support and guidance. Crucially, if your website isn’t fluid and active as soon as visitors demand it to be so, you’re going to risk plenty of fingers hovering over that back button.
That’s why you need your media and images to be of high quality, and to ensure you’re not cramming your site full of slow-loading assets. If you are, you run the risk of losing plenty of connections.
Unclear Guidance Equals Lack of Sales
While you may feel it is fairly obvious that people should know to buy from your website and where they need to go to fill their baskets, plenty of visitors still need their hands holding. That’s not a bad thing – as a great call to action, or multiple calls to action, will ensure that your visitors know exactly what to do, where to go, and how to get the results they desire.
If you’re really unclear on how people can connect with you and effectively buy what they need, it’s time to make sure you overhaul your content. In addition to this, your website needs to be clear with regard to navigation. You need a clear framework and skeleton in place, otherwise you will run the risk of people getting lost, frustrated, and worse, they might just jump ship altogether.
Therefore, make sure that your content and your website clearly lays out what customers and visitors need to do if they want to make a sale. There’s a fine line, however, as content that is too salesy or too pushy will likely force people to look elsewhere, too. It’s so important to find that balance and to gently encourage people in the right direction.
This is also an extremely good reason why you should invest in the services of a digital marketing team or expert who can make sure your content and navigation are firing on all cylinders.
You’ll Miss the Mark if You Ignore Mobile
Your website is instantly and regularly losing money if you don’t have a mobile friendly version of your store or pages up and running. That’s because a growing number of people are accessing content, searching for solutions online and more through their mobile phones and tablets. There’s been a massive shift away from desktop browsing, and for that reason, if you are risking all of your time and effort on only appealing to this old-school default, you are actively avoiding a new, lucrative mainstream.
The fact is, mobile users hold the key to your future success. The mobile revolution is more than underway, and as such, you are going to need to ensure that all of your content, and your navigation essentials, are easy to use through smaller screens and devices. If you have ever spent any time navigating a heavily desktop focused site on a mobile device, you will know the struggles all too well. They don’t scroll properly, and what’s more, it gets more and more annoying to actually try and find what you want.
Again, this comes down to usability. SEO experts, web designers and online marketers in the modern age know and understand that UX, or user experience, is all about making sure that your visitors are happy and receptive. It is less about keywords and enticing sales pitches than you might think.
What to Do Next
If you have any suspicion at all that your website is actually losing you money, then it is time to take a closer look at how to get it up and running with the best of them. It’s not easy to manage any kind of website on your own, and beyond that, it is even harder to make it profitable without a team of experts behind you.
Whether you have a website that’s simply not converting on your efforts, or if you are setting up a new website and want to know the best ways to start making money right away, then you need to reach out to seasoned professionals with years of experience in the trade.
Digifolk is here to help with each and every aspect of building and maintaining your website! Call or email us now and let’s set up a free consultation to move forward.