If you’ve spent good money on a website, then you need to make sure that it is working well for you. Unfortunately for many businesses, this is not the case. 
At it'seeze Web Design Bristol we’ve helped numerous businesses develop their online presence. In this post, we'll look at some of the common mistakes that we've seen local businesses make with their websites, and how these can be rectified: 

1. No website 

Many small businesses in the UK still do not have a website – and are missing out on a wealth of opportunities as a result.  
 
The vast majority of consumers do research online before buying goods or services from a company. If you don’t have a website, those potential customers are going straight to your competitors! 
 

2. Ignoring SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) 

Once you have a website, it does not matter how good it is if nobody ever visits it! To make sure you get visitors to your website, you need to optimise it for search engines - this ensures that potential customers can find your business in search results. 
 
In order to boost your SEO you can do a number of things, including: 
 
Optimising your content and headings to contain keywords. 
Putting in text equivalents (alt text) for images. 
Building links – one way of doing this is using free business directories. 
Asking for Google reviews and registering for Google My Business. 
 
You can learn more about SEO in the itseeze SEO guide. 
 

3. Badly designed websites 

At itseeze Web Design Bristol we have seen more than our fair share of websites which were badly designed, impossible to navigate, and non-responsive. 
 
Once a visitor lands on your website, the information they are looking for should be clearly displayed and the pages well signposted. This should also be the case for websites that are being viewed on a mobile device, these days all websites should be responsive
 
Your website should also add to your credibility – and one that looks like it was not professionally designed will not lead to any consumer confidence. 
 

4. Outdated contact details 

It seems like such an obvious thing to check, but in our experience, there are a multitude of websites out there with incorrect contact details on them!  
Ensuring that addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and opening hours are kept updated is vital. Your customers may well go elsewhere if they cannot call you, or if they arrive at your location to find you are closed! 
 

5. Poor quality content 

Your content needs to be considered high quality by both Google and your website visitors. 
 
Your website visitors will expect engaging content that is up to date and clearly and accurately reflects what you do. Avoid long and boring paragraphs – split content up with appropriate headers and images. Also use this as a chance to improve your credibility by listing accreditations, awards, and industry association memberships. 
 
Google expects unique, high quality content which contains useful information – so write clearly in a way that accurately describes your services –  
this will be valued by both search engines and your website visitors. You can learn more about what Google looks for in a website here
 

6. Websites that are slow to load 

In today’s fast paced world, visitors to your website are impatient. In fact, 47% of consumers expect websites to load in two seconds or less — and 40% will abandon a page that takes three or more seconds. Take a look here at some tips for speeding up your site! 
 
To avoid this, look for a professional company who will configure your website properly, ensure it is responsive, and provide high quality hosting. 
 

7. Broken pages and links 

Links on a website that no longer work will impact on both your SEO and your user experience, resulting in both lost customers and revenue. They are often caused by renaming web pages, linking to content that has since been moved (e.g. PDFs), or linking to a third party page which is subsequently moved or deleted. 
 
In order to check the links on your website, use Google Search Console to check for these errors and ensure your website offers an improved user experience. 
 

8. Websites without purpose 

Websites need a purpose, so start with the end game in mind. What do you want from your website visitors? In addition to the information about your business, put strong calls to action throughout that encourage visitors to take the next step, whether that's getting in contact with you, booking an appointment, making a purchase, or something else. 
 
 
Next steps 
So, having looked at the post above, do you think your website could be working harder for you?  
 
If so then call Suzy Perry at itseeze Web Design Bristol for an informal chat on 07837 003937 to discuss what we could do to take your online presence forward. 
 
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