10. You Hired Your Nephew
You know he is not a professional but you know you can save a buck by using him. After paying him next to nothing, you find that the website he created hurts more than it helps. You find yourself taking your URL off your stationary and business cards and not mentioning your website to your clients. You've lost more than a couple hundred dollars you spent on it, you've lost the potential of successful website until you have it redone.
9. You Outsourced Your Work
Another tempting alternative to what might seem to be costly work inside the country. There are two reasons why this alternative is very risky and painful for you and your business. First, communication problems, you either will have a hard time understanding or being understood by your the firm or freelancer you hired and most likely will not be able to find a civil time to be able to communicate over the phone. And second, you'll find like so many have already, that you'll be promised everything and receive a small portion of what you expected.
8. You Used Hosting Software to Easily Build Your Own Website.
By every right you are the leading expert of your business. You figure, "why spend money when I am the best qualified to present the business to my clients?" So you find a neat looking template and try to build the site yourself. In all honesty, there is truth behind the premise, but your execution was your failure. A good designer will know how to leverage you as the expert of your business in creating an effective design. Websites just seem so simple, but there are entire degrees in college, volumes of books and other reading materials, plus years of application that are needed to make something so simple to be so effective. Look at the ingenuity of Apple Computers, there is a reason why so few people have been able to match their prowess of simple design.
7. Your Website Design Sucks
If you think your website does not look professional or looks cheap, what does that say to your website visitors? Don't ever to expect your visitors to respect your business image more than you do. And in the marketing world, we know that image is everything.
6. You Created a Splash Page
Even if you think your splash page looks "cool", your providing little to no benefit to your visitors. Our studies have shown that websites with Intro or Splash Pages lose a multiple of visitors than if they didn't have Splash Page.
5. Your Website contains little to know content.
Limiting the content on your site is a very ignorant maneuver. There are so many opportunities your website can take advantage of, but without content virtually none of it is possible. Content is king, build it and they will come.
4. Your Site Catches No Interest
Keep things fun, keep things light and above all keep things interesting. It is interest that brought your visitor to your site in the first place and it will be interest that will keep your visitor from leaving. If everything about your website is boring, you'll never convince them to stay long enough to take a chance on you.
3. You Only Hired a Web Designer/Developer.
Whats the problem with this picture: You build a state of the art sports arena, its beautiful, has many sought out commodities and was built in Antarctica. You may ask, "What's the point of a sports arena if you aren't going to have anyone use it?" A silly scenario, but a common pitfall for many websites out on the Internet, because they are or have a professionally made website with no budget for marketing. When budgeting out your website, make sure to appropriate sufficient funds to attract an audience to it. Use the following flexible rule of thumb for a website budget: a quarter of your budget for design and branding, a quarter for development, a quarter for public relations and SEO, and a quarter for advertising.
2. Your Website is Too Broad
This is why web templates can be a very dumb move. If your web design and content are generic and bland, you aren't portraying a well conceived and implemented brand image. Branding is about determining your companies persona. A well branded website builds trust with your visitors and shows competitive advantage. In short, differentiate yourself from your competitors or fail.
1. You Didn't Monetize Your Site
This is the most common issue websites have today, not converting visitors into customers/clients. Either your website doesn't have a plan on converting visitors into customers, isn't focused on it or isn't effective enough. In any way that you look at it, if you can't succeed at this, your website will fail. - 16651
You know he is not a professional but you know you can save a buck by using him. After paying him next to nothing, you find that the website he created hurts more than it helps. You find yourself taking your URL off your stationary and business cards and not mentioning your website to your clients. You've lost more than a couple hundred dollars you spent on it, you've lost the potential of successful website until you have it redone.
9. You Outsourced Your Work
Another tempting alternative to what might seem to be costly work inside the country. There are two reasons why this alternative is very risky and painful for you and your business. First, communication problems, you either will have a hard time understanding or being understood by your the firm or freelancer you hired and most likely will not be able to find a civil time to be able to communicate over the phone. And second, you'll find like so many have already, that you'll be promised everything and receive a small portion of what you expected.
8. You Used Hosting Software to Easily Build Your Own Website.
By every right you are the leading expert of your business. You figure, "why spend money when I am the best qualified to present the business to my clients?" So you find a neat looking template and try to build the site yourself. In all honesty, there is truth behind the premise, but your execution was your failure. A good designer will know how to leverage you as the expert of your business in creating an effective design. Websites just seem so simple, but there are entire degrees in college, volumes of books and other reading materials, plus years of application that are needed to make something so simple to be so effective. Look at the ingenuity of Apple Computers, there is a reason why so few people have been able to match their prowess of simple design.
7. Your Website Design Sucks
If you think your website does not look professional or looks cheap, what does that say to your website visitors? Don't ever to expect your visitors to respect your business image more than you do. And in the marketing world, we know that image is everything.
6. You Created a Splash Page
Even if you think your splash page looks "cool", your providing little to no benefit to your visitors. Our studies have shown that websites with Intro or Splash Pages lose a multiple of visitors than if they didn't have Splash Page.
5. Your Website contains little to know content.
Limiting the content on your site is a very ignorant maneuver. There are so many opportunities your website can take advantage of, but without content virtually none of it is possible. Content is king, build it and they will come.
4. Your Site Catches No Interest
Keep things fun, keep things light and above all keep things interesting. It is interest that brought your visitor to your site in the first place and it will be interest that will keep your visitor from leaving. If everything about your website is boring, you'll never convince them to stay long enough to take a chance on you.
3. You Only Hired a Web Designer/Developer.
Whats the problem with this picture: You build a state of the art sports arena, its beautiful, has many sought out commodities and was built in Antarctica. You may ask, "What's the point of a sports arena if you aren't going to have anyone use it?" A silly scenario, but a common pitfall for many websites out on the Internet, because they are or have a professionally made website with no budget for marketing. When budgeting out your website, make sure to appropriate sufficient funds to attract an audience to it. Use the following flexible rule of thumb for a website budget: a quarter of your budget for design and branding, a quarter for development, a quarter for public relations and SEO, and a quarter for advertising.
2. Your Website is Too Broad
This is why web templates can be a very dumb move. If your web design and content are generic and bland, you aren't portraying a well conceived and implemented brand image. Branding is about determining your companies persona. A well branded website builds trust with your visitors and shows competitive advantage. In short, differentiate yourself from your competitors or fail.
1. You Didn't Monetize Your Site
This is the most common issue websites have today, not converting visitors into customers/clients. Either your website doesn't have a plan on converting visitors into customers, isn't focused on it or isn't effective enough. In any way that you look at it, if you can't succeed at this, your website will fail. - 16651
About the Author:
Writer, Speaker and Expert Web Designer and Internet Marketer, Matthew Henage, is a leading expert in building profitable websites. Henage is the CEO of Utah web design firm, Superior Design Inc., a leading website design company in the state of Utah.
