5 Reasons your website sucks
Okay this one might sting a bit if you’re making any of these mistakes. But hey, I want your website to be awesome and actually help you succeed.
The thing that really makes your business a real business these days is a website. That’s just kinda how it goes. Yeah I mean getting that LLC and opening a business bank account and quickbooks and all that stuff makes you more legit, but nowadays anyone can start a business just by making themselves a website and selling some idk t-shirts or something. It’s not that hard… except that it is.
The reality is that anyone can make a website with enough googling and youtube tutorials, but not everyone can make a website that actually works. Most of the time when people start designing a website they just add whatever they think needs to be there with absolutely NO plan or reasoning behind the choice they’re making, which ultimately leads them to having a website that’s a big jumbled mess and does nothing to sell their product.
As unfortunate as it is, even professional web designers struggle with the same issue. They spent years and years learning how to build good looking websites and all sorts of custom made-from-scratch functionality, but a lot of them don’t know a whole lot about what needs to go on a website to make it actually effective. So you end up with a beautifully designed website with loads of super specific functionality and pretty stock photos of grassy landscapes that just sits there taking your money month after month, and getting you ZERO sales. That sucks.
Anyway that’s enough explanation, here are 5 reasons your website is just no good right now.
1. There’s no FREAKING “BUY NOW” BUTTON ON THERE!
It’s actually CRAZY to me how many people don’t ask for the sale on their websites. “OH idk I don’t wanna be pushy and make people uncomfortable. It seems kinda harsh to ask people to…” STOP. You started this awesome business to help people (hopefully) live a better life somehow and, by not asking for a sale, you’re depriving them of that. Listen, your business or product is awesome. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be trying to sell it. So ASK FOR THE SALE.
Put a big button all over your website that says “buy my product/service right now plz thx” because otherwise people are not gonna have any idea what to do on your website. This call to action has to be specific, clear, and direct. Don’t say crap like “learn more” or “get started” because that stuff doesn’t mean anything, and users are SO used to seeing it that they’ve gone blind to it. Make it something as simple and clear as “buy now” or “schedule an appointment“ or “Start your project.” That way, as soon as the customer looks at that button, they know exactly what they’re getting themselves into. No confusion. No fuss. Just a happy customer that knows exactly what you want from them.
2. you have no idea what the purpose of your website is!
This is the most frustrating thing. BEFORE you even THINK about signing up for that Squarespace account to make your awesome website, you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO figure out what you want your website to do! Do you want to sell products? Do you want people to make reservations for a table at your restaurant? Do you want to sell custom furniture? Do you want people to sign up for courses? This is SO important to know before you get cracking on your new website. Otherwise you’re a boat without a rudder or oars. Just floatin’. Doin nothin’.
Once you figure out what you want the website to do, you should make every decision based on that. Everything should point the customer back to the direct call to action that you’ve spelled out over and over again on your website. That way your website is always getting the user to do exactly what you want them to do.
Here are some basic options to get you started:
Sell products/services.
Get clients in the door.
Book appointments.
Distribute content.
Get people to sign up for…whatever.
All of these are awesome starting points to figuring out what you want your website to do. It’s honestly SO annoying to have to rebuild your website after you’ve done so much work because you realize people have no idea what to do when they’re on it. Start with a purpose in mind. You’ll thank me later.
I help my clients figure this out all the time, and honestly it can be a lot of fun. There are so many possibilities and I love helping people figure out the right ones for them.
3. Your photos and graphics just make no sense at all!
I chuckle all the time at websites that have those really dope looking landscape photos on them. Yeah those photos look super great, but they have NOTHING to do with the product you’re selling! Unless you’re selling vacant real estate property in Scotland or something, that photo of the grassy hillside ain’t helping you my friend. Even then it might be a weird choice tbh.
Your photos should show your customers how awesome life is after using your product. I know that’s a big category, but that’s a good thing! Lots to choose from! Find or take photos of people having a good time with your product, or at least living the kind of life that your customers are gonna live after using your product. Ever wonder why those medicine commercials on TV show people fishing or doing yoga or something? That’s because they’re trying to show you THE LIFE YOU COULD HAVE if you took their medicine and get rid of your plaque psoriasis or whatever the heck it treats. I know that’s a silly example but IT WORKS. If you’re a restaurant, show people having a great time at dinner with their friends. If you plan weddings, show people looking awesome, dancing super hard, and having the best most beautiful wedding ever. If you sell tooth paste, show someone smiling super big with perfectly straight and blinding white teeth.
Another funny thing people do is choose graphics like icons or backgrounds that look super cool but do absolutely nothing to help the customer understand what their product is and why it makes their lives better. You saw some really fancy looking icons somewhere and thought “MAN those look snazzy as HECK let’s throw’em on the website!” but your users are looking at them and cocking their heads sideways in confusion. Choose icons and graphics that help people understand what you’re trying to say. If it looks awesome but doesn’t further explain what you want the customer to understand, THROW IT OUT.
Just like your website, all of your photos and graphics should have a purpose. If they don’t have a purpose, they don’t belong on your website. Choose these things carefully.
4. There’s like a million things on your nav bar…
Listen friend, I don’t have time to sort through 500 different pages and subpages on your navigation bar and neither does anyone else. The stuff you’re putting on your nav bar may seem super important to you but, I promise you, it’s not. The nav bar is one of the very first things that a user looks at on a website. Like literally within the first second of looking at a website, you’re already glanced across the nav bar. Don’t believe me? Open up a new tab, go to any website, and see for yourself. The second someone sees an essay in your nav bar their brains immediately say “AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT” and skip past it.
Your nav bar should contain ONLY the most essential things to your customer. Like on this website I only have a link to examples of my work, an about me page (which I’m still iffy about how important that is or not but whatever), a pricing page with how much everything costs, and my direct call to action. Everything else that seems SO VERY IMPORTANT can live in the footer. I know it sounds counter intuitive but it all goes back to making it as easy as possible for the customer to know what you want them to do on your website. If it doesn’t directly help people do what you want them to do, just put it somewhere else.
5. The copy is all over the place! What are you even trying to say right now?
The second you start saying “We’re a family owned plumbing company that my great-grandfather started in 1936 and specialize in…” you’ve lost me. I don’t care about your great-grandfather. I’m sorry. I care that my toilet is broken and stinking up the whole house. I care that my pipes are clogged right now and I haven’t been able to take a shower in a couple days. You have to write copy that tells your customers how you can make their life better!
Another thing you need to do is make sure you’re not typing up big gigantic paragraphs all over your website. I know, you’re reading a big paragraph right now, but this is a blog and works differently. Focus okay? When you see an email that’s like a mile long and one big paragraph, what’s your first thought? I’ll bet good money that your first thought is “I’m not gonna read that right now.” It’s literally hard wired into us to avoid that type of thing because it’ll waste too much mental energy, and we need that mental energy for other stuff that’s gonna happen later. Keep your copy as long as necessary, but as short as possible. For real, the less text, the better. It’ll help people get through your website quickly so they can hit that big shiny “buy now” button sooner!
Writing good copy for your website is honestly not the easiest thing in the world. You have to try really hard to stop freaking talking about yourself, and to talk about your customer instead. Even when you’re supposed to be talking about yourself, you gotta pull a sneaky and really talk about the customer instead. That’s how you build trust with your customers and let them know that you are the person who can solve their problem and make their life better. Otherwise why the HECK would they buy your product?
Okay I know that was a lot of information, but I’m sure it’ll help you get started on that awesome website of yours. You don’t want to make silly mistakes with your business’ website because they literally cost you a ton of money.
I have a lot more knowledge about this stuff than the average person because this is what I do for a living. It means the world to me to help you make your business successful. So if you want someone to help you with building your website, developing effective messaging, creating a visual identity for your business, or any of that stuff, hit that big shiny “buy now” button and let’s start your project today.