While social media platforms can also be useful for business growth, having a website is still a must. Not only does having a website make you seem like a more legitimate company, but it’s also a great way to compile all of the information prospective customers might want in one space.
After all, we’ve all felt the frustration when scoping out a new restaurant only to find they don’t have a website, so there’s no way to peek at the menu! With 28% of small businesses not having a website, you can stand out from your competitors by creating one with expert website design London.
But web design isn’t quite as easy as it looks. If done poorly, web design can result in fewer hits to your website, a drop in engagement, and a lack of interest from your target audience. Done right, and you’ll attract a whole new customer base.
With that in mind, here are the top 10 web design mistakes that businesses make and how to avoid them.
1. Not Bringing in The Pros
One of the easiest mistakes that business owners make is thinking they can design their own website after watching a few YouTube tutorials. While, technically, you don’t have to be a professional in website design London to put together a website, it won’t be the best quality possible if you don’t call in the pros.
Plus, a web development company London will be able to quickly and easily fix errors, as well as adjusting your website when your business adjusts. If you suddenly need to take your website from a regular business website to an eCommerce site, this can be seriously challenging without support.
2. Compromising User Journey
While your website should look nice, the number one consideration should always be usability, even if it means you lose a few points on aesthetics. To test the user journey of your website, have co-workers, friends, and family test a demo and report back to you about friction and barriers they came up against.
3. Not Being Concise
While your 10-page discussion about how your grandfather inspired your business might mean a lot to you, it’s not what your customers want to see. Your target audience should be able to land on your website and understand in just a few minutes what your business is all about. Keep things clear and concise to avoid your customers losing interest.
4. Slow Loading Speed
A whopping 40% of users will abandon a website if it doesn’t load in three seconds. Loading speed can seriously make or break your site, so prioritise keeping it as quick as possible, even if it means sacrificing some pop-ups or ads. The right web design company can advise you on maintaining a speedy loading time.
5. Vague Messaging
Just like our concise tip above, remember that users will only spend a couple of seconds on your site before deciding whether to close the tab or keep reading. You only have a short time period to explain what you do, so get straight to the point.
No waffling or vague messaging – consumers should know exactly what you do or don’t offer from the outset.
6. Poor Colour Choices
While it’s great to choose a colour scheme and stick to it, make sure there’s enough contrast between the two colours for your text to stand out. Nobody wants to have to squint at the screen just to read your website!
7. Forgetting about CTAs
When it comes to creating the content for your website, don’t forget to include calls to action. Every step of your website should guide visitors towards taking action, and CTAs are the most effective way to achieve this.
8. Ignoring SEO
SEO is what will ultimately boost your website up Google’s ranking, so ignore it at your detriment. After all, when was the last time you scrolled to page 58 to find something? Luckily, a good web development company London will be able to help you set up your site in a way that’s Google-friendly.
9. Not making it mobile-optimised
As of August 2024, mobile devices made up over 60% of all web traffic. If you fail to optimise your site for mobiles and tablets, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of the market. With expert website design London, you can ensure that people can easily navigate your site on all devices.
10. Cluttered Content
While you want to give your site visitors as much information as possible, nothing is as much of a turn-off as clutter. Select just a few choice images or chunks of text and focus on getting to the point with your wording rather than piling on the content.
The Right Web Development Company London for Your Site Design
Here at So Creative, we’re experts in all things web design. We know what the good, the bad, and the ugly of web development look like and we’ll make sure yours is the latter, without falling into the trap of bad mistakes.
To see how good your new website could look, get a quote today.
