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For Your Small Business September 23, 2021

Five Top Website Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Even before COVID-19 and the eCommerce boom, a small business’ website was its digital storefront, where people could make a purchase or find out more about the company and its products and services 24/7. With the rise in eCommerce, a robust website is more important than ever. But is yours telling the story you want it to? Here are five common website mistakes small businesses make and how to fix them to help grow your business.

1. Your site doesn't rank high enough in search results.

What good is your site if no one can find it? Given that more than half of internet users start their quest with organic search, it’s key for your site to show up in the top results that are most likely to drive interaction. There are a number of ways to do this, including optimizing your site for keywords where you want to rank, updating your site regularly and making sure you have quality content. Find more tips in this article for how to improve your SEO. 

2. The website loads too slowly.

A potential shopper is apt to leave a slow-loading website faster than you can say “Stay!” But that’s not the only reason your website should be responsive: Speed is one of the criteria that helps your site rank higher in search results, as mentioned above. Nothing beats trying out your website yourself to check the user experience, but you can also perform a Google Speed Test. If your website is too poky, there are some simple fixes you can try, such as compressing your files, reducing image sizes and upgrading your server.

3. Your design is unappealing. 

An outdated or busy site makes a user want to save their eyes and close their browser. While consulting with a web designer might be a wise investment, there are some areas anyone can tackle to make the site more attractive. First, make ample use of white space and choose a web-friendly font. Then check your imagery and use photos that are engaging and large enough to easily pick out details. You also want to make sure the site is well-organized and easy to navigate, even for visitors on mobile devices.

4. The site doesn’t build credibility.

While a simple website can be effective, it shouldn’t just be some product images slapped on a boring background. You want visitors to get a sense of who you are as a company so create pages that offer more information on your business, such as an "about" page that tells your company story and a "meet the team" page for a personal touch. Add social proof in the form of testimonials and reviews to showcase satisfied clients.

5. Your website isn’t secure.

Hardly a day goes past when we don’t read about a data breach so customers have reason to be wary. Help allay their fears by making sure your website is secure. Start by enabling HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), which is an internet communication protocol that protects your users’ connections to your website. Many customers won’t visit a site that doesn’t have that telltale “padlock” before the address. (Find out more about how to do this here.) If you have an ecommerce site, using two-factor authentication—where users need to enter a code sent to their device in addition their password—demonstrates you take their security seriously.

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