Your website can be the strongest element of your business, but it can also be your biggest downfall if you don’t take care of it regularly and make sure you’re up to speed on current trends.
Your website is so important to the buying process and to your reputation, that it can in fact damage your business in several ways if you’re not in-line with what your customer needs. In today’s post, we’ll discuss the three key areas you need to pay attention to, or risk falling behind the competition.
1. You have outdated content
Websites can no longer serve as static pages of content, so if you haven’t updated yours in a while then you could be losing money every day as a result. Research has shown that you only have 8 seconds to grab a consumer’s attention, so if a customer finds your out-dated site in a search results list, you’ll have lost a sale almost instantly.
What gives you away? It could be text that refers to your 2012 competition, it could be a social media feed last updated five years ago – you could have crafted fantastic content at the time, but things move so quickly in the ecommerce world that there is no room to hide.
A website that is regularly updated means that your reputation as an industry-leader is maintained, your credibility with modern consumers improves, and your SEO improves as a result. Not everyone is an expert on crafting the right kind of content though, so don’t be afraid of getting in touch with web design and development experts who specialize in boosting your SEO. You won’t regret it.
2. Your site is non-responsive
Last year, Google’s new algorithm prioritized mobile and responsive websites above any other on searches that are conducted via mobile devices, regardless of content. Google’s objective with this is to recognize that the way people shop online is changing, and to improve that customer experience.
If you don’t have a website that’s responsive for mobile, not only does this massively affect SEO because Google will automatically put you lower down the ranking list, but it instantly turns off customers too. Figures for the number of people using mobile devices continues to increase, so don’t be the one who falls behind.
3. Your processes are too lengthy and complicated
Consumers like simplicity and are very impulsive. If your site takes pages and pages just to buy one product, your impatient customers are likely to get frustrated and leave, unable to complete their purchase during their morning commute like they wanted.
They like a site that is easy to use, quick to load and speeds up the buying process where possible. By including design features in your buying process like one-click ordering, guest checkout and as fewer fields to complete as possible, you will see conversions skyrocket as a result.
Have you come across any other design flaws in your website? Please feel free to leave a comment with your story in the section below.
