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Features Your Website Shouldn’t Have In 2017

If you’re running a business online or depend on the Internet for sales or promotion, your website could be the very first impression a prospective customer receives of your company.

But, did you know that you only have about 2 seconds to convince them to stay once they arrive at your site?

Give your visitors a reason to browse your site by ensuring you aren’t committing these 7 deadly website sins.

1. YOUR SITE HAS A VIDEO THAT AUTO-PLAYS

Do you have a video that automatically starts playing as soon as a visitor arrives on your website? Sorry to break it to you, but no one likes that. We’re sure you’ve arrived on a site before, only to be completely startled once a video starts and you have your speakers on full volume. It’s also super annoying when you’re reading something and a big pop-up causes you to lose your place in the body text. Automation takes the control away from your user – and website visitors don’t like being told what to do.

TIP:Remove or replace features and elements that take the control away from your users experience – that means ANYTHING that automatically pops-up or automatically starts playing as soon as a visitor gets to your website. Allow the user to be in control and decide if/when they want to watch your video or sign up to your newsletter.

2. PEOPLE CAN’T VIEW YOUR WEBSITE ON THEIR MOBILE DEVICES

If your website isn’t responsive or mobile friendly, Google is penalizing your site by not ranking it very high in search results, because it’s a pain in the ass to access your site from a smart phone. Mobile now represents 65% of digital media time, while the desktop is becoming a “secondary touch point” for an increasing number of digital users. Responsive web design in 2017 isn’t an option anymore, it’s a must if you’re trying to attract new visitors to your site. If you’re website still requires “pinch-and-zoom” finger gestures to accurately view and read the content on your website, your visitors are probably going to ditch your site and move on to another, more user-friendly one.

TIP:Use The Google Mobile Friendly Tool to check the responsiveness of your website.

3. YOU HAVE TOO MUCH GOING ON

A cluttered website with too much visual and text-based information causes chaos and confusion for your visitors. What your website visitors need is space. If there is way too many things going on and your website is unnecessarily busy, it may be time for you to reevaluate the content on your site or redesign it entirely

TIP: Eliminate unnecessary elements, like stock images and useless sidebars. Focus more on white space so your visitors can easily read the content with no distractions and stick to one important link or call to action. Webdesigner Depot offers an easy way to check for clutter and explains how you can combat clutter to boost conversions on your site.

4. YOUR SITE MAKES VISITORS INFINITELY SCROLL

Infinite scrolling is a type of format for your website where visitors can keep scrolling and scrolling while new information is constantly loaded. Think Facebook, Pinterest and Google images. This is one website feature we seriously wish would disappear already. The Internet is confusing enough as it is, there’s no need to stuff all the information on your website into one page. If your website is making visitors aimlessly scroll and load, you may be losing potential customers.

TIP: Ensure that your website content has a purpose or goal. Do this by creating separate pages for your content to make it easy for visitors to understand what it is you do, how you can help them and how they should contact you.

5. DID SOMEONE FORGET ABOUT INTERNET MARKETING?

The #1 purpose and goal of your website is to attract new visitors and convert them into customers. We see way too many “basic” websites that only include information about the company and lack any kind of focus on marketing. If your website is lacking a way to tell visitors how you can benefit them (i.e. solve their burning problem) – they’ll simply choose one of your competitors instead of you.

TIP: Aside from the typical and necessary items like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and a Call to Action (CTA), it’s also time to integrate a solid conversion marketing strategy to help you get more visitors from search engines and social media sites.

6. YOUR SITE ISN’T ASKING VISITORS TO DO ANYTHING

As we mentioned in the previous point, a website’s goal is to convert visits to sales. If your website doesn’t contain a purpose or a clear call-to-action, your website visitors won’t know what to do and they will leave.

Think about how many times you’ve decided to download a new app or plugin on your desktop or smartphone. Every time you sign up and provide your information (usually your name and email address) you receive something you can use or benefit from in return. This process is likely the result of an effective call to action. Your websites call to action matters a lot and because it lets your website visitors know what you want them to do.

TIP: Create clear instructions for your website visitors by adding ONE prominent call-to-action for each page of your site. For example:

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7. YOUR WEBSITE VISITORS AREN’T ABLE TO CONTACT YOU

If visitors are interested in your products or services but they don’t know how to get in touch with you – you’re losing valuable sales! Your website MUST include multiple ways visitors can contact you. It’s a good idea to include a physical address (if you have one), your business e-mail and a telephone number.

TIP: Ask your website developer to build a contact form on your contact page to increase conversions and start building your email list.

Do you have any outdated website features that you need to remove from your website? Remember that doing so will result in a much more pleasant and positive viewing experience for your visitors. Once you meet these minimum web standards for 2017, you’ll notice a major improvement in your business and connect with more potential customers online. Let’s all make the web a prettier with a little common sense and some good communication.

We're dng web remedies. We create kick-ass websites & digital experiences that generate results for startups, entrepreneurs and established businesses.