There are a lot of decisions you need to make when you’re redoing or leveling up your website, and it can be easy to get bogged down in the details.
Do you approve of the copy? Are you going to obsess over finding another synonym for “impact” or “transformation”? What font should the designer use?
Before you hit “publish” on your website, make sure to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It’s up to your team to take care of the implementation and the smaller details, but before your website goes live you want to make sure it’s doing everything you need it to do.
Here are 8 common mistakes I see on websites all the time. I was going to narrow it down to just 5, but I just couldn’t hold the juicy tips back:
Your picture is worth 1,000 words: If your brand is a personal brand, then you need to have an image of yourself front and center on your website, so people can start to make a connection with you. If you don’t have a personal brand, put an image that highlights the problem-solving, transformative properties of your products.
Say it above the fold: Your most important headline and call to action should be above the fold, meaning the part of the page that is visible without having to scroll down or navigate to another page. Make it punchy, and make it effective.
Where’s the value? It is so so so important to have a value add on your website that can enable you to grow your email list and help people engage with your business. If you’re a service-based business, then lead magnet offers like quizzes are best (more about this next month!), and if you’re a product-based business, then offer a 10% discount or free shipping in exchange for an email opt-in.
Don’t be (too) vanilla: I see this all the time – business owners slap safe and generic copy on their website hoping to appeal to the masses. But the truth is that no one likes to think they are “the masses”. Write copy that is highly targeted to your target audience, and don’t be afraid to take some risks. Your copy should be authentic to your brand energetics.
About who? The “about” page is the second most visited page on a site, besides the homepage. People want to know the values and mission of the people and companies they buy from. Give them what they want.
Call me… maybe? Okay I know I talked about this last week, but I’ll say it again – it should be an absolute 100% no-brainer how to contact you. The client should NEVER have to guess how to take the next step.
We the people. “We believe that people everywhere should…” lemme stop you right there. You should ALWAYS be writing to ONE person. Not some amorphous “one”.
What is your brand all about? If you hired designers and copywriters to build you a website before you even get clear on your brand vision, messaging, values, and mission… then I’m sorry to say you wasted your money. You NEED to have a coherent vision for your brand, so your website can reflect that.
Is your website currently making any of these mistakes? Contact us here and let’s get the conversation started about how you can level up your website.
Talk to you soon!
Jessica and the DesignKrew
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