11.1 Reasons Your Website is Outdated and Needs a Makeover Now
April 1, 2011
Quit welcoming people to your website – it’s trite, they are already there and all visitors want to know is “What can I do here?”
How old is your website? Is the hit counter tracking your visits? Are your meta tags all set with the best key phrases? It really doesn’t matter because what we used to think doesn’t work now.
Your website is outdated!!
1) Your stagnate, slow, website from 2007 (or older Yikes!) doesn’t cut it today. The way websites are built now makes them more fast loading, dynamic and interactive. Frames died long ago and tables are approaching extinction. Gone are the days when each page of the website was built from header to footer. The programming behind your website must be updated to keep up with the newest, fastest-loading programming.
2) Your site navigation is hostile! Today it’s all about the visitor and if they can’t find their way around your site you’ll never get the number of leads or sales you want. Tear it off and start over again with visitors in mind.
3) Your contact form asks for too much and promises little in return. Who wants to “submit” when they can ask you to “contact me.” Give visitors a reason to share information via a short form asking only the basics.
4) Your meta keywords tags aren’t even a consideration anymore. Search engines today are more intelligent when it comes to discerning good websites from bad. Give your page a good title and make sure the content is relevant then move on.
5) Haven’t you heard flash is out? It doesn’t load on mobile phones and it isn’t helpful in search rankings. Your “cutting edge” flash splash page is gone – those effects can now be achieved with clever style sheets that don’t hold your visitor hostage before letting them browse your website.
6) Your “hit” counter is out of date – what’s a “hit” anyway? If you aren’t running a solid web analytics program your site is behind the times – get with the program and find out what’s really happening behind the scenes on your website.
7) Do you think people care about you or your website? Guess again! Visitors are more interested in what you can do for them and if you don’t tell them upfront they move on to the one of your competitors who will! Erase all your corporate ego text and tell visitors the benefits of doing business with you.
8) Why would anyone want to visit your site again after the first time? You’re not providing anything of value that would make your site so addictive that people can’t wait to come back and see what’s new. Take your website off the “one-hit wonder” list and give your visitors content that leaves them begging for more.
9) Quit trying to be everything to everyone – it’s cluttering up your site! With all the choices for navigation, content links, “click here,” & “buy this” how could anyone possibly make a choice? Quit being a hoarder, keep pages focused and the message clear.
10) Every page of your website looks exactly like the others – it’s boring! Give visitors a unique “home” page with interesting interior pages.
11) Your visitors are not psychic – they don’t know that a word is a link unless it’s different than the other words. The same goes for links with images. Your website isn’t supposed to be a guessing game. Take off the mask and underline your links, use a different color font (even after they are visited) and label the images that link as to where they go.
11.1) Quit welcoming people to your website – it’s trite, they are already there and all visitors want to know is “What can I do here?” “What Should I do here?” and “What’s in it for me?” The best welcome you can give your visitors is to answer those questions and give them a clear place to begin.
Yes, this is a pretty “in your face” kind of article but there are so many websites that are now behind the times, although to give credit, they were once cutting edge. It’s time to get with the program and do what’s right for your website visitors.
Are you ready to begin getting more from your website? If you recognized any of the above in your web design, contact me today.
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