I am certain as a business owner you have a long list of adjectives that you would like your business to be perceived as, such as:
- you’re a professional business
- you’re credible
- you provide quality
- you’re trustworthy
- you’re stable
But can website visitors perceive those characteristics from your existing website?
Poor design, cluttered content, and a difficult navigation all take away from the positive image that you want others to have of your business. It is important to remember that most of your website visitors will be new visitors who have no idea who you are or what your reputation is. In most cases, your website may be the only point of contact they have with your business, that’s why it needs to be outstanding. For example.
A poor design tells your customers that you’re not a professional business, you’re not a successful or established business, and you don’t pay attention to details.
A cluttered design tells your visitors that you’re not an organized or efficient business. A difficult navigation tells your visitors that you have not anticipated their needs or put a lot of thought into what’s best for your website visitors. A hidden phone number, that’s not at the top of the homepage or even on the contact us page, tells your website visitors that you don’t want them to contact you by phone, aka you’re not accessible. The wrong color can also set the wrong tone for your business. For example, a financial website should avoid red at all cost, because red in the financial world means loss.
Now these perceptions may not be true about your business, but perception is everything and the wrong perception of your business results in a loss to your bottom line. Is this a risk you are willing to take day after day? How much does the loss of one potential customer mean to your business and your bottom line? Now imagine the potential loss on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis? Is it worth the risk when the problem can easily be fixed for a fraction of what the loss may amount too?