10. You Hired Your Neighbor's Son
You know he is not a professional but you know you can save a buck by using him. After paying him next to nothing, you find that the website he created hurts more than it helps. You find yourself taking your URL off your stationary and business cards and not mentioning your website to your clients. You've lost more than a couple hundred dollars you spent on it, you've lost the potential of successful website until you have it redone.
9. You Outsourced Your Work to a Near-Third-World-Country
Hiring outside of the country is often difficult and disappointing. If you caved into the idea of hiring a professional for less outside of the country you've probably found like many of my colleagues and myself included that the hassle and work you received isn't even worth it being done for free. Save yourself the stress, and hire a competent firm close to home.
8. You Purchased a Template and Did it Yourself.
How hard can building a website be? The honest answer, not very hard at all. HTML is one of the easiest things to learn. You can find tutorials or a class that can get you started in building a website within hours. Templates make it even easier. Just about anyone can create a website, but being able to build a website that brings success takes a lot of experience and a lot of talent. If you've decided to try it out as a hobby, go for it, I personally find very few things more enjoyable than crafting new designs and programming new systems. But if you want a website that gets results, turn it over to the professionals.
7. Your Website is Outdated
If you think your website does not look professional or looks cheap, what does that say to your website visitors? Don't ever to expect your visitors to respect your business image more than you do. And in the marketing world, we know that image is everything.
6. The First Page on Your Website Says, "Click to Enter"
There are many reasons why people choose to have a splash page and none have been effective thus far in doing so. Splash pages and intro animations end up just becoming an annoyance to your visitors, especially if they come to your website more than once.
5. You Can Count the Number of Pages on Your Site with One Finger.
Limiting the content on your site is a very ignorant maneuver. There are so many opportunities your website can take advantage of, but without content virtually none of it is possible. Content is king, build it and they will come.
4. Your Site is Boring
If you can't catch your customers eye on any of you product, services or content, your website has no chance. There are hundreds of tactics to catch your visitors interest. For example listing benefits for your potential customers, and not features. Using catchy one liners to compel your visitors to learn more. Or giving your audience real life application. Just know that if you can't keep your audiences' attention, you lost them in a flash.
3. Your Budget Only Included Web Design and Development.
It doesn't matter how influential, beautiful or amazing your web design or development are if you have no way of getting people to your website. When budgeting out your website, make sure to appropriate sufficient funds to attract an audience to it. It is suggested that you budget enough to build your website, and hire a Internet Market to get targeted traffic to your site. You need both to succeed.
2. Your Website is Too Generic
A good looking website and a well branded website are two very different things. A good looking website might impress your audience but a well branded website will influence your audience to a profitable action. If you're running a business, the latter is the smarter choice. Every aspect of your website should be communicating the same message, from your design, to your logo, to font, text and style. Keeping these aspects of your website consistent will create a stronger and more influential brand.
1. You Site is Not Based On Achieving Your Website Objectives.
Sometimes people get so caught up in making a website that they forget the whole reason why they made it in the first place. If you didn't make your website obvious and easy for your visitors to make profitable actions, you've made it that much harder for your website to succeed. Before any design and development, you must first make a plan of how and what your website needs so your website is productive and successful. When your visitors come to your site, it should be designed in such a way that promotes your visitors to specific and measurable action. Every aspect of your site should be helping to accomplish your predetermined objectives, because without keeping this end goal in mind your visitors won't fulfill those desired objectives. - 15634
You know he is not a professional but you know you can save a buck by using him. After paying him next to nothing, you find that the website he created hurts more than it helps. You find yourself taking your URL off your stationary and business cards and not mentioning your website to your clients. You've lost more than a couple hundred dollars you spent on it, you've lost the potential of successful website until you have it redone.
9. You Outsourced Your Work to a Near-Third-World-Country
Hiring outside of the country is often difficult and disappointing. If you caved into the idea of hiring a professional for less outside of the country you've probably found like many of my colleagues and myself included that the hassle and work you received isn't even worth it being done for free. Save yourself the stress, and hire a competent firm close to home.
8. You Purchased a Template and Did it Yourself.
How hard can building a website be? The honest answer, not very hard at all. HTML is one of the easiest things to learn. You can find tutorials or a class that can get you started in building a website within hours. Templates make it even easier. Just about anyone can create a website, but being able to build a website that brings success takes a lot of experience and a lot of talent. If you've decided to try it out as a hobby, go for it, I personally find very few things more enjoyable than crafting new designs and programming new systems. But if you want a website that gets results, turn it over to the professionals.
7. Your Website is Outdated
If you think your website does not look professional or looks cheap, what does that say to your website visitors? Don't ever to expect your visitors to respect your business image more than you do. And in the marketing world, we know that image is everything.
6. The First Page on Your Website Says, "Click to Enter"
There are many reasons why people choose to have a splash page and none have been effective thus far in doing so. Splash pages and intro animations end up just becoming an annoyance to your visitors, especially if they come to your website more than once.
5. You Can Count the Number of Pages on Your Site with One Finger.
Limiting the content on your site is a very ignorant maneuver. There are so many opportunities your website can take advantage of, but without content virtually none of it is possible. Content is king, build it and they will come.
4. Your Site is Boring
If you can't catch your customers eye on any of you product, services or content, your website has no chance. There are hundreds of tactics to catch your visitors interest. For example listing benefits for your potential customers, and not features. Using catchy one liners to compel your visitors to learn more. Or giving your audience real life application. Just know that if you can't keep your audiences' attention, you lost them in a flash.
3. Your Budget Only Included Web Design and Development.
It doesn't matter how influential, beautiful or amazing your web design or development are if you have no way of getting people to your website. When budgeting out your website, make sure to appropriate sufficient funds to attract an audience to it. It is suggested that you budget enough to build your website, and hire a Internet Market to get targeted traffic to your site. You need both to succeed.
2. Your Website is Too Generic
A good looking website and a well branded website are two very different things. A good looking website might impress your audience but a well branded website will influence your audience to a profitable action. If you're running a business, the latter is the smarter choice. Every aspect of your website should be communicating the same message, from your design, to your logo, to font, text and style. Keeping these aspects of your website consistent will create a stronger and more influential brand.
1. You Site is Not Based On Achieving Your Website Objectives.
Sometimes people get so caught up in making a website that they forget the whole reason why they made it in the first place. If you didn't make your website obvious and easy for your visitors to make profitable actions, you've made it that much harder for your website to succeed. Before any design and development, you must first make a plan of how and what your website needs so your website is productive and successful. When your visitors come to your site, it should be designed in such a way that promotes your visitors to specific and measurable action. Every aspect of your site should be helping to accomplish your predetermined objectives, because without keeping this end goal in mind your visitors won't fulfill those desired objectives. - 15634
About the Author:
Author, Speaker and Expert Web Designer and Marketer, Matthew Henage, is a leading expert in creating profitable websites. Henage is the CEO of Utah website design company, Superior Design Inc., a leading web design firm in the state of Utah.
