What Does Your Website Say About You?

This is a very good question that many businesses really do not take seriously.

I’ve been in digital design marketing since the mid-90s and before then, 20 years of using the old layout out graphic designing advertising. Over the years I have been amazed at the number of businesses that don’t get how important their website is to their success.

It’s critical to understand that today, your website is more than just a place for consumers to find some info about what you do, it’s an integral part of your overall business and marketing plan. The use of videos on the landing page of your website is now paramount.

Or at least it should be.

All too often I see business websites that do an awful job of conveying their core message, sites with no videos, sites that are not well thought-out, and sites that just don’t work the way they’re supposed to.

Your website says a lot about your business. There’s a lot at stake here.

There are deep-rooted thoughts and feelings viewers have when they experience or interact with your brand.

You want those thoughts and feelings to be positive.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see a poorly-designed website?

Your first thought might be “this site is slow”, or “I can’t find what I’m looking for”, but at the subconscious level, at your core, you are really thinking “I don’t trust these guys”, or “I feel like they don’t care about me”.

I’ve put together a list of a few of the most important factors to consider when building your website, what they say about your business, and what they should say about you.

Your Website Design is Bad!

46% of consumers say a website’s design is the number one criterion for discerning the credibility of a company. (Source: Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab)

Despite the adage, today’s consumer does judge a book by its cover.

You only get to make one first impression, why not make it a good one?

What bad website design says about your business:

You don’t care about how you look
You are OK with mediocrity
You do the bare minimum and nothing more
You don’t invest in your business to make improvements
You don’t care about your audience

What it should say:

You want to make a great first impression
You take pride in what you do and it shows
You’ll go the extra mile for your customers
You invest in your business
You sweat the small stuff
You care about your audience

Your Website Delivers No Message

Your main goal for your website is to clearly state what you do, why you are better than the competition, and some proof of this.

Your next goal is to make it obvious for the user to know what to do next. A confusing website causes friction and can make it very difficult for you to turn viewers into paying customers.

What a confusing website says about your business:

You don’t have a clear vision for your business
You don’t care what the user does on your site
You lack focus
You lack purpose
You’re not better than your competition
You don’t care about your user’s experience

What it should say:

Your vision is clear and concise
Visitors are easily guided through your website
You are laser-focused
Your purpose is instantly obvious
You prove that you are better than the competition
A great user experience is very important to you

Your Website is Not Mobile Friendly

48% of consumers say that if they arrive on a business site that isn’t working well on mobile, they take it as an indication of the business simply not caring. (Source: MarginMedia)

Viewers really want to have a good experience on your website, and if you can’t provide that, they will think you just don’t care.

Those consumers will inevitably take their business somewhere else. Design your site with mobile in mind or it could cost you almost half of your business.

What a non-mobile-friendly website says about your business:

You don’t understand the importance of mobile
You are out of touch with your customers
You don’t care what devices your viewers use
You don’t meet the needs of your market

What it should say:

Mobile design is very important
You really understand all of your customers’ needs
You work hard to make your site easily accessible from any device
You go to great lengths to meet the needs of your consumers

Your website is slow

40% of consumers will abandon a web page if it takes more than three seconds to load. (Source: Econsultancy)

Slow websites were the norm back in the 90s when we were all dialing up to Earthlink and AOL.

I’d like to think the days of slow websites are long gone, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.

There are still millions of slow websites out there, and they’re still super annoying.

There are a LOT of factors that can play a part in the speed of your website. BOTTOMLINE: Get your site fixed!

What a slow website says about your business:

You’re cheap, very cheap and won’t pay for faster website hosting
You can’t deliver even the basics on a website
You don’t value your viewer’s time
You’re don’t understand your audience’s problems

What it should say:

You’ll gladly spend money to provide a faster user experience
You deliver above and beyond your customers’ basic needs
You respect how busy your customers are and value their time
You understand and help solve your audience’s problems