Online Pain Points: What to Avoid on your SMB Website

Many websites out there are polished, attractive, and easy to use. Unfortunately, just as many websites out there are annoying, confusing, misleading, or simply an eyesore. Which of these websites do you have? Of course, you want the former type, but if you’re stuck with a painful online experience, what do you do now? The first step is defining what makes a website painful for a visitor.

Let’s start with a fairly obvious thing, pop-ups. While they could get you a few email subscribers, the majority of people will flee your site at the first flash of a pop-up because they are truly annoyed by it. It’s better to convince people to use your services with well-written content and competitive, genuine offers that don’t interrupt their experience.

If you want to use multimedia content such as music or videos, that’s great. But whatever you do, don’t have it play automatically; let the user choose to play the media. If they are on the site while at work or on the phone, they don’t want sudden noises to disturb them. Some may quickly click the mute button, but more often than not, it’s easier for them to close their browser window. When that happens, you’ve lost them—now they’re not coming back to your site, and you certainly don’t want that.

These next few pain points are related to your content. Does your About Us page really explain what you do for your customers, or is it a bunch of business language and babble that no person outside the organization would understand? Use clear cut, simple language that explicitly lays out what you do and how you can solve a problem.  You also don’t want your Contact Us page to contain nothing but a form. While this is the easiest route, people want to know they can reach you through email, phone, or social media. A form alone makes people uneasy—they don’t know if they will ever get a response and it feels very impersonal.  Finally, make sure the copy on your call to action, be they buttons or simple text, match up to the offer. How frustrating would it be to see a 25% off coupon, click on a button to print it, and then find out it’s only good for Christmas items….and it’s now February? Updated and accurate offers are key to your reputation, online and off.

Beyond Custom Websites is aware of all these pain points and more and know how to not only avoid them entirely, but create a custom website that is pop-up free, incorporates multimedia the right way, and has relevant, precise content that viewers will enjoy reading. With free updates and changes, you won’t have to worry about getting nickel and dimed for updating a coupon or adding new product photos.  Our team of web developers, graphic designers, copywriters, and business experts will deliver a one of a kind website that truly represents your business. Beyond Custom Websites builds ongoing relationships with our customers—we don’t just hand off the finished product and drop away. Find out how we can increase yoursales and build your online presence.