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Top 4 Website Design Mistakes – and How to Avoid Them

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Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of working on several hundred client websites.  Creating a new website is a fun and exciting process, but it can also present challenges to some clients (Who, understandably, don’t work on websites every day like we do!). Here are the top 4 common website project mistakes that I’ve identified over the years:

  1. Thinking of your project as a redesign when it’s actually about “redeveloping” the site. Sometimes what you need to do is to make your website look better, fresher and more current.
  2. Missing the target. You must avoid developing your website for internal audiences (staff, etc.) or the wrong audience altogether. A website must absolutely target the correct audience and those who influence their decisions.
  3. Paying too much attention to your site’s look and feel and neglecting content. Sure, people make a snap judgment about a site based on its look and feel, so it has to look great. But, sometimes minor details, like choosing a specific tone of color or image, can distract from focusing on the “big picture,” and in particular, content.
  4. Believing that your website is live, so now you’re “done.” Establishing a new site design is the foundation for your web marketing strategy, but it’s only the first step. It’s important to continue to feed the site with new content and features that align with your marketing strategy.

By having open communication with your project manager and creative team, you can avoid these top 4 mistakes. And to help you start thinking about your website, here are some goals that every website should aim for:

  • Clear navigation is essential. Design is important, but if visitors can’t find the information they need, they’ll go elsewhere.
  • Keep visitors coming back again and again with consistently new, fresh and updated content on your website.
  • Educate, entertain and stay engaged with your web visitors by using blog articles, pictures and newsletters.
  • Increase your search engine rankings (SEO) by building a wealth of relevant content associated with your industry.
  • Encourage inbound requests by providing clear “next step” calls-to-action from each page of your site.
  • Establish yourself as an industry leader by adopting new technology and providing relevant content to your audience.
  • Enable your sales and marketing team to be more successful with powerful online resources to back them up.

With these tips and mistakes to avoid, you are well on your way to a successful website project. And if you have any questions about websites, print projects or other marketing ideas, give us a call!

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