14 Pitfalls to Avoid When Planning Your New Website
At C4B, we’ve been creating new websites for over 10 years.
The process is multi-faceted, requiring expertise in creative design, web development, content creation, project management and of course, marketing strategy.
But if you’re about to embark on a new web design project and don’t have the luxury of a whole team of experts at your disposal, we’ve put together a list of pitfalls that you should be aware of and avoid.
Creating a new website can be an exciting venture, but forewarned is forearmed, right?! Let’s get into our top tips on the most common web design mistakes!
Key Takeaways – Our 14 Website Pitfalls
- Lack of Clear Objectives
- Ignoring User Experience (UX)
- Overloading with Content
- Neglecting Responsive Design
- Forgetting SEO Basics
- Not Planning for Scalability
- Skimping on Security
- Overlooking Analytics
- Ignoring Accessibility
- Poor Quality Images
- Inconsistent Branding
- Not Testing Before Launch
- Overlooking Regular Maintenance
- Forgetting your Calls To Action (CTAs)
1. Lack of Clear Objectives
Before you start, be clear about the purpose of your website. Are you wanting to sell products, provide information, or offer services? Do you want sales, leads, newsletter sign-ups or something else?
Without clear objectives, your website may end up directionless and fail to meet your goals.
2. Ignoring User Experience (UX)
A user-friendly design is crucial. And today’s internet users are impatient and time-poor. Sloppy navigation, cluttered layouts and slow loading times can frustrate and bore your visitors, driving them away before they engage with or interact with your website.
Prioritise simplicity and ensure your site is easy to navigate so they can find what they want quickly.
3. Overloading with Content
While content is king, too much can overwhelm users. Use the ‘less is more’ mantra and focus on quality over quantity.
In other words, provide valuable information in a concise manner, ensuring that it’s engaging and relevant to your audience.
4. Neglecting Responsive Design
With a significant portion of web traffic coming from mobile devices as well as being viewed on screens of all sizes, it’s essential that your site be fully responsive. It’s worth remembering too that Google favours “mobile first” websites.
Responsive design ensures your site looks good and functions well on all devices.
5. Forgetting SEO Basics
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is vital for attracting traffic.
Neglecting basic SEO practices, such as keyword research, optimised meta tags, logical structure and quality backlinks, can result in poor search engine rankings. Read more about SEO in our recent blog post on retaining your Google rankings when relaunching your website.
6. Not Planning for Scalability
Your website should be able to grow with your business. You’ll want to add more content, more pages and more products to your site as your business evolves.
Plan for scalability by choosing a flexible content management system (CMS) such as WordPress and ensure that your hosting plan can also scale to handle increased traffic.
7. Skimping on Security
Website security is paramount, particularly if you’re collecting data or using an e-commerce platform or payment engine.
Implement SSL certificates, use strong passwords, and regularly update your software. A security breach can damage your reputation, harm your users and result in hefty fines if you are found guilty of negligence.
8. Overlooking Analytics
Without proper analytics, you won’t know how your site is performing.
Setting up an analytics tool such as Google Analytics will allow you to track visitor engagement and behaviour, helping make data-driven decisions to improve your site.
9. Ignoring Accessibility
Your website should be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Use alt text for images, ensure good colour contrast (between text and backgrounds), label links and other actions, allow users to increase the scale, use headings sequentially and provide keyboard navigation options. These are also all elements that Google looks for, so should be considered part of your site’s technical SEO.
10. Poor Quality Images
Low-resolution or irrelevant images can detract from your site’s professionalism and damage your brand. It is best not to use stock images, but if you do, ensure they are correctly licensed and aim to customise them if possible to avoid duplicate image content issues.
Invest in high-quality images that complement your content and enhance your site’s appearance and remember that the best approach is always going to be genuine, authentic photography.
11. Inconsistent Branding
Your website should reflect your brand identity consistently and professionally.
Use a uniform colour scheme, typography, iconography and tone of voice across all pages, to create a cohesive brand identity that instils confidence and trust in your website visitors.
12. Not Testing Before Launch
Always test your site thoroughly before launching. Check for broken links, ensure forms work correctly and that your downloads work and verify that your site looks good on different browsers and devices.
Above all, make sure that your visitors are getting the best possible user experience.
13. Overlooking Regular Maintenance
Launching your site isn’t the end of the process.
Regular maintenance is crucial to fix bugs, update plugins, language versions, add and update content, find and fix broken links and improve functionality. Schedule routine check-ups to keep your site running smoothly.
14. Forgetting your Calls to Action (CTAs)
Every page of your website should feature a clear CTA to guide visitors on what to do next, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase or contacting you.
A well-placed CTA can significantly improve user engagement, particularly if it is associated with a compelling offer.
Conclusion
Avoiding these common website pitfalls will help you create a new site that not only looks good but also performs well. By planning carefully and keeping your users in mind, you can ensure your website is a valuable and profitable asset to your business.
Partner with C4B Media for expert digital marketing, proven results and a personalised approach to propel your brand to new heights. Contact us today!
