And why a web designer is usually the worst person to design your web site

I look at a lot of web sites. And mostly I shake my head in disbelief.

Before I start, I want to give you some idea of why what I’m about to say is relevant.

1. I run a couple of web sites that make good money. And by good money, I mean real good money. So what you are about to hear is from someone who actually knows what he is talking about. Yep, I know that’s unusual in this world of hyper hype, but there you go!

To give you an example, one of our sites is one of Australia’s leading health products web sites. We once did in the $100,000′s in sales in a 2 hour period.

2. My business develops web sites. And the sites we develop work.

• We had one web site we redeveloped go from 780 visitors a year to 35,000 visitors a year (and then to 114,000 visitors the next year).
• A recent site had achieved just 1 sale (worth $400) in 12 months of operation. We redid that site and the very next month the site had $68,000 in sales.
• Another redeveloped site went from 70 visitors a year to 22,000 in a year.

I’m of the very firm belief that web sites don’t work effectively for many businesses simply because they are not developed correctly. Who’s the blame for that?

Web designers are to blame!

Designers know how to make something look pretty. The web isn’t about looking pretty. The web is about giving web site visitors exactly what they want so that your site meets its objectives.

Our biggest issue with potential clients is often they have had a poor experience with a designer who doesn’t fully understand what a web site should have, should not have and should do.

When we suggest that the site could do very well with some adjustments, it’s often a case of the person thinking “Nope, the web doesn’t work for us.”

The top 10 mistakes most web sites make

1. Not enough content

All your visitor wants is information. They want that information now. They want information that is relevant, precise and fresh.

2. Content not being added on a very regular basis

If you do not update your web site with new information at least every couple of days, then you are making a big mistake. No question about it.

If you visit a web site and nothing has changed for six- (6) months, would you go back tomorrow? Chances are you wouldn’t, because you’ll assume there will be nothing new.

3. Web site takes too long to load

In this day of instant everything, your web site has to come onto the visitors computer screen in a flash! If you page doesn’t load fully within 10 seconds (that’s on what’s called a 56k modem) at an absolute minimum then your visitors will not wait around.

With one of our sites, we added an extra picture to the Home Page. This added an extra second to the time the page takes to come up on a visitor’s computer screen. Sales went down 10% instantly. Because of one- (1) second!

It’s that critical.

4. Using ‘Flash’ movies

‘Flash’ is a program by a company called Macromedia that allows web designers huge scope in what they can do. A Flash movie can looks fantastic with plenty of moving parts and sounds. Designers love them.

If your designer suggests the use of Flash on your web site, get rid of him. Using Flash is a huge mistake.

All a Flash movie does is increase your site’s load time through the roof (and the visitors will simply not wait) and keeps your visitors a step further away from the information they want.

Our research shows that about 25% of people do not even have the software installed on their computer to actually see the Flash movie (the visitor can go to the Macromedia site and download it – another 2-3 minutes – it ain’t going to happen).

5. Decent copywriting

Good copy is very important for any web site, whether you sell products online or simply have an information site.

After we changed some copy on one of our own sites, sales went up 40%.

Quality copywriting keeps people’s attention and keeps them on your site.

6. Not personalised

The web is, by its very nature, an impersonal medium. You need to personalise your site as much as possible to create a sense of trust and sense of personalisation.

People like to deal with people. That’s the reason we have a ‘ team’ page and staff profiles on this web site. If you see that this article is written by Brendon, then you can home and that increases the sense of ‘knowing’ me (at least a bit).

7. Sense of security

This one should probably be higher up because security concerns are the number 1 reason that people don’t buy over the Internet.

If you sell a product online, then not only does your shopping process need to be fully secure, but it also must be seen to be fully secure.

Tell your customers every little bit about the security of your web site. Allay every fear they could possibly have. As soon as you do that, your sales will increase.

8. Not optimised for search engines

This one should be up higher too!

There are many, many ways to market a web site. But for the majority of web sites, having a high listing in the major search engines can be hugely important.

By ‘optimised’ I mean that the site is developed and maintained in such a way as to achieve those high ranking. This is a science and an art in itself.

A quick example: the term ‘psoriasis’ (a skin condition) is searched for about 51,000 times per month in the major search engines.

• Let’s say you manage to get to number 1 in the search engines for the term ‘psoriasis’.
• Let’s say 60% of people click your number 1 link.

That’s about 1,000 visitors a day.

• Let’s say you convert 5% of visitors to a sale.
• Let’s say your average sale is $50.

Being number 1 in the search engines has just generated you $2,500 a day in sales. That’s over $900,000 a year!

That’s how important a good search engine ranking can be.

9. Poor navigation

Your navigational structure needs to be incredibly simple, incredibly easy and incredibly clear.

Not everyone has great computer skills. The more people who struggle finding the information they want, the less chance you have of having a successful site.

10. Know your market

This one seems a bit obvious, but I’ll include it anyway.

We did some work on a client’s site who had not had a sale for a year. Not one sale. The only thing we did was change the price from Australian dollars into US dollars.

Sales started that day and haven’t stopped.

Americans are very, very reluctant to buy in any other currency than their own. If your market could be the US, then you’ll need your prices in US dollars.

There you have it!

As I’ve written this top 10 list, I’ve been thinking of more and more mistakes that web designers make (Frames are another big mistakes. If your designer wants frames, get rid of him. The reasons why are too numerous to mention!).

It all comes back to usability. Make your site as user friendly as possible – have a search facility, have a simple navigation system, follow up on your emails…..the list goes on – and you’ll reap the rewards that a great web site can bring.

A designer is good to construct your site. But have yourself or your marketing person give an exact brief of what your site needs.

Good luck!

Cheers,