Common Pitfalls
When creating any new website, there are of course several things that can prevent your site from achieving the success it deserves. Here are some common pitfalls.One of the most common pitfalls is a web site that does not clearly communicate to the reader what its purpose is. That is, if it is selling a product, it does not explain clearly what the product is, the benefits or how to buy it. If providing information, it is not clear what the information is or of what use it is.
The home page sets the scene for the whole site and it is worth having an introductory paragraph outlining briefly what the site is and the purpose of the site.
Another common pitfall is to use text and copy written for offline brochures online. Online copy should be short and snappy and to the point - long rambling blocks of text will turn people off.
Poor design and information architecture is another pitfall - there will be content of use to readers on your site, but it is too hard for them to find it as it is buried beneath layers of information or just not intuitively displayed.
It is worth getting friends to find content on your site and let you know how hard they found it - set them tasks such as "find information on the premier service" and see how they found it. The results can be very interesting.
Some people get too focussed on a whizzy looking site and end up light on content. Or a site becomes very slow loading because it is full of animation and distraction. It is information that people come to a site for at the end of the day - information that will empower them to perform some action that will be of benefit to them.
Another pitfall is building a site using technology that will only work in one web browser. Often different browsers will interpret a piece of code in different ways. Therefore you should ensure that your site is tested in all the major browsers to ensure that it displays correctly. As a minimum test in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera.
Please contact us to discuss your website in more detail, and ask about our website review service.
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