Your business website is possibly the number one tool of your company in the 21st century.

Are you making the five common business website mistakes?

Read on to discover how these costly blunders may cause you to lose customers.

1. No Domain Name
A good business site needs its own registered domain name. Without a privately registered and hosted domain name, you actually have no true website.

A profile on a social media site or sub-domain from a professional membership organization is not adequate substitutes for a domain name. Sites like these present businesses with many problems, including:
• Limited control of design, presentation, and functionality
• Missed connections with leads who are not site members
• Portrays lack of commitment and professionalism
• Legal ownership of images and content may be given to third-party sites
• Limited or no search engine ranking

The above list shows the primary problems associated with the lack of a domain for your business. However, this is not to say that social media sites don’t play a role in your overall digital marketing plan. The goal is that social media sites point customers to your own domain page for completion of conversion goals such as sales, form submissions, and detailed business information.

2. Unprofessional or Stock Photography
For most customers, it’s painfully obvious when a website has spent little or no thought on the presentation of imagery. Sharing large amounts of unprofessional or stock photography says a lot about your business’s budget, dedication, and quality.

Unprofessional photos are those that your stock room assistant took at midnight or the intern snapped on his cell phone. Photos like these often display products or employees in poor lighting and against distracting backgrounds. In general, unprofessional photos are, well, unprofessional and often do harm for your brand’s image.

On the other hand, some businesses rely too heavily on professional stock photography. Although these images have great lighting, smiling faces, and are high quality, they often come across as impersonal and boring.

It’s best to spend a little money on proper photo equipment or hire a professional to take real photos of your products, employees, and facilities.

3. No Mobile Site
Starting April 21, Google will be valuing website rank in part based on the inclusion of a mobile site. If your business website is lacking a mobile version, get one now!

There are many third-party applications, which can create a simple mobile site based on your current standard site. You may also choose to hire a developer to custom design a mobile site with a certain look and special features.

Either way, it’s obvious from Google’s announcement that the mobile trend is not going away and businesses need to take note.

4. Lacking Infographics
Infographics are a must if you want your site to be repeatedly linked and promoted on social media. Websites should offer at least 2-3 infographics throughout their blog articles and other content pages.

The viral nature of these powerful text-and-graphic images has been proven over and over again. Infographics provide quick bits of information that entice customers to land on your page when seeking a certain product, service, or detail.

If you currently have no infographics on your business website, you are missing out on a great opportunity to capitalize your site’s viral potential. Create a simple infographic yourself using the tools at Canva. Be sure to accurately back-up and fact check any statistics or facts you share.

5. Amateur Writing
Business websites often start out with a few simple pages with basic content. As the business grows, many choose to include blogging and social media as part of their marketing plan, or simply develop more pages on the website itself. Whether you’re at the beginning or moderate stages of website development, the importance of professional writing is critical.

Grammar, punctuation, and spelling are just the beginning. Grabbing headlines, thoughtful dialogue, and a logical flow of content are equally important. The difference in effective writing abilities between a professional copywriter and your administrative assistant are often profound. This is another area where it’s best to hire services to ensure the best quality and presentation.

Final Thoughts
These websites mistakes can cost you customers. You can go back and look through your website for these issues, but also perform a full website audit. There are other items you can look to tweak and improve to make sure your website is always working to get your more customers.

And schedule regular website audits on your calendar. You’re always learning new things about your business and customers. It’s good to check-in on your website and make changes regularly. Your website is never “done”. It’s always evolving.

Are you ready to improve your interactions with online customers? Take a look at our professional website services for a list of useful programs and packages to progress your site design and function.

For more information on how we can help improve your business website, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Please call us direct at (805) 482-8312, or, email us at info@socialspicemedia.com for a one-on-one consultation at our office located in Camarillo. You can always link up with us on your favorite social media channel–we’d love to stay connected!