Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should: 4 Common Drawbacks of Building Your Own Website
Fri, Feb 15th, 2019
When meeting new people, we all know that you only get one chance to make a good first impression. This same principle applies to your small business and, in today’s ever-increasingly digital world, your business’s website is more than likely the first interaction a potential customer will have with your brand. As such, it has never been more essential that your business’s website makes the best first impression possible.
Unfortunately, one of the most common missteps that we see small business owners make is attempting to build their own website by using a “Drag and Drop”, template-based website service…resulting in a finished product that leaves a less than ideal first impression.
There are a myriad of issues associated with taking the DIY approach. In this blog post we will discuss 4 of the most common issues that we see when evaluating such websites.
Spelling and Grammar
Before discussing the more advanced, technical aspects of web development, let’s address an issue that is far more prevalent than most people would think, spelling and grammar. When evaluating the existing website of a new client, it is shockingly commonplace to find the website’s content to be riddled with grammar issues and misspellings. Although this may seem like an insignificant detail, the presence of numerous grammar issues and misspellings on your small business’s website often gives visitors the impression that your business is less than professional and can even erode their confidence in your brand.
Content is Outdated, Inconsistent or Contains Inaccuracies
Another serious issue we encounter frequently is that the content on a small business’s website is outdated, inconsistent or contains inaccuracies. When updating crucial information on a website it is absolutely imperative that any/all such changes are made everywhere that the information appears on the site.
For example, many local companies here in Southwest Florida have adjusted hours of operation during the winter months, to accommodate the surge in business that the return of our seasonal population brings with it. If your site states that your business is open Monday-Saturday and closed Sundays, while stating elsewhere that you are open 7 days a week, it can be a serious source of confusion for potential customers.
Additionally, when content is not updated regularly it will negatively affect your placement on search engine result pages (SERPs). One of the factors that search engine algorithms use when ranking your website is the freshness of your content. Content that is old or that has never been updated since its initial publication is often deemed to be obsolete or no longer relevant, resulting in a much lower ranking and making it more difficult for people to even find your business in the first place.
Content Is Not Easy to Consume
Making sure that all the information presented on your website is accurate and consistent isn’t the only content-related issue that we encounter. It is especially important that the content is both easy to consume and engaging. This includes integrating videos and high-quality images into your website’s content, as well as publishing blog posts that include information that your demographic would find to be both relevant and useful. If a visitor to your site does not find the content that is presented to be worthwhile, it is very likely that they will simply move on to another, competing business’s website.
User Experience (uX) Leaves Something to be Desired
Although it is may be “easy” for anyone to create a website using a “Drag and Drop”, template-based website service, it is important to remember that simply creating a website isn’t nearly adequate. Your website needs to provide each user with a consistently pleasant experience and, most importantly, there must be no barriers to actually consuming the content your site is presenting to them.
Since 50% of websites are abandoned if their load speed takes longer than 3 seconds, load speed is obviously a big part of maximizing your site’s Ux; however, slow load speed is far from the only problem associated with site’s built using so called “cookie-cutter” web development platforms. Your brand’s uniqueness will also suffer because of its generic-looking, template-based website and the inability to customize various aspects of the site to suite your specific needs both result in an online experience that is sub-par, at best.
Master Website Planners
All of the drawbacks discussed above translate into a loss of sales. Simply put, if potential customers either have a hard time finding your website or are simply unimpressed by the less than professional aesthetics and unintuitive user experience (uX), they will be far less likely to want to do business with your company.
At Master Website Planners our dedicated team of web developers build every custom website from the ground-up, allowing for the creation of a truly one-of-a-kind website that is tailored to the unique needs of your business, and is specifically designed to increase search engine rankings and grow your online visibility…don’t settle for anything less than the best, let the pros at Master Website Planners grow your digital world and maximize your business’s potential by generating new leads, garnering more referrals and driving your sales online!