If you’re looking to improve your online presence then you’re in the right place.
We love helping small businesses like yours launch newly designed websites so they can gain more credibility and, in return, more customers.
However, before you jump right in and expect everything to all fall in place for you, here are some of the most costly mistakes you can make when getting a new website.
If you’re not careful, these mistakes could make your entire investment (time and money) for a total waste.
1. Expect users to find you
So your new website is launched and you’re ready for the flood of visitors and new leads to start flowing in!
Think again.
Just because your website is live on the internet, does not mean people (your customers) are finding you.
Imagine you launch your site and only get 10 visitors in the first week. Sure, it takes time (and effort) to get reasonable traffic to your site, but 10 visitors in a week = 40 visitors in a month = money and time wasted.
How you can fix this issue
In order to get the traction of new visitors to your website, you must promote it! This is commonly called marketing.
Yes, many of us are just business owners and don’t really know much about marketing, however, with some drive and determination, anyone can do some basic marketing techniques, and in order to really get your website seen, you’ve got to do what it takes!
There are several ways you can do this, many of them free, including: post on social media, send an e-newsletter announcement, or be a guest on a podcast. Check out more ways you can promote your new website here.
2. Not tracking visitors to your site
Launching a website, with proper goals in place, and not knowing if you are meeting these goals is planning for failure.
Who is coming to your website?
What pages are they viewing the most?
What seems to be most important?
How long are they checking out your Services page?
Where are they from?
This is all incredibly valuable information you can gain, and without it, you are just playing in the dark.
How you can protect yourself
First and foremost, you’ve got to ensure that you have some way to track visitors to your site — like Google Analytics — in place. In Google Analytics, you can gain all of this critical tracking info, even down to what kind of device they are using.
Setup a Google Analytics account, install your tracking code, and start watching the statistics!
3. Not keeping your website fresh
So you’ve got your visitors flowing in, you’re tracking their behavior — great! But are you rotating new and relevant content regularly?
To launch your website and leave it to be stale and static for months on end is yet another recipe for disaster.
Doing this is basically leaving your visitors to jump to your competitors’ websites that are far more relevant and up-to-date.
A static website, in my opinion, leaves me to think….are they still in business? Did they shut down? Why has nothing changed for so long?
Understanding how detrimental this can be for your business is important. Leaving a website to look exactly the same for 6+ months might make your customers think twice about doing business with you.
How you can protect yourself
Always mix up your content. Take new images, write new blog posts, update your About page. There’s a good chance that your business is evolving and your website should reflect this.
One of the most important aspects of your website to take note of is the home page. This is the first page everyone comes to first — keeping this updated and fresh will show your visitors that you’re still functioning and active.
What now?
There you go. Now you understand some of the biggest mistakes when getting a new website.
Avoid these mistakes to ensure that your new website continues to represent you well and bring new customers in regularly.
And remember, your website is your online sales tool, working for you around the clock — so don’t neglect it!
If you would like AWD to help you get a new website that will continue to reach your goals (and new customers) then contact us here.
