Websites are the foundation of a good marketing platform and I spend hours of my life discussing & contemplating them. Too often, we become enamored with what is possible and lose sight of what is important. There are so many shiny gimmicks we could employ that it is essential we S-T-O-P and focus, lest our website become overloaded with the unnecessary and downright distracting.
Here are 12 things you should NEVER do if you want your new website visitor to stay on your site for more than a few seconds:
This is the equivalent of requiring people to sign into a brick and mortar store with their contact information. NO ONE would shop there. Think like Apple Stores: make it easy and comfortable and not only will they stay, they’ll return.
This is so obvious it almost makes my head explode. Picture yourself sitting in your office waiting on an important client and sneaking a browse around the web all the while looking ‘busy.’ Bam! Someone’s voice is suddenly filling your office blowing your cover.
The same principle as #2 applies here. No one should ever be forced to hear something they weren’t expecting for so many reasons I don’t need to explain.
“Don’t Frustrate the Customer” is the golden rule of sales. Your website needs to be easy to move around; there’s nothing worse than finding a good page, navigating away, and having no idea how to get back. Simple is the key.
Reading your valuable content only to be distracted by pop up ads means I leave, pronto. Surveys are something I’m seeing more and more of when I visit sites. That’s like running around asking everyone at a cocktail party for their phone number before they know your name. Remember how busy you are; do you have time for random surveys? Do everything you can to keep your visitor wanting more, not wanting to leave.
Often this mistake is made do to programming ignorance and not intention, but under no circumstance should you draw your visitor away from your site with no easy way back. If you must have a link to an external site, make sure it opens in a separate window so your viewer can get back to you quickly. And take them away sparingly; they may not come back.
Again, remember how busy everyone you know is and don’t fall in love with your own prose. Be direct, to the point and damn well interesting or you have no hope of keeping them there.
Please dear God… do not try to put every single thing your business does on your home page. Focused and clean is the goal. No one will read every single thing on one page anyway, so aim for bold and simple.
It is easy to become enamored with all that is possible rather than staying focused on what is important. Just because your programmer can make your logo spinning in 3D doesn’t mean she should. If it’s not essential, don’t do it. No gyrating graphic ever sold anything.
Your website has replaced the phone book for most of us, and very often we visit your site so that we can call or email you. Make this easy and put it right out there in plain sight. If I have to look hard I might find someone else to do that job for me.
I think most people can appreciate that you may have ads on your site. Some of them even bring a sense of integrity and gravitas to your brand. Too many never does — it cries out ‘I don’t really care about you, customer, I’m in this for the passive dinero.’ Be careful.
You may have 295 fantastic pictures of your work, but trust me; they don’t all need to go on your website. Besides forcing the visitor to plow through them all it means your site takes FOREVER to load. What’s the one common denominator between every human being you know? They’re TOO BUSY! We don’t have time to wait for your site to upload.
These helpful hints may seem obvious but every one of us runs into the rule breakers on a daily basis and we most likely quickly click away. In a nutshell: keep it plain, keep it simple and always respect your visitor’s time.
What click-away annoyances have you come across?
Featured image courtesy of Έλενα Λαγαρία licensed via Creative Commons.
Photo illustration work: Paul Biedermann, re:DESIGN
http://www.ArielMarketingGroup.com/blog
Amy McCloskey Tobin is the founding Principal of Ariel Marketing Group, LLC. Her mission in life is to create smart, individualized marketing strategies for Small Business. With deep connections in the online marketing arena, Amy is a knowledgeable New Media professional in tune with the medium’s ever-changing nature. She creates Strategy, assists with Policy, and PR Crisis resolution.
Great points, Amy. I definitely get annoyed with the forced video/music, or the popup ads/surveys. And links opening in the same window is just shooting your own business in the foot!
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@dbvickery Someone on Twitter was trying to tell me Forced PopUps are sometimes ok - I want one person to tell me WHEN.
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To go along with #1, stop the modal sign ups that appear when I come to your page. I haven't read one word yet. How do I know what you are even qualified to offer me. This only worked once, because the guy actually offered exactly what I searched for when I came to the page. It was a win-win. This is rarely true, think like 1% of the time. 99% of the time you are ticking people off.
GREAT points! I often have trouble finding the physical address of restaurants and shops. If you have a physical address It should be on the landing page!
@KimStebbins Great point Kim! Very frustrating to not find what you're looking for quickly. That's why I try to steer my clients away from the glitzy stuff and keep it simple.
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So true. You would think some things would be obvious but it's amazing how many sites operate like this. I can't think of how many sites I've abandoned because of the things you have mentioned. Good post. Can not be reinforced enough.
