Whether I’m researching a company for a writing assignment or shopping for my family, I look at lots of business Web sites every day — certainly enough to know what I don’t like. Any one of my Web site pet peeves is enough to send me running, or should I say clicking, to a company’s competition. Have you spent time on your business Web site lately and assessed it objectively? Maybe it’s time to fix or eliminate any of the following annoyances you find on your Web site:
Contact information is missing or hard to find.
While the Web is often people’s first source of information, most potential customers still conduct business over the phone. Make sure your company’s phone number is prominent, and a street address too. Even if I don’t ever have to travel to the actual brick and mortar location, I still like to know where a business is located.
Too much fluff before customers can get to the content.
People don’t want to sit through some cutesy flash animation show before getting to the real information on your site. There is usually a box to click in order to skip the intro, but watching even that much is a waste of time.
Links that don’t work.
Check to make sure any links you have to other pages or sites still go where they are supposed to go. If not, update or delete them.
Out of date information.
Make sure inventory and pricing details on your site are current. Don’t make customers want an item, price or service they can’t have.
No humans.
Maybe it’s just me, but I like to know there are people behind the technology. Include the names of your company’s owners, managers and employees on the Web site. Pictures are nice too, because everyone likes to put a face with the name or with a voice on the phone.
Music.
Always annoying and never necessary. Don’t risk humiliating a potential customer who clicks on your site in their quiet office cubicle. You may have intended “America the Beautiful,” to show how patriotic you are but that sudden loud burst of music will have people clicking the “back” button faster than you can say “amber waves of grain.”
Dead ends.
Every page should include a link back to the home page for quick and easy navigation.
Compatibility problems.
If customers have complained about your site not loading, ask what browser they are using and then work with your Web hosting company to find a solution. Your site should work smoothly with any browser.
Hard-to-read text.
Make sure there is enough contrast between the text color and the background color and that text is large enough to read comfortably.
Too many windows.
It gets annoying when everything a person clicks on opens a new window. By the time they are done visiting just one site they could have 10 or more windows floating around the desktop.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Having a Web site is a relatively inexpensive way to market a business, but to get the most for your money the information on the site must be accurate, complete and readable. Visit your site often so you know how it’s working. In fact, it should be designated as your home page on your Web browser so you’re always reminded to keep it current.
Time how fast images and pages load compared to similar sites, and make sure any problems you, your staff or your customers have with the site are dealt with promptly. An effective business Web site is easy to navigate and never, ever a source of annoyance to potential customers.
