Is your website sending the right message to users? It takes online visitors less than a second to form a first opinion of your brand after viewing your company's website. If you don’t meet the user’s expectations at that moment, you may lose their potential business for good. A poorly made website and ineffective content can have this effect on people. In this post, we’ll go through the different ways your website may be sending the wrong message to customers and what you can do to fix it. Here are some of the ways your website is sending the wrong message to users: A majority of website visitors will judge the credibility of your business based solely on its website design. It's important to make sure that your website is keeping up with web design trends as a design-build that doesn't fit your industry standards will cause visitors to question the trustworthiness of your business. There are several different ways your website can communicate trustworthiness: If your website is lacking in any of these regards, you will be sending an unintended message to your audience. It cannot be overstated how important a fast loading website is to your business. 47% of consumers expect a website to load in less than two seconds and 40% will leave a website without taking an action if pages take longer than three seconds to load. If your web pages load slowly you are sending an immediate message to your visitors that your brand doesn't provide the quality you expect from someone worth doing business with. They will begin to wonder “If your website doesn't function the way it should, why would they expect any different from your products or services?” Another way you send the wrong message to visitors is by having a website that offers a frustrating user experience. You have likely visited a website in the past that was difficult to use and understand how frustrating it can be. Imagine the message you are sending to users if your site provides a similar experience. Visitors will quickly start to feel that you don't care about your customers and will be less likely to do business with you. A great user experience (UX) provides meaningful and easy to use interactions from the first time someone visits your site through the conversion into a customer. This means having a user interface that provides a visual representation across devices that is consistent, intuitive, and aligns with your users’ expectations. It also means organizing your website's information with the expectations of users. Effectively implementing these UX design principles can make the difference between someone staying on your site and converting into a loyal client or getting frustrated and leaving to go to a competitor's site in frustration. At the core of the message your website is sending to visitors is the content itself. If your content is hollow or poorly researched, no amount of design elements or digital marketing will convince users to continue visiting your site. People visit websites to look for solutions to their pain points. If your content fails to address these concerns, visitors will quickly determine that your business doesn't have the answers they are looking for and will go somewhere else. The same can happen if your content is overly similar to other content that has been posted around the web. While the information may be helpful in and of itself, it is unlikely to be of use to someone who has read similar material on the subject. You cannot always assume that your audience will like the same type of content that you like. Perhaps you prefer blog posts while they prefer podcasts. Knowing the types of content that work best with your audience will allow you to create material that matches their interests. If you're producing misaligned content it can send the message that you are out of touch with your audience's interests. Here are some helpful tips to ensure your website and content are sending the right message to your target audience: The first step to conveying the proper message with your website is ensuring everything is working and up to date. This means conducting a detailed audit of your site and checking for the following issues: This is a thorough process but it is essential to ensuring that every page makes a strong impression. Always keep the end-user in mind when creating content and designing your website. When you focus on creating a quality experience for your visitors you will create a well-designed website that leaves positive first impressions and establishes the credibility of your business. A simple way to ensure that your website is sending the right message is to communicate with your audience to find out what they want and what they think of your current site. Discover the pain points that they came to your site looking to solve. See what features they like and dislike and what form of content they value. It is best to ask for this feedback directly. This can be done through surveys, polls, email campaigns, comments threads, or forums. Your website is the most important marketing asset for your business. When you take the time to ensure everything is functioning at an optimal level and your content aligns with your audience's interests, you send the right message to your visitors and make them more likely to become repeat customers. Carrboro Creative can help you design a winning website with our professional web design services. Our designers focus on understanding your business and your audience to craft a truly unique digital experience that converts. Period. Get in touch today to see what we can do for your business, and let’s build a website that works for you, even when you’re off the clock.How Your Website Sends the Wrong Message
1. Your Website Looks Untrustworthy or Outdated
2. Your Website Is Slow
3. Your Website Is Difficult to Use and Provides a Poor User Experience
4. Your Content Is Weak
Here Are Some Reasons Why Your Content May Be Lacking:
You’re Not Providing Value
You Don’t Know What Your Audience Likes
How to Send the Right Message With Your Website and Content
1. Make Sure Everything Is Up to Date and Working Properly
2. Think Like an End-User
3. Get Feedback From Your Target Audience
Final Thoughts
