5 Costly Website Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Your website can be an amazing, powerful tool for marketing your business and attracting your ideal clients. It needs to be set up properly, though, and if you aren’t sure what you’re doing it can be easy to make mistakes that cost you money, time and energy.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. All you need is some knowledge to help you avoid those mistakes and get off on the right foot, so your website can be the money-making machine it is meant to be.

Here are 5 of the most common mistakes that I see entrepreneurs making, with some tips on how YOU can avoid them.

Mistake #1: Leaving YOU out of the website

People want to buy from people. They want that personal connection with someone who understands and cares about them. YOUR customers and potential customers want that from YOU.

Yet too many people put up a website that is just about their company. There’s a company name, logo, and lots of info about the company – but no mention of WHO is behind the company. Whenever I come across a website like this, I click away to find someone who has more of that personal connection. I want to do business with a real person, not just a company. And I’m not the only one.

This mistake can be simple and easy to fix. Put your picture up on your website, with your name and an About page that is written in the first person (using I, me, etc).

If you are the primary person that customers are interacting with and connecting with, then I recommend that you put your picture and name right in your website header, so it can be seen on every page and makes it super clear WHO is behind the business.

Mistake #2: Too much clutter and confusion

There seems to be a belief out there that we need to give website visitors a lot of options, so that if they aren’t interested in the first or second option, there are a myriad of other things that they can do. In website terms, this might look like a home page that has an email signup box, links to blog articles, buttons or links to purchase products, an invitation to join you on social media… and the list can go on and on with a clutter of badges, buttons, links, invitations and stuff to read.

The problem with this is that it gives your website visitors too many options, and will leave them feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start. As a result, they will likely click away and never come back. And they certainly won’t take the action that you want them to take!

To solve this, narrow their options and focus each page of your website on ONE action that you want them to take. On your homepage, this might be getting them to sign up with their email address to get a free download or contacting you for a free call. On your product page, it might be to purchase your product, or request more info.

Once you’ve determined what that one most important action is that you want them to take, then make sure that anything else on the page leads them to that action instead of distracting them from it.

Mistake #3: Not building an email list

Your email list is possibly THE most important asset your business has. If you even have one! The most important job your website has is to help you build that list.

Here’s the thing, people online need to come in contact with you at least SEVEN times before they will buy from you! If you have no way to follow up with them, then they won’t have a chance to get to know, like and trust you – and be ready to buy from you.

Most visitors to your website will click away, never to return, if you don’t get their contact info so you can follow up.

The best way to get people to sign up for your email list is to offer them a free gift in exchange for their email address. This could be a free report, video series, audio workshop, coupon discount, strategy session, or anything else that makes sense for your business AND gives your ideal clients something they want.

Your goal with this free gift is to give them a taste of what you have to offer, and to lead them into taking the next step with you, whether that’s signing up for a program, purchasing a product, or whatever else you want them to do.

Mistake #4: Settling for something you don’t LOVE

The look and feel of your website is very important. It is the first image that potential customers will see of you and your business online, and you want it to be an accurate reflection of who you are and what you have to offer.

Far too often, women entrepreneurs settle for a website that they don’t really love. And if you don’t love it, guess what? That is going to come across to your website visitors and they’ll pick up on that lack of confidence.

If you’re stuck with a design that you don’t LOVE, then get some help with this piece! Find a designer who gets you and your business, and who can create a design that reflects your expertise, uniqueness and gifts in a way that will make your heart sing and attract your ideal clients.

Mistake #5: No strategy or clear plan for your website

Perhaps the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make with their website is simply not having a clear plan or strategy for it. They throw something up there and expect to get visitors and buyers, but they don’t make a plan for HOW they are going to get those buyers – they just expect them to come and want to buy.

As with any other results or success you want, you need to have a clear plan or strategy to get there! You need to be very clear on WHAT results you want from your website, and what you’re going to do to get those results.

For example, let’s say that you want your website to help you grow your email list, and you want 100 new subscribers each month through your site. If you don’t plan it out, you might end up putting up a form on your site that says something like, “Subscribe for Updates” or “Sign up for our Newsletter”, and that form may even get lost amongst all the other “stuff” you have on your site. The result will be very few signups, nowhere near that 100 people that you want each month!

Instead, you need a clear plan to help you purposely and consciously achieve your goal. In the example of 100 new subscribers each month, your plan might be something like this: 1) create an irresistible free gift that my ideal clients will love, 2) make this gift and signup prominent on my homepage so it’s the first thing (and maybe even the ONLY thing) visitors see when they come to my site, 3) use Facebook Ads or other forms of advertising to send traffic to my free gift, 4) promote my free gift regularly on Facebook and Twitter, 5) hold free teleclasses and other events and promote my free gift… and so on.

Now that you’re focused and have a clear plan, can you see how much more likely you’ll be to actually get those 100 signups per month, or any other results you want?

Which (if any) of these mistakes have you been making with your website? And what action are you going to take today to start turning your website into the money-making machine that you want it to be?

Related posts:

1. 5 Secrets to an Effective Website
2. 5 Signs You May Need a Website Makeover
3. Turn Your Website Into a Money-Making Machine: Build an Email List of People who are Interested in what You have to Offer
4. How To Write Irrestible Content For Your Website
5. Are You Making One of These 5 Common Mistakes on Facebook?