There are literally millions of websites on the internet and unfortunately a large percentage of them are suffering from neglect, like abandoned homes on a run-down city street. Broken windows, uncut lawns and overgrown gardens. Would you rent a house like that? What’s inside might be fine but if the street appeal is missing, it’s less likely anyone’s going to rent the place.
It’s the same with websites. If it gives any indication of neglect, potential customers are going to take that as a bad sign. It could be the difference between a sale and no sale. Why?
Do potential customers trust you?
One of the most important things you need to project to potential customers (prospects) is that they can trust you. In the old days, face to face transactions meant it was less of an issue – the customer saw you in person, knew you were real, and knew where to come back if they had any issues with the product or service.
Now, in the age of everything-online, prospects need to know they’re dealing with a real business, real people – they need to know they can trust you, that they’ll get what they pay for, and you’ll be around if they need any after-sales service.
How do you build trust?
Online businesses build trust with prospects in several different ways – here are a few:
- Reviews (preferably from a third-party site that can verify its authenticity)
- Company history
- Team photos and bios
- Physical business address (if they have one)
- Videos from the owner or customer testimonials
- SSL security (the little green padlock) to make sure online payments are secured
Long story short, customers need to feel comfortable with you before they’ll do business. It’s the reason why branding is so important. You might think it’s just a flashy looking logo and a trendy colour palette, but it’s one of the reasons massive companies like McDonalds and Coke are so successful.
An instantly recognisable brand, presented consistently, builds trust, and that means sales – it’s why unadventurous tourists will go to a maccas instead of trying some delicious street food.
This leads well to the main point of this article – pay attention to the detail – it’s a big part of branding, and a big part of building trust and generating new business.
We’ve talked before about making a good impression with your super-cheap and affordable website, but today we want to talk about the little things (that can make a big difference).
Website parts that should be maintained
Some little things you should pay attention to on your website include:
- Eye appeal (aesthetics) – View your website with a critical eye. Does everything align properly? Are fonts used consistently? Does the page flow make sense?
- Functionality – Do all the buttons work? Menu links? The contact form?
- Spelling & grammar – Does everything read well? Are there any spelling or grammar mistakes (including US english spelling)? Maybe get a friend with an eye for detail to go over the site.
- Consistency – Are colours and fonts used across the site consistently? Does anything stand out as the proverbial ‘sore thumb’? Once again, maybe a friend with a fresh set of eyes is the best person to do this job.
- Up-to-date – Is there information that is no longer correct? Contact details, store hours or pricing? Remember, visitors expect what they see on your official website as being the most up-to-date source of information about your business.
- Anything else? – Go through each page (preferably on a few different devices – desktop, tablet and mobile) and make notes of anything else that you feel needs fixing.
Basically, anything you, or any of your staff or customers, notice about the website, which may seem minor, could potentially be costing you sales and damaging your reputation. It’s urgent you do something about it – but maybe you’ve put it off because you didn’t know how or you thought it would be really expensive to get someone else (like us) to fix.
Our website maintenance services
We realise that not every website owner has either the time, inclination or know-how to make even minor fixes to their website. If so, we’re here to help and happy to provide a free estimate of costs.
Even if you think your website is a complete mess and needs a full makeover don’t be deterred, it could be a lot cheaper than you imagine – we love nothing more than tidying up a tired old website!
With our managed hosting plans, we automatically take care of many of the behind-the-scenes tasks of website maintenance including software updates and regular backups. We’re also on hand to take quick care of any questions or concerns our customers might have about their website, with many tasks done for free.
Get in touch if you’ve taken a look at your website and need some help with the tidy up. Not only will it look better, it will help build trust with your prospects and visitors, and generate more business. Don’t delay, get it sorted today!