10 Ways to Lose Web Sales
The basic elements of a web site include the content, the
appearance, and the mechanics of a site. Mistakes made in any of
these areas can have an impact on your sales. You can avoid some
of the common errors by learning what they are. The following
list points out ten of the more common mistakes web page
builders make and how to avoid them.
1. Poor site navigation. This arises generally from having
inconsistent navigation links, not having enough navigation
links, and links that are not clearly labeled. Easy navigation
is essential to keeping prospective buyers at your site. Provide
plenty of links on your home page, giving visitors an overview
of your web site's content and choices. Provide links to your
home page and main sections (such as order form, contact page,
products, and articles) on every page. Visitors may not visit
your pages in the sequence you would like them to. Provide a
site map (table of contents) if your site has more than twenty
pages. Make sure all links are working.
2. Large images. If images have not been optimized, the pages
(or graphics) will load slowly. Web visitors are usually not
patient people and will leave if they have to wait too long for
a page to come up. Reduce the number and size of your images,
and make sure to optimize them.
3. Too many colors. Too many colors on a page can be distracting
and colors that clash can be disruptive. Keep colors consistent
and limit them to a maximum of three colors.
4. Hard to read fonts. If the font is too ornate, such as a
calligraphy font, your text may not be readable. Use
easy-to-read fonts such as Times Roman and Arial. Use dark text
on a light background for easy readability.
5. Too many images or not enough images. The right pictures can
add a lot to a web page. If you only have text and no images,
your web page is less interesting to look at and visitors may
easily become bored with reading all of the text. On the other
hand, too many images can be distracting. Use targeted images
that support your sales message.
6. Inappropriate images. If your images are inappropriate for
the contents of your site, they will do more to hurt your sales
than help.
7. Too much text. Your visitors will lose interest early on and
may never get to your special offer. If you have a long sales
letter, make sure to make it interesting, put your most
important benefits at the top of the page, and break up the text
with benefit-oriented subheadings and bulleted listings.
8. Unfocused text. This is a sure way to turn your readers and
potential customers off. If your writing is unclear, rambling,
or lacking in useful information, readers will assume that you
lack professionalism and this will certainly result in lost
sales. The solution? Focus your content to your audience, talk
their language and provide plenty of benefits.
9. Spelling and grammar errors. These will reflect badly on you
and your product. Thoroughly edit your content and have someone
else edit it as well.
10. Lack of action words. Tell people what you want them to do.
If you do not include enough action words (e.g. buy now,
subscribe now, download now, join now), your visitors may not
make the decision to make a purchase from you. If you don't tell
them what you want them to do, they likely will not do it.
Avoid these errors, and you will be well on your way to having a
focused, user-friendly, effective and successful web site!