There are many ways a new website you’ve spent good money on can let you down. In our second blog on the subject, we’ll look at more ways to avoid website disappointment.
As we talked about in our first blog it’s all about checking in with the web developer to ensure their processes are right and work to achieving the website you want.
Design IS subjective, but good conversations beforehand do a lot to ensure you both have similar visions at the outset, and throughout the build process. In this blog we have a look at marketing and mobile functionality.
What can go wrong?
You have disappointingly low traffic to your website
In this case, you might be more than happy with your new website, and you excitedly launch, telling the world about it on social media, and yet, when you check visitor numbers, they are terribly low. What on earth can be going on? Why isn’t everyone and their dog flocking to check out your sparkling new online presence?
How to avoid
As well as ensuring visibility with search engines, which we talked about in Part 1, you need to have a strategy in place prior to launch. Marketing your new website is not just a case of clicking ‘live’. Of course, visitor numbers will naturally, and slowly, increase over time, but this isn’t enough.
Speak to your web developer about marketing services for your website. They may offer a free digital marketing session, in with the web build, and at the very least, should be able to offer advice.
Cultrix is a full digital marketing service provider, and your web developer may very well be too. You need to ask them. The options for marketing your launch are many and can include: email marketing, a targeted content strategy, paid adds, use of video marketing, and more. Your marketing plan should be unique to your business and your audience, but should coincide its activity with your website launch, to maximise visitor numbers from the start.
You don’t know how to look at visitor numbers, or track them
You like your website and is all ok with it aesthetically speaking, but you have no idea how many visitors you’re getting or how to track them. You are disappointed you can’t see the data: visitor numbers, how popular certain pages are, how browsers found you or how they are accessing your website.
How to avoid
Ask your web developer if your new website will have visitor tracking enabled, and if they will set you up with a Google Analytics account to enable you to view your website statistics at your leisure. If they can’t show you in person how to find your way around Google Analytics, they should be able to point out resources online, or offer this as an extra training session for you.
Your website is difficult to use on a mobile device
Although you can see your nice new website on a mobile device, it’s difficult to use, and not exactly responsive. Naturally you’d be gutted about this as search engines look for and reward mobile friendly websites in terms of SEO.
The bottom line is: your website should be fully responsive and as delightful to use on mobile as it is on a computer screen.
How to avoid
Mobile functionality should come as standard, but all that said, do not be shy to check with your web developer beforehand that the website they build for you will be FULLY responsive; not just accessible or a mobile ‘version’. It is worth checking that they are not intending to build a smaller, mobile version of your website, as this will undermine your SEO for a fully mobile optimised site.
Throughout the entire build, your developer should keep mobile functionality in mind so that the completed project works seamlessly on all devices.
There’s more to come!
Watch out for our next instalment, part 3, of what you can do beforehand with your web developer to avoid ‘new website disappointment’.
< Read more articles on our Web Academy
The changing role of social media in marketing
Social media isn’t what it used to be. User-behaviour has evolved, and businesses are under increasing pressure to adopt different posting habits to make it worth their while.
Providing digital help and support – what to consider
Do you want to offer your customers digital help and support they can access online? It’s not as simple as just removing the phoneline. Here’s what to consider.