With the right tools, building a simple website isn’t difficult. But if you’re not an experienced website designer, it’s easy to make common mistakes that defeat your intentions. Your sleep business website is often your prospect’s first experience with your business. It’s critical that your website have a professional appearance — and function well.
Here’s a checklist of common website design mistakes:
#1 – Website loads slowly – Nobody likes this. And it can affect your conversion rate, as research estimates a 4.42% drop for every second of load time. Your potential clients and patients will abandon your slow website and move on to a competitor.
A tool like Pingdom will check your page load speed, and will indicate the cause so you can fix the problem. Often, you will need to compress images and fix your code.
#2 – Mobile unfriendly – Over 50% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices, so your website must be optimised for mobile. Start with responsive website design and web development to adjust for the screen size.
You also need:
- Clickable buttons for smaller screens
- Mobile-optimized form fields for easier input
- Text that adjusts to small screens
Tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test will allow you to check your results, as will browser developer tools.
#3 – Security and privacy issues – Potential patients are concerned about these problems. They will avoid making purchases if your website doesn’t appear secure. Also, search engines will display an insecure warning if you don’t take the measures to secure your website. The solution is to activate a free SSL certificate provided by your hosting company.
#4 – Text is too small. If the text on your website is too small, or a difficult-to-read font, your prospective patients will move on. Text size should be at least 16 or 18px for body text and between 24-28px for the subheadings. You can also use Rem as the unit size for your text so your text will automatically scale for any screen size.
#5 – Text overload – If you have too much text on your website, you may lose prospects. Certainly, your website must explain your company’s mission and your unique selling points. You can also share your backstory — but keep it brief. Most users want to skim a website, so they appreciate clear, concise content. Your other marketing materials can provide further information — landing pages, downloadable brochures, blogs.
#6 – Call-to-Action isn’t clear. Without an effective CTA, even the best website copy won’t convert prospects into paying customers. Don’t let visitors figure it out themselves. They may hit the back-button, and you’ve lost them. Each web page must have a clear CTA so visitors take the next logical step — making a purchase.
#7 – Headline isn’t focused on benefits. Your homepage or landing page must have a clear message for your visitors. Through your headline, tell them you can help them — and how you can help. This will immediately engage your visitors, specifically those who are your best leads.
#8 – Poor navigation – Your website’s menu must be clear to your visitors, with links to your website’s main pages. Most websites function well with up to seven links in the main navigation. If you need more pages, a drop-down menu will help.
Also, make sure the “navigation bar” uses clear terms, with sufficient white space so they’re not too crowded. The terms must be familiar to your prospects, so they immediately recognise the information they need. Don’t get clever here, as you will only confuse visitors — and may lose them.
#9 – Popups that distract – Popups are great for building your email list and sales. But they have to be timed properly. If visitors immediately see popups on your site, youmight lose them. They want to see your content. Research shows that waiting eight seconds offers better odds of converting a prospect.
#10 – No testimonials – Your prospects and patients want to do business with people they like and trust. Your website must have a multitude of “trust signals” on all pages, including testimonials, trust badges, third-party reviews, and SSL certificates. When you incorporate these trust signals, you show your prospects that their sensitive information is protected — and they can rely on you for solutions.
#11 – Ineffective imagery – You want to evoke an emotional response from your visitors, and your imagery is a primary way to do that. Your website imagery must be relevant to your brand story. It must appeal to your target audience and help them relate to your services/products.
#12 – No Email Sign-Up Forms – Research shows customers visit a website up to four times before purchasing. When you obtain their email address on the first visit, you can nurture the relationship and establish trust. You can also ask for an email address in exchange for a discount code.
#13 – No search function – Every website needs a “search bar” so visitors can search for information. They may search for a specific product or whether you offer a particular service. Make these searches as easy as possible with a search bar in the header area. Some websites have the search form in the sidebar area of a blog. Either way, search is a very important function.
Does your sleep business website need professional help?
Somnowell Marketing has a dedicated team of website designers who can analyse your website and either rebuild it or make necessary changes to optimise its function. If it’s time to take your website to the next level — to improve your revenue stream — give us a call.
