The 6 Most Common Website Problems

If you work virtually or market your business online at all, your website is a crucial part of your business. It’s one of the first things online people will see about you. Even offline people might go “check you out” after they’ve met you in person.

Recently, most of my coaching calls and Content Strategy Consultations have centered around websites. These are people who already have websites, and their websites either need a tune-up or to be maximized.

As a business coach and objective observer, I can go in like a regular ol’ website visitor, new to the site… just like my clients’ prospective website visitors. Here are the 6 common problems I’m seeing in websites (mostly on the home page because that’s where you need to make an impression… and fast)

1. Your home page talks more about “I” than about “you.” Websites need to draw the viewer in, speak to her, make her feel as if she’s found the right place for whatever problem she has. So if your first words on the website are about “I do this” and “I believe that,” the visitor has no reason to stay. It’s not about you, darling. :)

2. It doesn’t immediately speak to the reader’s problem. There’s a reason he stumbled upon your website. He’s looking for something. Let him know he found it.

3. It’s not clear what this website is about. You’ve probably heard the statistic that you have about 3-7 seconds to capture a website viewer’s attention. That means it has to be abundantly clear what you do and who you do it for (and still making it all about the reader, as in #1).

4. Not letting your amazingness show through. Don’t make someone dig through pages and pages to find out that you are pretty doggone good at what you do and that you’ve been doing it for a million years. In just a sentence or two, state what you do, how long you’ve been doing it, how many people you’ve helped, and what your unique brilliance is.

5. Your free gift isn’t prominent or attractive enough. If your free gift isn’t getting any sign-ups, it could be because the offer is buried, font size too small, or not solving your ideal client’s biggest problems.

6. Not being clear on the most popular pages/information that your ideal target market is going to gravitate to. If you’re a website or graphic designer, you’d better have a portfolio and testimonials pages. If you’re a health coach, you’d better have a health tips or recipes page.

Of course, there’s much more about making your website work its hardest for you, but solve these 6 problems, and you’re on your way to attracting your ideal clients.