8 Web Site Mistakes to Avoid

Question: I run a traditional retail business and we added a Web site component a few years ago. Other business owners with similar type setups seem to generate more sales and leads through their Web sites than we do. Their site traffic is higher too. What are we doing wrong?

Answer: Your predicament is all too common. Small business is now in its second Web-influenced decade, and the landscape is changing. Customers have become vastly more Internet savvy than they were just a few years ago, and businesses that don't keep up with higher levels of Web sophistication risk being left behind.

But don't confuse sophistication with complexity. Today, the "less is more" axiom applies. Sites should be clean, simple and intuitive, which means visitors should be able to easily see how to get what they need.

A successful site must first pass muster on "usability." It boils down to this: How quickly and easily can someone log onto your site and either find what they need or complete a particular task with the results they expect? If the answer is "not very," you've got a problem.

And you may not want to delay fixing it either. E-commerce sales - a.k.a. sales over the Internet - are increasing rapidly and could double, triple or more over the next five years.

Here are eight common Web site design mistakes that small businesses make, and what you can do about them:

Mistake#1: Allowing your site to be a secondary concern. Site neglect is rampant in small business America. Solution: Make your Web site a top priority in your daily operations.

Mistake#2: Allowing stale or (worse) outdated information to remain on the site. Solution: If your products, services, prices, location, hours, contact information, marketing messages - or anything else - have changed, make the updates immediately. Customers will notice, and your credibility suffers.

Mistake#3: Hard to find contact information. Solution: Many customers visit business Web sites solely to find an address or phone number. Place your contact information in a prominent location.

Mistake#4: Failing to maintain links. Solution: Many business sites include links to other sites as a service to customers who make be seeking related information. But these links must be checked regularly for problems or changes. Broken links frustrate customers, and they will likely blame you.

Mistake#5: Flashing images, scrolling text and blinking buttons. These things may have seemed clever and high-tech when first introduced, but now they are simply annoying. Solution: Dump them in favor of graphics that enhance your site usability.

Mistake#6: Using counterproductive tech and settings. This mistake can take many forms. Disabling the "back" button, for example, was once considered a way to keep visitors on your site. But at best it's another annoyance to avoid. Likewise a site that constantly opens new browser windows or uses a hodgepodge of fonts, colors and styles. Solution: Avoid the temptation of cute bells and whistles in favor of (dare we say it again?) - usability. Make a fast-loading site a top priority.

Mistake#7: Dead-end pages. Solution: Every page on your site should have a link back to your main page.

Mistake#8: Not tracking your site activity. Don't be in the dark about what's happening on your site. Solution: Web analytic tools can point to areas that need improvement.