If you already have a website or you are in the process of launching or updating a website then it’s essential you take a few moments to think about the following. You may not agree with all of my Website Killers but I hope you will at least take them into consideration and avoid creating a website disaster.

Website Killer Number 1: Your website has no personality

Visitors get bored easily so it’s essential you capture their attention quickly when they arrive at your website. Remember that you only have around 10 seconds to attract their interest and keep them on your website.

Some new ways of attracting & keeping attention on your website include adding video or audio as well as text. This adds a human element to your presence.

Perhaps include an About Us page where visitors can learn more about you and/or your team. We all like dealing with real people, not computers, so make sure your website has some heart and soul.

Website Killer Number 2: How do I contact you?

Visitors to your website should not be made to work hard and they should be able to get in contact with you easily. I would encourage either having your contact details included on every page of your website as part of the template, or just a single click from any page (ie a Contact Us link on the main navigation bar)

Website Killer Number 3: Flash Intro Pages

This is a pet hate of most internet marketers. Flash intro pages can look great and are often the proud work of “qualified web designers”. But from the perspective of human visitors and search engines they are not always that effective.

Search engines find it hard to know what your website is about because there is no text and this means that you may find your website is not being found in search engines. And from a human perspective we all live such busy lives that no one seems to have time to wait even 30 seconds for a website to load and don’t have the patience to wait for a flash intro to play. If you must include one also provide a link so visitors can ‘skip the intro’ - mind you, if they can skip the intro is it really that important to have the flash intro at all!

Website Killer Number 4: Not optimised for Search Engines

This is a whole topic on its own. One key factor is that you need on your website is the correct keywords in your page content and title tags.

Make sure the keywords that your prospects may search for on Google when looking for your type of business, are included on your website. These keywords should be included on multiple pages across your website and as often as possible.

The title tags tell the web browser what wording to display in the page title section - when you visit a website take a look at what is written across the top of the browser window - this is the title. Ensure your page titles accurately reflect both your business name and keywords that are relevant to that page - but it should also be a useful phrase to the human reader.

Website Killer Number 5: No Call to Action

A ‘call to action’ is having a specified action that you want visitors to take when they visit your website. You might want them to sign up for a newsletter, contact you through your contact page, phone you or place an order. Everything on your page must move them towards taking that action.

For example when a visitor arrives at my website www.webchameleon.com.au my number one goal is to get them to sign up for my newsletter and free report. I don’t provide any distractions and the text, audio and testimonials all encourage this action.

Visitors to your website are valuable so try not to let too many of them get away; because once they leave your website the chances that they will return are very slim.

This article is © Copyright Belinda Jackson, Web Chameleon