Common website weaknesses and how to fix them

In no particular order:

If the navigation titles in the menu are vague, your visitors can’t tell what you do or how they can get where they want to go.

What not to do:

If you have a product name as a title but your visitor isn’t familiar with that name – then they don’t know to click on it. The title must say what it is to the visitor rather than what you call it.

Try not to use generic broad menu terms like ‘solutions’ – every business has solutions so this is not going to help the user find what they need.

What to do:

Make the navigation labels specific and descriptive, so the visitor knows what you do, where they are and how to find the information they are looking for. This way they’re less likely to get frustrated and leave the site.

The main menu items generally need to be short so have limited possibilities, however the second menu tier allows for much better descriptions.

Name menu titles from an external point of view rather than an internal point of view.

In addition, the H1 header on the home page is the most valuable property of the entire site. It is critical for SEO.

What not to do:

Homepage headers are often ineffective. The first job of an H1 header is to tell the visitor and the search engines what the organisation actually does.

Often these are too clever or include soft messaging such as taglines or positioning statements. That messaging has a place for sure – but this is usually not the position for that message.

A vague headline does nothing to help your rankings or inform visitors. First and foremost people need to know they’re in the right place, and web crawlers need to know where to index your site – and don’t understand clever meanings.

What to do:

Be very clear, not clever.

Without forcing it, use relevant keywords that make sense to both humans and bots so visitors know what you do instantly and the bots can index your site correctly.

Along with the menu items these are also a key part of the site’s navigation and SEO.

What not to do:

Visitors are generally moving very quickly through your site so don’t over think or over complicate it. Keep it simple and to the point.

What to do:

As per point 2 about the H1 headers, be very clear, not clever. And incorporate relevant keywords without unnaturally forcing it.

This is a poor solution. Many studies have proven that there is little engagement with slide 2 and almost no engagement from slide 3 onwards – so they are effectively invisible.

What not to do:

Don’t do a slideshow header – but if you must, keep it to two slides and ideally only change the messaging (keep the same imagery).

Don’t put automated video in a header, it slows the site (which is one of the search engine ranking measures), so is harmful to your search engine rankings.

Note: Things like travel or fashion sites where the header is used as a visual gallery are an exception to the rule.

What to do:

Spend the time to work through and make a decision on what the key message actually is. This can be challenging to do but is also a very valuable exercise in distilling and identifying your core business.

In the modern web world of long web pages and easy scrolling, there are many opportunities to communicate your other key messages. It is more effective to put your second most important message further down the page as a H2 header than it is to actually have a slide two.

What not to do:

As a general rule, don’t use it. It creates a facade which is counter productive to engaging with your audience.

Yes, there are exceptions to that rule, so if there is a need, select it very carefully for things like backgrounds rather than featured imagery. And choose imagery that is not clichéd.

What to do:

At the end of the day business is about people and relationships. Show yourself, your people and your business in a candid, real and relatable way. This is a hugely under appreciated area.

Good photography (and video) can help to build a priceless connection and bridge between you and your audience.

Invest in photography. Its value is far beyond its cost.

A common trap however, is if you promote your social media channels too strongly or in the wrong places on your website you’re just encouraging your visitors to leave.

What not to do:

Don’t create a strong feature of social media icons.

What to do:

Be careful where you place social media links on your website and also how much visual weight you give them. Too much weight entices visitors to disappear into social media world.

If you do choose to feature them, ensure they open in a new tab so the visitor still has access to your site.

Convert all of the social media icons into your brand colours so they don’t draw the eye more than they should.

Include social media icons in your website footer where visitors can find them there if they’re looking.

Include social media share buttons on things like blog articles or case studies – items that you want visitors to share.

One thing that harms credibility with visitors is article age. Generally – unless it’s a current event story – blog articles are evergreen stories that are often relevant for years. So age should not matter – but people have unconscious age bias and dates devalue content and reduce readership.

Also, organisations often start out with great intentions of sharing regular articles but then get busy and forget about it. Having the last article written many years ago is not a great look.

What not to do:

Don’t date blog posts.

What to do:

If the date feature is switched on then consider switching it off.

Well designed pages are designed to be scanned. They help visitors find the information they want – without having to spend time searching through long copy – and essentially figure out where to stop and read.

What not to do:

Avoid long paragraphs if possible.

What to do:

Use best practice information hierarchy. Good clear headings, subheadings, intro copy and keep the body copy succinct.

Use white / clear space to separate content. It helps the user focus on what you want them to focus on without getting distracted by the next thing.

Use bullet and numbered lists.

Keep paragraphs short. Visitors are more likely to read it.

Explain complex information with infographics where possible. A good infographic can communicate a thousand words extremely efficiently.