6 Common Complaints About Business Websites
Date: October 15, 2019
By: Andrea Bartolomeo
Are customers complaining about your site? If you don’t have the time to maintain it, or simply never had the time to create a perfect page in the first place, you could be losing valuable business. Keep reading for some of the common complaints people may have about your site.
1. “It Takes Forever To Load”
If your site loads slowly, there’s a great chance that potential customers or clients won’t spend much time on it. Over the years we’ve developed a lot of impatience when it comes to the web, and if something takes more than 30 seconds-1 minute to load, we’ll likely click off the page and find one that’s quicker.
There are several reasons your page may be loading slowly, but programs like Flash and images that are too large and bulky are likely to blame.
2. “It Looks Like It Was Made In 1990”
An outdated website is not only visually unappealing, but it can negatively contribute to the efficiency of the site. It symbolizes that either business is so slow that the owners don’t see it necessary to update the site, or that the owners don’t understand the changes in technology. If customers think you don’t see the value of investing in an updated site, they could question your business as a whole.
3. “I Couldn’t Find What I Was Looking For”
If your company doesn’t have a physical location, your website can be the epitome of your business. If your site doesn’t include the valuable information someone’s looking for, it can be rendered useless. Analyzing frequently asked questions can help you indicate the information people are most curious about. This, combined with your necessary information, can specify the perfect amount of readable information. It’s also valuable to properly label pages using simple terms, and make sure all external links are functioning and from properly designed sites.
4. “There Was Too Much Information to Scroll Through”
On the contrary, too much information can be detrimental to your site as well. Not only can an overload of information slow down your website considerably, it can also make your website difficult to read and navigate. Too many separate pages, links or images can confuse and frustrate the viewer and may encourage them to contact you for more information. While this isn’t the worst outcome, it’s not an efficient way to run a business. It’s also not always the case – some people may grow increasingly frustrated and choose to visit a competitor’s page instead of waiting around for yours.
5. “I Didn’t Like The Look of It”
While the layout and design of your website may seem like a creative outlet, it also contributes to customer experience. Any company has total creative reign of their page’s design, and it should be used to embody their brand. However, there are some universal errors that can make a website very unappealing to all people. For example, if any text or image is distorted it gives the appearance of a poorly maintained website. If there’s a lack of images or creative fonts and graphics, it gives the appearance of a rushed website. A site by no means has to be artistically beautiful, but it should be treated as a professional work of art that’s also a window to your company.
6. “I Couldn’t Access It On My Phone”
A massive mistake is having a website not be mobile-friendly. 5-10 years ago this may not have been such a huge issue, but in 2019, not having a website accessible on phones or tablets is detrimental. If a viewer has to pinch the screen to fully view your pages or constantly grant access to the site, it creates an un-enjoyable and unprofessional experience.
In Conclusion
If you believe any of these complaints apply to your site, you are in real danger of losing valuable traffic that can help your business as a whole. Cleaning up your website may seem like a daunting and tedious task, but it is necessary if you want to succeed. Some business owners don’t see the value in outsourcing help to improve their online presence, but it can inevitably put more money in your pocket.
