Thank you to Jessica for this amazing guest blog all about the 5 key mistakes you could be making on your website that are costing you clients…
Is your website booking you clients and helping you to grow your business?
It should be.
Your website showcases what you do and helps you grow an email list. It’s where your visitors check out how legit you are and gives you a space to organise your content that is owned by you, not ruled by an algorithm.
When your website is set up to sell your services effectively, you can make use of the traffic you already get to book clients easily, saving you from hustling for clients.
If your website isn’t booking clients, you could be making costly mistakes that turn away potential clients and make it harder for you to grow a successful business.
Don’t worry, most websites make the same mistakes so you’re not alone. I’m here to cover the most common website mistakes I see that prevent you from booking clients.
Let’s get started!
Mistake 1: Not being clear about what you do
Sounds like a no brainer, but how often do you go to a website to see what someone does, only to find a vague message that leaves you guessing what someone does?
You have about 5 seconds to win someone over when they land on your website, and if it’s not clear what you do, who you help and how you transform their lives, chances are, they’ll bounce.
You can’t sell to someone who doesn’t hang around long enough to see how you can help them.
This is where a killer tagline front and centre on your home page can help. That first introduction should:
- State what you do, who you help, and the transformation you provide
- Be clear and free of any technical language people wouldn’t understand
- Be kept short at 1-2 sentences only
- Evolve as you business does
Get this right and your dream clients will immediately know they are in the right place when they land on your website!
Mistake 2: Not guiding your visitors to what you want them to do
Now you have a great tagline and your visitors are exploring, you need to get clear on the action you want someone to take on your website and guide your visitors to it by using calls to action.
If someone is left to guess what to do on your website, they will leave rather than guessing the next steps.
Each page of your website should have a clear call to action directing someone what to do next. These should be buttons to catch your visitors’ attention and encourage action.
It’s time to check each page of your website to see if the next step is clear and if not, you need to add some call to action buttons pronto!
Mistake 3: Not making your text easy to skim
You’ve now told visitors how you help them and given clear next steps on each page, but how do you keep someone reading to the end to see your call to action?
We have short attention spans from social media, so your text needs to be super easy for someone to scan.
Large blocks of text are harder to read and process on a website. Here are some ways to make your content easier to scan:
- Start by cutting out anything unnecessary. If you can say something in fewer words, do it
- Use headings, bullet points and numbered lists to break up your content
- Add emphasis with bold and italic text when needed
- Keep your paragraphs short and left aligned
- Use larger font sizes (a body font of 14-20px tends to work well)
- Avoid full width text by adding some white space to each side instead
- Add visual interest by including images, photos or other elements
These small tweaks will keep someone reading and help to ensure the important info gets seen without getting lost in a sea of clutter.
Mistake 4: Not including photos of you to build trust
The internet is full of noise, and if you want someone to notice you, including your face on your website is a great way to build a connection and trust.
I’m not saying you have to have a brand photo shoot since that’s not always in the budget (although if you can, it can help you feel more confident to show up online).
A super affordable option is to get a friend to take some nice photos of you.
Here are some tips if you go the DIY route:
- Start with a good camera for great quality images
- Look for good lighting and face into it so you are well lit in the photos. Avoid directly facing the sun though, since you’ll look squinty. Trust me, it’s not flattering!
- Consider your backdrop. A white wall works well, but you can also add personality with art or decorations. Just don’t clutter it too much since you should be the focus
- Make sure what you wear goes well with your brand colours
- Take a variety of shots, such as zoomed out photos you can use for banner images and shots of you doing your thing
These tips will help you up your DIY photo shoot game immensely!
Mistake 5: Not making sure your website looks and functions well on mobile
Did you know over half of all website browsing is done from mobile phones? After all, they’re always with us when we need to look something up.
If your website doesn’t look great and work well on mobile, you could be scaring away over half of your visitors!
Some things to consider when you’re looking at the mobile view of your website:
- Is the text easy to read on smaller screens, or does it become too small?
- Does your content arrange in the right order on a smaller screen?
- Are your banner images focused on the right area?
- Is your branding consistent across mobile view?
- Does your website load fast on a phone connection?
Considering these things can make a huge difference to how long you’ll keep someone hanging around when they’re viewing your website on their phone!
If you want to know other common website mistakes you could be making that are costing you clients, get your free Website Mistakes workbook that covers 5 more mistakes.
Now you’ll have some ideas for updates and it’s time to take action. Block of some time, grab a cuppa, pop on some tunes and get to work!
Imagine the difference it could make to how many clients you book if you complete all of these updates!
About Jessica
Jessica is the designer at Jessica Haines Design. She helps coaches and creative entrepreneurs to stand out online with websites that get them noticed and book them clients.
Jessica is also a wife and mumma from Sydney. When she’s not hanging out with her family, you’ll often find her reading, creating, drinking copious amounts of coffee or hanging out in her Facebook group for women DIYing their websites.
