10 Reasons Why Your Website Failed
10. You Hired Your Nephew
So he is an electronic wiz. He plays video games, accumulates 2,000 texts on his phone a month, knows how to use the remote for your entertainment system plus took a website class in high school. You’ve heard that he has created a website or two and see an opportunity to save a few bucks. Sure, you can hire him for dirt cheap, but that’s about what you’ll end up with for your website. A few hundred dollars later, you find that the website he created has done more damage than good. You find yourself taking your URL off your business cards, stationary and email signatures. Worst of all you’re missing out on potential customers and profits.
9. You Hired out Your Web Design and Development to a Near-Third-World-Country
Hiring outside of the country is often difficult and disappointing. If you caved into the idea of hiring a professional for less outside of the country you’ve probably found like many of my colleagues and myself included that the hassle and work you received isn’t even worth it being done for free. Save yourself the stress, and hire a competent firm close to home.
8. You Used Hosting Software to Easily Build Your Own Website.
How hard can building a website be? The honest answer, not very hard at all. HTML is one of the easiest things to learn. You can find tutorials or a class that can get you started in building a website within hours. Templates make it even easier. Just about anyone can create a website, but being able to build a website that brings success takes a lot of experience and a lot of talent. If you’ve decided to try it out as a hobby, go for it, I personally find very few things more enjoyable than crafting new designs and programming new systems. But if you want a website that gets results, turn it over to the professionals.
7. Your Web Design Sucks
If you don’t take your business seriously, how can you expect your clients to do the same. Your visitors are looking for the latest and greatest products or services. In short, get with it, or fail.
6. You Have an Intro Page
Even if you think your splash page looks “cool”, you’re providing little to no benefit to your visitors. Our studies have shown that websites with Intro or Splash Pages lose a multiple of visitors compared to if they didn’t have Splash Page.
5. Your Website contains little to no content.
Usually in this case you have a website because you were told you needed a website. Not only is this tactic looked down upon by your users, but search engines as well. Create something of value for your visitors, design a strategy to get them to build your revenue. A one page site says, “I only did this because I had to.” If you only have one page, your site is a failure.
4. Your Site Has No Appeal
Keep things fun, keep things light and above all keep things interesting. It is interest that brought your visitor to your site in the first place and it will be interest that will keep your visitor from leaving. If everything about your website is boring, you’ll never convince them to stay long enough to take a chance on you.
3. Your Budget Only Included Web Design and Development.
It doesn’t matter how influential, beautiful or amazing your web design or development are if you have no way of getting people to your website. When budgeting out your website, make sure to appropriate sufficient funds to attract an audience to it. It is suggested that you budget enough to build your website, and hire an Internet Marketer to get targeted traffic to your site. You need both to succeed.
2. Your Website is Too Generic
A good looking website and a well branded website are two very different things. A good looking website might impress your audience but a well branded website will influence your audience to a profitable action. If you’re running a business, the latter is the smarter choice. Every aspect of your website should be communicating the same message, from your design, to your logo, to font, text and style. Keeping these aspects of your website consistent will create a stronger and more influential brand.
1. Your Site is Not Based On Achieving Your Website Objectives.
If you didn’t plan out the primary and secondary objectives of your website, then your website is probably spinning your visitors in circles. Give your website an objective, and every aspect of it should be accomplishing it. If you’re trying to sell a product make it appealing and easy for them to do so, if you want them to call you on the phone do the same. Too often a website is about a company and loses its potential influence it can have to make your company more money. If you aren’t getting what you need from your visitors, your website has failed.
Download Design
January 12th, 2009 at 3:39 am
"A one page site says, “I only did this because I had to.” If you only have one page, your site is a failure." This one doesn't work any more. There a plenty of 1 page designs that are worth visiting and telling there customers all they need to know. Check out http://onepagelove.com/
January 12th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Well, I suppose to each their own, but I don't care for any of those one page sites (as one page sites…one that I liked the look of was just a stopping point to take you to other sites, it's not really a one page site). Not to mention, almost all of them seem to have poor ranks (Google Page Rank, Alexa, Compete, even Search engine Placement), which to me means "fail".
January 12th, 2009 at 7:22 am
This is a site http://www.brskassa.com/that don't achieve there goals.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:00 am
The good news is that if your website is failing you have ample opportunity to fix it!
January 15th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Oh god… the point #10 is SO REAL! I know so many people that hire their friends or family to get a site for a few money and then PUFF! nothing more came from there… Very good post!! congratulations!
January 17th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
So-o-o-o-o-o-o insightful, so……true. People just do not get it (yet) that their website is their marketing engine. So they cut corners, consider ridiculous ideas, and follow groundless logic. Then they have to do it over. Thanks for this.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:21 pm
This is an excellent article and über relevant
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Great post and I agree with point 10. I come across so many companies who have a crap site that has been created 'as a favour' by a friend of a friend
January 24th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
So very true and relevant. Thanks for the insight
January 25th, 2009 at 5:37 am
But if the nephew in question is a real bad ass in marketing and programmation it could be interesting for both of them. The nephew can gain in reputation and have a business opportunity and the client can help him out to reach his goals and have a website for less than he expected. But you've to be sure not to hire a total dumb ass and put the family issue aside and have a client/customer relationship.
January 25th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I also notice that many clients insist on handing writing content/copy themselves and this totally delays launch. I have a list of project questions I strongly urge (force) clients to answer prior to giving up a ball-park estimate… http://pixelhandler.com/marketing/web-project-que...
January 26th, 2009 at 5:18 am
EXCELLENT post!
January 26th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
You didn't mention viral marketing. If you don't market like a virus, you'll never succeed either, but great post.
February 1st, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I'd love to point people to your post in a conference I'm speaking at next week. Do you mind if I use it? With your credit, of course.
Wonderful article!
February 1st, 2009 at 8:20 pm
You can absolutely use this as material in your conference!
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Great Post abt Search engine optimization….In this Time of search engine war, Every site need Good SEO Services to be on the top of the Major Search Engine in order to make good business
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
All valid points there! One more point I would like to add as I work as a freelace web designer. People fail to look at their website as a visitor and not owner for once a while. This helps in making website more user friendly.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:28 am
Fellow Mossonian here…great post. They are all VERY true. I deal with customers who have one of these issues on a daily basis.
February 16th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I'm laughing at this list, as we deal with this all of the time too. That said, I'm a big fan of getting people online to start with whatever tool they can use, and then to hire a web developer when they're a little more "legit" and they realize that they really want to be in business and STAY in business!
February 25th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Good One..!
March 16th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
sry i just know how to write my name in arabic
) anyway however in arabic when i read some thing like that i just say "raee" i donot know how to say it in english . thanks
April 1st, 2009 at 4:29 am
Market Market Market….if you do market your website like a virus then you prob wont happen for you.