Your website is the heart and the foundation of your business and marketing strategy, and as such, it is important to keep it fresh, exciting, and up-to-date. Website design has changed in the past years, but that is just how the internet and technology goes. It is important to go through these changes in order to keep up with ever-evolving trends.
It is important that you always review, analyze, and modify your website. This means having a good idea of which features work well and which ones are only hurting your business. To help you with this, we have listed some bad website design features that you should definitely remove from your homepage and the best features to add to it instead.
1. Unnecessary Social Media Profiles
Links to social media profiles are a common website feature found in business homepages, because it is important to engage with customers on social media. But including every social media platform like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Google+ is a waste of time. Having too many social media icons can be dangerous, especially if those profiles are inactive and outdated. Your customers might click on your most outdated social media profile and be discouraged by what they find there.
How can you improve this?
Pick two to three social media platforms your customers always use and where your clients will be more engaged and interactive. Build your presence in those platforms, and only add those profiles to your homepage.
2. Carousels and Slideshows
One of the most common website features we have encountered in the past years are the Carousels and Slideshows where the customers will see the nature of the business. But over time, customers have gotten used to the gimmick and most tend to ignore it. It has become evident that most websites don’t even need it anymore.
How can you improve this?
It will be much better to have a pleasant photo posted in your homepage and present the company’s nature and values to the customers in a clear and concise way. You can add a professional photo that will speak volumes about your business and design it to be informative and pleasing to the eye.
3. Random Videos that Play Automatically
It is always annoying to visit websites and have videos play automatically in the background. If your website has this feature, there is a possibility that a lot of the potential customers who have visited your link have clicked the exit button as quickly as they entered. The reason this website design is a bad feature is because no one enjoys being surprised by automatic videos when they are browsing a website. Especially if they are in a public space.
How can you improve this?
Posting videos in your homepage is not always bad. It is actually a great tool that we highly recommend for you to use. Just try to use other tools, like YouTube, where you can post the video on your site for users to click on when they are ready and prepared to watch a video.
4. Too Much Clutter and Unnecessary Texts
Users are usually in and out of your websites quickly. Most of them are in a hurry and don’t really have the time to take a tour of your website. Keep in mind that every user that clicked on your website is looking for something. Unrelated website features and too much clutter on your homepage are not pleasant to look at and will therefore chase the potential customers away.
How can you improve this?
Know exactly what pieces of information your customers are interested in knowing. This depends on what you are offering or selling. If you have any special promos or product features, make sure that those are the things your customers will see.
5. Too Much Introduction
An “About Us” portion is the most common feature every website has. Did you know that it is not necessary to introduce your company’s Mission Statement, Vision, Values, etc? Your customers don’t care, and they won’t read it. Everything you put on your website should answer your customers’ or clients’ questions and direct them to what you are offering.
How can you improve this?
In building your website, it is important to have a strong relationship with your customers and establish a good partnership. In order to do this, you have to write for, to, and about them. Address their problems and answer their questions. Keep in mind that they are on your website because they need something from you, and not because they want to know about you.
Building relationships with your customers and constantly innovating your website can be tricky. There are a lot of things to keep in mind and consider. Advanced Digital Media Services offers quality web development and design services to help establish your web presence. You don’t have to go through the trouble of figuring out the best website features to add to your site because these guys can do all of that for you.
