Websites are like cars. They need to be regularly maintained, or they will eventually break down.
Most websites fail because their owners don’t understand this simple concept. They think that once a website is up and running, it will take care of itself. But just like a car, a website needs to be regularly maintained in order to function properly.
If you don’t believe me, just take a look around the internet. There are countless examples of websites that have been abandoned by their owners and are now nothing more than digital ghost towns. Don’t let your website become one of them!
So lets take a look at the top 10 reasons websites fail
1. The website wasn’t planned out properly
If you don’t plan out your website, it will likely be disorganized, difficult to navigate lacking in any clear purpose.
To plan a website, you need to consider the purpose of the website, the target audience, the content that will be included, the design of the website, and how the website will be maintained.
There are a few different ways that you can research your target audience.
One way is to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
You can also use Google AdWords to find out what keywords people are searching for. You can also use surveys and questionnaires to get feedback from your target audience.
2. The website doesn’t have a clear purpose
If your website doesn’t have a clear purpose, it will be difficult for visitors to know what they should do when they land on your site. This can lead to a high bounce rate, as people leave your site without taking any desired action.
This can be done by having a clear mission statement or goals for the website. The purpose of the website should be clear to both the site owner and the visitors.
“Our mission is to promote student success by providing high-quality, comprehensive, and accessible educational opportunities and support services that lead to the completion of postsecondary credentials.”
Example of a strong & convincing mission statement for a website
3. The design is amateurish and unprofessional
A website that looks amateurish is bad for business because it gives the impression that the company is not professional and does not take their online presence seriously. This can dissuade potential customers from doing business with the company, as they may not trust that the company will be able to deliver on their promises.
Additionally, an amateurish website may also be poorly designed and difficult to navigate, which can also frustrate potential customers. (Something we’ve touched on a few times in this article)
4. The website is difficult to navigate
A website could be difficult to navigate if the links are not clearly labelled, the navigation is not intuitive, or there is too much information on the page.
What kind of websites are most at risk?
- E-commerce websites with a large product catalogue
- Websites with a lot of content organized in a hierarchy
- Websites with a lot of user-generated content
There are many ways to make a website easier to navigate, but some common methods include using clear and concise navigation labels, grouping similar items together, and using drop-down menus to hide less important options. Additionally, designers can use colour and other visual cues to help users understand the hierarchy of the content and where they are within the site.
5. The content is dull and unengaging
Dull content kills traffic because it is not engaging or interesting to read. When people are looking for information online, they want to find something that is going to hold their attention and give them the information they are looking for. If a website has dull content, people are likely to click away from it and go to a different site that has more interesting and engaging content.
In order to make content more engaging and less dull, you should focus on creating content that is interesting, informative, and interactive. Additionally, you should make sure that your content is easy to read and understand. Finally, you should ensure that your content is visually appealing.
Engaging content: The weather is beautiful today and I’m so excited to take advantage of it!
6. The website is not optimised for search engines
If a website is not optimised for search engines, it is likely that the website will not rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs). This could mean that the website receives less traffic from organic search, which could in turn lead to less leads and/or sales.
If a website doesn’t have any traffic, it essentially doesn’t exist. No one will be able to find it, and it won’t be able to generate any revenue. Even if a website has the best content in the world, it’s worthless if no one is seeing it. That’s why it’s so important to generate traffic to your website through SEO, social media, and other marketing channels. Otherwise, your website will just be a wasted effort.
Use relevant keywords in your content to improve your search engine ranking. And make sure you are using Google Search Console to ensure google is indexing your website & sitemap correctly.
7. The website is not mobile-friendly
If your website is not mobile friendly, it will be difficult for users to navigate and may result in a high bounce rate. Your website may also rank lower in search engine results pages, which could lead to fewer visitors.
It is estimated that over 60% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices, so it is more important than ever to have a website that is optimised for mobile. Mobile optimisation is important for a number of reasons, including:
- Improving the user experience for mobile users
- Ensuring that your website loads quickly on mobile devices
- Making sure that your website is easy to navigate on a small screen
- Increasing your chances of ranking well in mobile search results
There are a number of things that you can do to ensure that your website is optimised for mobile, including using a responsive design, using mobile-friendly content, and configuring your website for mobile search.
8. The website is not updated regularly
Some effects of updating your site regularly include increased traffic, higher search engine rankings, and more opportunities to convert visitors into customers.
One reason is that it shows the site is active. If a site is updated regularly, it is likely to be more relevant and useful than a site that is not updated. This is because the site’s content is more likely to be up-to-date and reflect the latest information about the topic.
Another reason is that fresh content can help a site rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This is because search engines like Google consider the quality and quantity of a site’s content when determining its rank. So, if a site has high-quality, regularly updated content, it is more likely to rank higher in SERPs.
9. The website doesn’t have social media integration
If your website does not have social media integrations, you may be missing out on a lot of potential traffic and engagement. Social media integrations allow users to easily share your content with their networks, which can help to increase awareness and drive traffic back to your site.
Without these integrations you are shutting off one big source of potential traffic and search engine optimisation (social signalling).
Some benefits of social media integrations on websites include:
- Increased traffic to the website
- Increased engagement with website visitors
- Ability to share website content with a wider audience
- Improved search engine optimization
10. The website is not secure
If your website is not secure, it could be harming your page rank in a number of ways.
Most importantly, if your site is not encrypted, it is possible for someone to intercept the data being sent between your server and your visitors’ browsers. This could include sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers.
Furthermore, if your site is not properly secured, it is vulnerable to attack by hackers, spammers & bots. These attacks can not only damage your site and compromise your data, but they can also damage your reputation and cause your page rank to suffer.
Some search engines outright penalise any insecure website, and by that we mean, any website without a valid certificate delivering HTTPS traffic.
Google penalises insecure websites because they are a security risk. Insecure websites can be hacked more easily, which puts users at risk. Google wants to protect its users, so it penalises sites that are not secure.
