10 frightening pitfalls that can turn your visitors off

Get ready to spend some time and effort!

While designing your website, you cannot afford to make room for any flaws that might be taken seriously by the users. There is, for sure, not a lack of websites which inadvertently contain serious mistakes, and worse still people fail to attribute poor performance of the site to such flaws. The fact is that these potentially crippling pitfalls often seem to be either trivial or marginal, or even not thought of having any say in how the site fares at the end of the day.

Here's is a concise exposition on some pitfalls which might easily escape your attention. Or the other way around, you do not deem it worthy of your consideration. But, mind it, these seemingly insignificant aspects of your website can scare your visitors away and ruin your business reputation beyond redemption.

1. The flashing up of under construction sign

Your instance of resorting to under construction sign on your site sends off a wrong signal, tacitly says that you are a struggling beginner. The thumb rule here is that if you find your site not yet ready, do not show it in public altogether.

2. Your site is replete with overuse of technology

There are some really astounding and cool new technologies available, but it does not necessarily mean that you end using all without assessing their impact on usability. It can adversely work against you. Be sure that when it comes to choose between new technology and simplicity, you opt for the latter as it is crucial for your website's functionality.

3. Inclusion of Visitor Counter on your site

Visitors commonly do not care enough for the visitors of your site. However, by virtue of a visitor counter if they witness a low number, they tend to be distracted. Moreover, a too high number displayed on the counter has the potential to make it seem like fictitious one. Therefore, it is advisable not to have visitor counter at the first place.

4. Your site lacks copyright statements

Everything you write and create on your site warrants copyright declarations. So, it is in the fitness of the things to include it on every page of the website, and to make it up-to-date with changing times.

5. Mindless use of passive verbs

The more you avoid the use of passive verbs, the better it would act in your favor. Instead, use active verbs as far as practicable as this sort of verb lends energy and activism to your site's copy.

6. Use of long and cumbersome sentences.

Long sentences are tedious to read for most of the users. So, better make it short, lucid and simple so as to add to its readability and understandability.

7. Pages on the site are lengthy

If the cyber behavior of users is anything to go by, keep your pages brief and concise. People are too often bored of reading of lengthy stuff, so you have to take into consideration the attention span of users. If you have to say a lot, you can but do it with a series of well navigated and well explained links.

8. Not calling visitors to action

You must give it a thought to incorporate such features on your site. You should think over giving a space designated to tell your visitors what you want them to do next. For example, Sign up for my newsletter, Order now, etc.

9. Not highlighting the benefits of your products or services

People make purchases to get rid of pain and to get pleasure out of buying products and services. So, it is imperative on your part that you help users discern how your products or services are going to help them lessen their pain and get pleasure in turn.

10. You site contains typographical and grammatical errors

Your typographical errors on the site will be noticed by your visitors in no time. This lapse your behalf is almost always considered as a sign of a novice, not a professional who is in business trying to make a living. And to keep such possibility pretty away from haunting you, what you need to do is to be a little serious in approach and a bit careful in methodology. Hence what can be inferred upon here is that if people are going to believe that you do not take your site seriously, they won't either.

About the Author

Deepak Sharma is a Web Designer at BlueApple, a Web Design and Development Company with a well connected development infrastructure in India having a strong portfolio with global clientele and offering superior web services and solutions at competitive costs.