10 Mistakes You Make When Building A Website

Are you ready for the digital start of your idea or business? So, it's time to make a website. Everyone is now online, and you shouldn't wait any longer, because otherwise, you'll miss out on:

• huge amount of traffic;
• new visitors and future customers;
• tens, even hundreds of potential sales per month;
• an effective way to advertise on the web;
• key partnerships;
• unsuspected benefits for your business and more.

On more than one or two occasions we have focused on the importance of a site and the aspects of its building, asking the question in different ways such as:

• When do you realize that your business needs a website?

• I want a site, but I don't know where to start

• Do I make a website myself or trust a specialist?

These are just a few of the questions business owners ask when building a website. But for there to be development and progress, it's important to move forward, isn't it?

Therefore, we should take another step towards a complete online presence. We created a checklist with the most popular mistakes in the process of creating a digital portfolio, so as not to fall into the trap of miscommunication and confusion. Because the consequences of an improperly structured site can be unpleasant for your business and lead to side effects.

Fortunately, each of the mistakes is fixable, but we still recommend that you compare your action plan with the following points. This will save you unnecessary headaches and a bunch of extra costs caused by carelessness.

1. Neglecting the choice of hosting provider

This would mean jeopardizing the peace of mind that your business is in safe hands. Or at least that part of it that you use to publicly communicate to the digital community through the company's website.

The truth is that the relationship with your chosenhosting provider should be as reliable and stable as those with your other partners.

Be on the lookout for some key components, including:

• modern infrastructure and server equipment of the highest class;
• protection against various types of attacks;
• availability of automatic Backup;
• adequate technical support;
• security of your personal data.

You understand how important these aspects are for your business and how important the role of your hosting partner is. Do not compromise on the quality of the hosting service if you want to grow your business seamlessly in the vast digital space.

At Stablepoint we take care of the peace of mind of our customers and the reliable operation of their sites. We do not stop looking for ways to make it even easier to manage their services with us. We are constantly developing new tools, protecting their sites and emails, monitoring malicious actions and reacting quickly, analyzing site resources.

2. You don't have a suitable domain or ideas for one

In many cases, choosing a name to identify yourself in the online space turns out to be a serious stumbling block. Why? Because it is important that the name of your site corresponds to the name of your company or at least suggests what your business is. And sometimes this is difficult to happen because someone else has already thought of the name you want and registered it first.

However, finding the most appropriate name for your site is not an impossible task. Fortunately, the extensions are many. You could bet on the classics with .com, .eu, .org, .net, .uk, etc., but do not exclude the new domain extensions such as .site, .online, .tech, .space and others. We recommend that you save the name of your site in several extensions. This will protect you from unfair competition that could harm you.

3. You lack a clear design concept

If you are just entering the depths of digitalization and are not aware of basic design rules, do not despair. It is quite common to add to the pages of your site everything you like just because you find it impressive.

But if despite the choice you have made, you do not get satisfaction from the final result, it is because the individual elements on the site do not correspond and do not look consistent.

The lack of a specific design concept can make you wander between different styles and visual messages. It can also take you away from the original idea you put on the site. You run the risk of running away from the main colors, effects, illustrations, elements, and combinations of your brand, as well as creating something completely different from the expectations you have.

Therefore, before you start the technical work on building your site, pay special attention to the essence - what is your ultimate goal, how you want to impress users.

We encourage you to make a list to determine what content you will include on your site. If you stick to it, you will easily do the rest, namely to distribute it in the individual pages.

4. You do not measure the performance of your site

When you start a business, how do you know it is achieving its goals? How do you account for the number of sales or the number of services you have offered? How do you track profits?

You can refer the same questions to your site, but refracted through the prism of its characteristics and specifics:

• How do you determine the age limit of the people who are interested in your activity? Which cities does your main audience live in? • How do you know which are the most popular pages? Where do users click most often? • How do you know through which channels they reach your site? • How do you analyze your direct competitors?

If you do not have answers to these and other similar questions, then you probably do not use analytical tools. Namely, they give you a lot of key information around which you can build your marketing strategy. That's why web analytics is so important for any online business.

One of the most common and used tools is Google Analytics, which you can integrate completely free of charge. Facebook Business Suite can also help if you have a business account on this social network. The AWstats, Serpstat, and HotJar tools are no less useful.

Do not underestimate visitor feedback. They are your most valuable resource because they give you direct feedback on your strengths and weaknesses as a brand and your overall presence. You can include them on your website as they encourage new users to keep up with you faster and trust you more easily.

5. You have not planned to optimize the site for a mobile device

This is a serious omission that you should correct with priority. More and more people are using their mobile devices regardless of their time interval, situation, or location. In addition, from March 2021, Google's algorithms determine the position of sites in search engines relative to whether they have a mobile version.

You don't want customers to lose sight of the sea of results, do you? Then you know what to do - take care of the look of your mobile site.

6. You remain "hidden" from site visitors

"What does that mean?" You will ask. It means that you have presented yourself with scarce information to your visitors, that you have deprived them of a detailed presentation. How do you expect them to trust you and prefer you to your competitors if they don't know you well?

To win the favor of consumers, add enough comprehensive information about your business and the criteria that distinguish it from everyone else in the field. Give your prospects a good reason to choose you.

And something very important - make the contact page on your site look like there, easily accessible and complete. This will signal to those who do not yet know you that they have no reason to be skeptical of you and that you can be found through all the possible channels you use.

7. You ignore the power of blog content and its frequent updating

The blog is the part of the site that shows visitors that your site is active. And that's because you regularly upload new content to current topics. The blog is your own business media, your public tribune, through which you gradually pull the curtain in front of all the processes invisible to the audience.

Thanks to the frequent publication of articles, you declare your constant social presence. If you deliberately avoid writing and uploading content, think about what you are actually losing and how you look in the eyes of visitors. Among other things, blog articles are a way to share your point of view with others on one issue or another that may concern them. And this is another way to start the communication between you and your customers.

8. You do not monitor the speed of the site regularly

Time is a factor that is valued not only in the real world but also in the digital. The faster a site loads, the more enjoyable the user experience. The initial impression of it is confirmed or refuted, and the benefits are multiplied. After all, no one wants to have a slow site, right?

If you do not check periodically for any problems related to the loading speed of the site, you may lose customers, and hence revenue due to unrealized profits.

The good speed of the site helps it to be ranked higher in the search engines. And with a web accelerator like SuperCache, you will definitely launch your site to the sky, because it gives it extra speed and has a positive effect on the consumption of resources from the hosting account. Great, huh?!

9. You rush to release it online without going into detail

Because the details are the ones that bring the feeling of completion of a project. It's the same with the site.

In the rush to make our business available online, we often forget to check for:

• broken or inconsistent links;
• non-working call-to-action buttons;
• navigation problems;
• presence of favicon;
• correctly filled in metadata;
• poor quality images.

If the above things are present, there is a serious danger that they will leave a bitter aftertaste in users when working with your site. The worst-case scenario is not to go back, and we know that's not your goal.

We advise you to pay attention to the details because they have their significance for the overall perception of the site.

10. You miss the part with the promotion of the site

Often in communication with our clients, we encounter questions such as "I already have a website, but I have no orders. Why? ”

The answer: Because building an online presence does not end with making a website. What have you tried so hard for if you have a beautiful and modern site, but no one knows about it?

It's like creating a brand new car of the latest generation, but keeping it in your garage and waiting for others to know what you've done. That's why it's important to think about your strategy after putting the site online.

Plan which channels you will distribute your content in, to what audience and with what budget. Do not rush to invest all the funds only in the creation of the site, and set aside for its advertising. This will save you the "I have a website but no orders" problem.

If you've come this far, then for you the site is more than just a page on the World Wide Web. It is the bridge between your business and your future customers, between you and your potential partners, between the digital and the real world. That's why it's important how you treat him and how much time you invest to keep him in shape.

We remind you that all these major errors that we have highlighted above are completely correctable. In order not to damage your business in one way or another, do not allow any of them to show up. And if you need assistance with technical issues, our Stablepoint team is ready to take on the role of a rapid response team. We will be happy to lend you a hand so that you can rest assured about the flawless work of your site.