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Is your Website letting your Business Down?

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How many times have I heard from businesses around Sydney that they are really unhappy with their website and it is hurting their business. They complain that they have had their website for a few years and haven’t been bothered to do anything about it. It’s a real tragedy cause a website can be such a great marketing tool and to let it sit there and do absolutely nothing is a real waste of your companies resources. The best thing business owners can do is stop the damage being caused, pick up the phone and do something about it.

So what are some warning signals that your website is harming your business?

Probably the most common signal is the feedback you get from people. If you hear from your clients that they found it hard to use your website or found it out dated, then it’s time for a change. You want to keep your clients happy and if that means a web redesign, then so be it. If they have to buy products from your site and find this process arduous, then its time to kick things into gear and ditch the old site. Ecommerce sites, especially need to be extremely easy to use so make sure you must make the buying process a pleasure. If clients start looking elsewhere cause they hate your site, then guess what? You’re going to go out of business. This is the reality of the online space and if you think that it can’t or won’t happen to you then think again.

A very strong signal that your website is destructive force in your business is if people tell you that they looked everywhere but couldn’t find your site. They typed your name into Google and it didn’t show up. Well, what’s happening is that there are some serious coding issues and this is why your site is not being indexed by the search engines. Take immediate action as the remedy can be quite simple. Overall, if there are coding issues for these types of things, then a full website audit is probably in order.

Can you go and make a cup of coffee whilst your website is loading? Does the spinning wheel seem to hand there forever? If so, you are going to need a complete web overhaul. Heavy graphics that are killing your site loading times are also ruining the customer experience and this in turn will drive people away from your site. Irritating, bothersome extensive site downloads are going to eventually ruin your business.  People expect lightening fast website download speeds so be prepared for a mass exodus if your pages are taking more than a couple of seconds to load.

When was the last time your read your website? When was the last time you changes the photos of the people working in your company? If you can’t remember, then this is a major sign that there is trouble brewing. Web content needs to be updated regularly. I have blogged exhaustingly about this and I can’t telly you how important fresh new relevant content is, not only for your clients but also for your internet rankings. Also, the last thing you want to have is a photo of yourself dating back to the 1990’s. Imaging what will happen when your clients meet you and they see a completely different person. Not a good look I’m afraid. Keeping things current will do wonders for your brand, business and consumer perception.

Do you need to go back to your developer every time you need to make a small change to the site? If so then you should be looking at upgrading your websites content management system so that you are in full control of the site. Many website built years ago where developed using proprietary CMS platforms. A bit confusing I know. But, what this means in plain English is that your web people gave you a website that only works on their hosting and was developed by them to be used only by them basically, you have no where to go or no other options other than to dump the site and move on if you want to break those nasty shackles. Imagine the freedom you will have when you are in total control of your content and don’t have to keep on out laying money for the slightest change.

Have you been utilising social media to its fullest advantage? Have you been blogging, tweeting, playing in the Google+ space.  If not start now. Get your web team when they are designing your new site to integrate the social media platforms and get going. Its free it can be fun and best of all it works. Everyone is using it and your website must have these social icons on there.

Where is your website hosted? Who in your office is in charge of making updates? Where is the domain name registered? Is there any SEO being done on the site and if so when was the last time you had a ranking report? Who is writing the blog? All these questions need to be answered and most importantly all these loose ends need to be consolidated so there are no issues with the site in  the future. If it looks like the website is handled by too many different sets of people this is a bad move. Get it redesigned, move to a open source CMS, get trained in how to use it and put 1 person who you can trust in charge of its marketing.

I know it’s a big ask but now has never been a better time to take stock of your online presence and show the world just how great your business or company is. This exercise can be a very uplifting and motivating experience. It’s like throwing out your old wardrobe and filling it up with new clothes. It will give a whole new personality to your business and will more than likely get your inquiry rate up. It’s a no brainer – get it done now and get it done properly – let us make your website look fabulous!

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