10 Reasons Why Your Website Sucks

Editing Team -

This post is based on a LinkedIn article written by SEO specialist and CEO of iRankFast Marshall Adler, who wrote about the top reasons why websites suck and fail to get conversions. There are no test cases or cases studies to back his claims, and like most things on the internet, this piece is purely opinionated and objective, but Marshall does make valid points which I can resonate with. I thought his points were good enough to share and it supports what this website is all about.

So, in my own words here are:

10 reasons why your website sucks

1.No Contact Information

Have you ever stumbled upon a website and there was no contact information? I'm referring to no phone number, email address or physical address. If there is a contact page, it's the standard contact form where you leave your name, email address, and message and we will get back to you.

You are not making it easy for your visitors to get in touch with you. If you are trying to sell something on your website, give your visitors the comfort they need by showing them there is a place and a person supporting the product. By not having a name, number, and address available you are hiding your identity and losing trust. How can you expect visitors to hand over their money to you if you can't provide contact information?

2. Poor Contrast

The term contrast is referring to the contrast of colors between your website's background and foreground (font) colors. Your website will suck if you choose a poor contrast of colors, because it will make your website harder read for views. People already read 20% slower online then they do offline so don't make things worse.

Why on earth would you ever choose a content color other than black on a white background? DON'T choose a color other than black for a white background.

The same goes for dark backgrounds. If you choose a black background color, DON'T choose a color other than white for your content.

If you are not an expert designer, then stick to the basics and keep your visitors from leaving.

Your website sucks if you are not consistent with your link colors. Having different colors for different links makes it confusing and difficult for visitors to know what is a link and what is not. Make it clear to your visitors what is a link and what is not a link.

4. No Clear Call to Action

How many times have you visited a site and there was no clear call to action? You can have great written content, but your website sucks if you can't command your visitors with a proper call to action. Your content should presell or compel others to take action but if you get to the end of the content and there is no clear message directing them to take action then you lost them as a potential customer.

Place your call to action in multiple places and make it very visible. You don't want your call to action to be hidden in your content text that reads, "click here" to take action. You want that big and visible for anyone to see, even people who will quickly scroll down and skim your site.

5. Too Much Information

This is a subjective matter, but having too much information is a belief that you are either overwhelming your visitor or including too much "fluff" on the matter. You should be able to capture your visitor and presell them in 300 words or less.

Remember, people read slower online and also have a lower attention span so your window of opportunity to capture their attention is less and needs to be to the point.

Having walls of text on your website does not make you an authority. It's your ability to quickly capture your audience and getting them to take action that makes you an authority.

6. Blog Not Maintained

I personally came across many sites in my internet travels that try to sell me something, but their website or blog hasn't been maintained in years. How can you sell somebody something or pretend to be an authority when you don't maintain what you are offering?

Your website sucks because you don't update it. It shows you are outdated and what you are offering is no longer viable. It's no different than driving past a store and seeing the parking lot in shambles, grass has never been cut, the paint on the door is peeling. People will assume the place is closed and won't bother going in. If you don't update and maintain your website people will assume you are no longer in business and have moved on.

7. Poor Screen Resolution Support

This one shouldn't be an issue but still is. Your website sucks if it doesn't support all devices, mobile, tablets, desktops, etc. People shouldn't have to zoom in, zoom out, or scroll to view your website because you have the same huge image displaying at the same resolution on a phone as a desktop.

The more work people have to put into reading your website, the more your website sucks. Your website, should it scroll, should only scroll down. DON'T have places where you have to scroll horizontally, and please don't have nested components that scroll also scroll.

8. Poor Font Choice

Standard default browser fonts are not good enough, especially when people are coming to your site on various devices and browsers. Pick a font that is fresh looking and fits the theme of your website. Make sure your headings flow nicely to your paragraphs and bullet points fit your paragraphs.

The ability to use more fonts now than in the past has greatly increased and is easy to implement thanks to Google Font. Stick to a font that is appealing to your visitors and font size that can adjust to different devices. You don't want your website content looking like it was output by a robot.

9. Ugly Logo and Graphics

You want people to convert and nothing will drive them away faster than poor graphics. Spend the money and hire a designer to create professional looking logo and graphics. Stop using stock images that don't flow with each other. You are building a brand for yourself so you should have a logo and graphics that match and are identifiable with your brand.

NOTE: Research has shown that the #1 color that deters people the most from taking action and in some cases from leaving your website after 20 seconds, is "orange". Replace orange with blue and you will see an immediate increase in conversions.

10. Lack of Emotion

Most websites are boring because they have no personality. There is no emotion. Nothing of intrigue or interest. Bloggers have success because they have a platform to express their view and show their passion for what they are blogging about. Do the same for your product. Show enthusiasm. Helping them understand your view is much easier than trying to show them how.

You can read the original article by Marshall here.