8 Things that will hinder your web enquiries.
As an established Telford Web Design company, we are often asked to run our eye over websites for businesses large and small when things aren’t working as expected or the enquiries are lower than anticipated.
This is a super checklist we use that covers a few of the main points we look at when building websites to make certain that your web site visitors turn into customers.
1) Hiding your main contact details
Customers often want to drop you a quick email, pick up the phone or even call in if you have a store or studio. Make certain that at least your phone number is displayed on every page, and it’s a good idea to put your address and email address or if you are feeling particularly adventurous, why not try a small contact form in the footer or a column on your site? How about a map or a link to Google Maps?
2) Dead contact forms
When was the last time you tried your own contact form to see what the visitor experience was like? Do you actually get the enquiry in a timely fashion? Do the visitors need to get a thank you email?
3) Asking too many questions
Busy people don’t have time to answer a multitude of questions. Ask fewer questions and you’ll get more answers. Conversely, if you have too many poor quality enquiries, you can help qualify your visitors by asking more questions so the time wasters get fed up and leave.
4) Give them all the answers so they don’t need to call.
If you give the visitors the benefit of fixing their printer, why should they call the printer repair man? If you offer a few small tips, tricks or checklists, make sure its just enough to show your expertise and you are not giving away your secrets to customers or competitors. Sanitise the information on your site to make certain they have to make that enquiry.
5) Your website isn’t mobile friendly
With more and more people using mobile devices, make sure your website reformats itself for mobiles & tablets. Especially true if you are offering a local service like a restaurant or a garage. People on the move want quick access to your essential information.
6) Not asking for the order
Do you actually tell people to make the enquiry or place the order? Make it obvious, underline links and make buttons big and bold. Google ‘call to action’. If you have long pages, you might need to have multiple ‘add to basket’ or ‘make an enquiry’ buttons or links.
7) Untraceable address
Using a PO Box or no address at all can kill confidence in your website and ultimately in you. What are you hiding? If you are taking money or credit card details, this is essential. If you really don’t want to have your home address published on your website, then look out for a bona fide business address that can hold mail for you.
8 ) Old website content, not updated
Site last changed in 2005? Are you even still in business? Adding a news section to your web site always seems like a good idea at the time, but is often forgotten once the gloss of a new website has faded. If you have no news, take the news off and remove all the dates.
What are your next steps to improve your web site going to be ? You might want to ask us to take a look at your site – 01952 457392