As you develop or review your website, make sure that you’re not annoying your visitors by ensuring these 5 items have been addressed.
- A Phone Number: Many of your website visitors may only be visiting your site to find your phone number so they can call you. It is amazing the number of websites out there that you have to dig for that information. Apparently many businesses want to save money by forcing site visitors to try to solve their problems on the web site. All that manages to do is frustrate your existing and potential customers.
- An Address: This may not always be relevant, but if you allow or expect your customers to visit you, you need to make sure your address or addresses are readily accessible in text format. Nothing is more irritating than trying to travel to a destination and then not being able to find that destination or having to re-type an address because it is an image. If you’re a brick and mortar business with multiple locations, make sure a “Store Locator” is one of the first things that can be seen, often that is the only reason a visitor is coming to your site.
- An easy to understand description your business: Describe your product or service and most importantly the problems you solve. Don’t make your visitors have to guess as to whether or not you can help them. This is where real artistic sites will trip you up. Too much effort has been made to impress you and absolutely no effort was expended to inform you.
- Social media links that go somewhere: Nothing says “I hate you” like having a link that says “Follow us on Twitter” and the link goes to twitter.com! You want me to follow you, but you’re going to make me figure out what your Twitter and Facebook handles are? I don’t think so. If you want followed, fanned, or otherwise adored, make it easy for us!
- Easy to use Navigation: We’re at your site, don’t make us guess where the information is. Your navigation is not the place to get creative. Don’t use mysterious icons that we have to figure out. Don’t make us hover over buttons to see the text. Use plain, common everyday words to label your menus. If you don’t have a menu item labeled “Contact Us”, you’re probably annoying your visitors.