Here is a list of possible reasons why your website stinks.



You Built Before You Planned

You were on a tight schedule, you needed customers fast or you just didn't want to take the time. Whatever your reason for not planning was probably a poor one. And this is could be a good reason why your website stinks. First plan out your navigation, your brand image, the type of visitors you want to attract and then build out your web design.

You Forgot to Budget

So you thought you just needed a website and traffic would magically show up. Spending the entirety of your budget on design and content is a mistake worth filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. Not only do you need a website, but you also need to market it. Without an audience, your website is useless. Follow the flexible rule of thumb: spend a quarter on design and branding, a quarter on content and development, a quarter on public relations and SEO, and a quarter on your initial advertising budget.

Your Website only works with FireFox

Did you know that your web design might look different than the browser your using right now? Well it might, and if didn't know this you might be losing traffic as your reading this. Always check your design in different browsers, epecially Internet Explorer, FireFox and Safari.

Your Lacking a Singular Voice or Direction

So you have a million things you would like to convey to your audience and decided to do it all at once. In doing this you end up with a site that is cluttered, messy, confusing and your audience gets lost. Simplicity is an advantage, not a flaw. Making it easy for your audience to navigate and understand your site is imperative. I know you have a thousand promotions you'd like to throw at them, but focus on one at a time.

Nothing Of Value

If your traffic is not better off after visiting your site, your site probably has nothing of value. And if your site has nothing of value to your visitors, do you really think they are going to stay long or come back? Give them a reason to stay on your site, give them a reason to come back, and you can do this by putting value into your web design and content.

You Make Your Audience Wait

Either you chose a poor hosting service, have terrible programming for your backend or decided to do your website with media intensive flash; so it's slower than snails and you are losing your audience. Making your audience stand in line so you can pitch your business ideas to them is a poor start. If you must use the search engine enemy Flash, make sure it loads quickly or you'll lose your audience's attention and interest.

Your Web Design Runs Haphazardly

Form follows function, and if your website is for your business the function of your website is to make more money. If you focussed on how good your design looks, over a design that persuades your visitors to make a profitable action your running a risk. Your web design should tell a story about your company. But first you need to create a story that influences your audiences to do what you want them to, and then you need to tell that story through your web design.