There are a few mistakes that many people make when setting up and adding to their websites. Here are the most common missteps to avoid.
1. Choosing the wrong platform
If you have chosen one of the more popular providers like WordPress, make sure you choose the one that’s right for your needs. Think of the purpose of your website. If you want to use your website for promoting a business, sending newsletters or selling products, you will be looking for a different package with room for customization, growth, and control (WordPress.org) than someone who just wants to keep a personal blog (WordPress.com).
If you want your website content to be found, having your own hosting account with the free software from WordPress.org will provide better SEO than the same website built on Wix, or Weebly.
2. Choosing the wrong writing style
Writing for websites is not the same as writing for print. Research has shown that people spend little time reading website content. They land on your page, scan it for anything interesting, and unless you can grab their attention quickly, they’ll move on to something shinier.
Keep your writing simple, direct, and easy to scan. Don’t use jargon or technical language or assume that your readers know as much as you do about your business.
Oh yeah… when you are writing, there is a good chance that if you write as you speak, you will form a better relationship with your reader! There is no need to get all formal and sound different then you are in person. Of course, this is also based on the niche or market that you are in. Some niches are more formal and therefore should be more formal. Just your judgment!
3. Too much detail
If you have too much detail on your web pages, people will lose interest and move on to your competitors. Potential customers are looking for an overview of the most important information about your business. Keep messages short, simple, and easy to understand. Think of what you want your customer to know about your business right away. This is the case on typical web PAGES.
Blog POSTS, on the other hand, have a slightly different ‘rule’ to be followed. The best rule is to use as many (or few) words necessary to get your point across. Writing for your audience is the best rule. Many people want to write for search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. If this is the case, many have argued that you need a minimum of 300-500 words per post. Others will argue that if you want the #1 spot in the search engines, you need ‘long copy‘ which is between 1000-3000 words. FYI – this post has about 648 words.
4. Too busy
The last thing your website needs is too many graphics, photos, GIFs, or videos. Keep your web design simple and uncluttered.
5. Publishing incomplete pages
Don’t hit the publish button until you’re 100% happy for a page to go live. Check and re‐check in preview mode until it looks right, has no spelling or grammatical errors, the images are the right size, and it communicates what you want your customer to know.
And don’t ever, under any circumstances, publish a page that says, ‘Coming Soon’ or ‘Incomplete’ ) OK – that is really a pet peeve of mine and it is great advice to follow! Having incomplete pages on your website looks sloppy and unprofessional. While you’re building your website, you can have a holding page that tells customers when the site will be launched, but once the website is live, it needs to look professional and finished.
6. Not doing your website housework
New website owners tend to forget two of the most important bits of housekeeping: doing regular backups and keeping their website and any themes and plug‐ins updated. These two tasks are vital to protect your data against hackers, your own human error, or power failures.
Robyn MacKillop says
Numbers 2 and 3 are glaring at me. I am working on getting those fixed. Thank goodness I have an amazing web developer who is patient. If you are looking for someone to help you build a fantastic looking, usable and user friendly website, Paul Taubman is the one.
Paul says
You are too kind, Robyn! I am glad you are digging your new website! To overcome #2 & #3, I think the easiest way is to simply “Be Yourself.” Just sit down and write. Write it as if you were speaking to a friend or colleague.
Barb says
What an easy to read list! You’re right, each of these mistakes happen all the time. My personal pet peeve is #5, lol. Anyway, I think this list is valuable for the newbie.
Paul says
It is easy to make these mistakes when you don’t know what you don’t know!
Virginia Nicols says
Turns out that this very day I wrote a blog post myself on the importance of UPDATING. There are some nasty surprises waiting out there for people who neglect what you have cleverly called “website housework!”
Paul says
Some things you just gotta do… or get someone to do them for you! We do this kind of work for about 100 clients each month.
Pamela Schmidlin says
First, who said you can write about all my mistakes….I know for a fact I made them all and then some- heck even after being a “newbie” still making some of these mistakes……hard to break some habits…..like my dogs I am a creature of habit- I do like my classic and not block editor afterall, my comfort zone is important! Anyway, with reading some of these blogs and learning and taking courses online to blog better I know I can get past these and other mistakes! Oh I tickled this post already!
Paul says
Glad you were able to glean some helpful info, Pamela!
Jeanine Byers says
Thanks for these tips, Paul! I need to think about my writing style and make sure I am remembering to make it conversational. Plus, I need to keep what you said about detail in mind.
Paul says
Only change your writing style if it makes sense, Jeanine!
Lori says
Thank you for the tips – I’m working on 2-5 😉
One question:
I’ve been using the Yoast plugin for readability and SEO. I think I’m improving in my passive voice, and lately, I’ve been trying to work on my transition words/phrases. (The plugin measures and demonstrates where you need to improve.)
However… when I add in all the transition words it sounds less and less “like me”. .. Are these transition words REALLY important to SEO and readability ranking in search engines?
Paul says
You always want to write for people FIRST, and then the search engines. If people do not like what they are reading on the page, they will leave and the search engines will ding you for that anyway.
Lily Leung says
Thanks for all the tips, Paul!
Lily
Paul says
You are welcome, Lily!