We’ve all seen web sites that look like they were designed by Jr High students; which are fine if you are a Jr High student or vying for the attention of Jr High students. In the professional world, a site like that will hold no credibility. Your web site should say a lot about who you are, as a person and as a business. It should also appeal to your intended audience as well. For example, having a website dedicated to your favorite car can incorporate any element or design that you wish because it’s about who you are, and your visitors will have similar tastes and share a similar view. Having a web site that sells cars, however, should incorporate elements that are important to your intended sales demographic because the site is entirely about them. Let me stress; ENTIRELY. It needs to say “I care about who you are” and not scream “Look at my rotating email icon”. As a web site owner, when you start imposing unnecessary, outdated, and/or irrelevant content on your visitors, you are telling them that you want their business only if they like who you are. A poorly designed web site is a direct reflection of how you conduct business. How you actually conduct business is irrelevant because you are perceived by your first and continuous impression to visitors looking to find out more about you.

So, lets explore some ways to make sure you look credible to your visitors.

  • Keep it current:
    How quickly do you think new visitors will offer up their credit card info when your web site looks like it was designed 10 years ago? Not gonna happen!! Web design is like fashion design… people will always be looking for the latest and greatest and will gravitate toward brands with the best reputation. And like fashion design, you can only get away with an awful web site if you have already built your reputation. Not only will a current design help your credibility, but regularly updating your web site keeps you in good standing with your visitors. Keeping the web site current says something about how current your business is too. Do you want your customers to wonder how much longer you’re going to be around? Most won’t click the “Submit Order” button if they have to worry that you’re not going to be there to support their purchase or honor warranties.

  • Minimize dominant colors:
    Designs that “pop” are designs that will potentially flop. If you can describe your site with words such as “vibrant”, “exuberant”, or “flashy”, you’re driving away your visitors. These terms loosely translate to “gaudy”, “too bright”, and “motion sickness”. Tone it down to at most one bright color, one complimentary color, and the majority left to shades of gray. Photographs that compliment your color-scheme are worth a thousand clicks. This is really all you need to let visitors know you have style yet know how to be professional. The more eye-pleasing your site is to your visitors, the more willing they will be to stay there and complete a transaction. A site that is visually annoying also makes the statement that dealing with your company could be equally annoying.

  • Eliminate broken links and functionally-challenged pages:
    A web site that shows signs that its not completely perfect in every way will make your visitors think twice about doling out their precious credit card information to your questionable store. Poorly designed or non-functional features only frustrate visitors who may be inclined to go someplace where they don’t feel so bothered. For a great test of your site’s user-friendliness, borrow a 12 year old (legally) if you don’t already have one and ask him or her to go through the process of buying something. If he or she can’t do so with ease, your adult visitors probably won’t be able to either. Think of your store with the same reasoning that grocery stores use when putting the candy right up there by the registers. There is nothing complicated about it, and even a child can make easy work of a purchase.

  • Feedback:
    A sure-fire way to let your visitors know that you care about them is by letting them complain about you. A forum or comment page may make you the target of some nasty remarks, but then again, if you deserve them, you probably shouldn’t be in business anyway. Opening up your web site to allow your “community” to talk about you, to you, or even for you is a great way to gauge how favorably your business is viewed and provides you the opportunity to publicly resolve customer issues. This also gives you the home-field advantage when people do talk unfavorably about you. It’s a lot easier to defend yourself (or delete nasty comments) on your own web site than it would be somewhere else.

Think about how you felt the last time you came upon a horrible web site while attempting to get information about a company, or how your on-line pizza order gets messed up every time you try it. Would you want your customers to feel the same way? Do you think they would repeat, if even complete, an order with you? Even if you are the only place that sells your product, you better believe that people would rather go without than put up with a bad experience. If you can’t dedicate the time, energy, or budget toward keeping a favorable web site, you’re better off just removing it altogether.