Is Your Website Making a Bad First Impression?

Your website has the power to make or break the first impression your company makes on a prospective client or customer. “Window shopping” for goods and services no longer exists. Now, it’s all about “website shopping”. That’s why it’s important to make your website consistent with the company’s identity, up-to-date and to-the-point.

Negative first impressions often come from:

1. A non-responsive site.

A website isn’t responsive when it will not adjust to different screen sizes, including tablets and smartphones. One way to check if a website is responsive is to shrink your browser as much as you can. Does the text move to adjust to the new size? Or does it stay in place? Do the images stack so they aren’t hidden?

2. A hidden purpose.

The average adult has an eight-second attention span. If someone visits your site and cannot figure out its purpose within those eight seconds (or less), he/she will leave it. This sends your bounce rate through the roof, not to mention lowers your opportunity to make a sale.

3. A lot of copy.

This goes hand-in-hand with number two. If someone clicks into your site and is immediately overwhelmed with copy, he/she will leave. Visitors want to know what you offer and how right away.

4. An inconsistent brand identity.

If your website states that your company prides itself on its professionalism, but posts blogs about inappropriate pop culture news, viewers are going to wonder what your company’s identity truly is. And chances are, if that’s not clear, they’ll move on to another company.

If you find that your company’s website has some of these issues, consider doing some updates. We’ve worked with Jim’s Cheese, Louie’s Last Regatta and many more to help them create a website that is unique to their identities, responsive and welcoming to visitors.