That’s my dog. Just in case you’re wondering… I thought this was an appropriate picture because she looks scared (or scary) even though that’s just her typical ‘running fast to catch the ball’ face.

Anyway, lately I’ve been telling people a lot about what makes a “good” website, but today I want to share with you a few things that will make your website scare people away. So hopefully you can avoid them. Or not… if you enjoy people fleeing to your competitors ;-)

No Faces

People connect with other people. If a potential customer comes to your website and thinks no “human” is standing behind the business… they will likely leave. Show your site visitors that they can reach out to you with questions, comments, or other inquiries.

A nice photo of you or your team may be just what you need. In an article from Smashing Magazine Sabina Idler writes…

By nature, we constantly seek emotional connections with others. That’s why we like to see images of faces on websites, and why we appreciate somehow recognizing ourselves. When we see a face, we are automatically triggered to feel something or to empathize with that person.

Let people see behind the scenes a little bit and show them who is running the show. Customers want to know who they are going to be dealing with or else you don’t have a chance of gaining their trust.

Too Complex

Simplicity is trending when it comes to web design and for good reason. Customers hate dealing with overcomplicated websites when there’s too much going on and they can’t find what they need.

People like big buttons, clear options, and dead simple (yet, elegant) design. Stick with a 2-3 color website and remove any options you don’t need.

Your visitors experience decision fatigue if they are faced with over 6-9 choices at once. Your website likely offers way more choices between your main content, sidebar content, header links, and footer text. Try taking away unnecessary information and making your site as simple as possible.

The more complex your navigation and interface overall is, the more time it takes a user to understand how it works, and what to do next. If it takes too long, you’ve got a nasty bounce rate. (source: OpticalCortex.com)

No Email Capture

Without a way to capture email addresses on your website, you may not scare people away but you are definitely asking them to forget about you and never come back.

Email marketing has always been a highly profitable strategy but it’s often overlooked by small business owners who worry about managing limited time and resources effectively…

A 2012 study by McKinsey & Company shows that email marketing is 40x more effective than Facebook and Twitter when it comes to customer acquisition.

91 percent of all US consumers still use e-mail daily, and the rate at which e-mails prompt purchases is not only estimated to be at least three times that of social media, but the average order value is also 17 percent higher. 

Email marketing, if done successfully, can have a big impact on the growth of your small business. So many entrepreneurs rule it out completely but by putting the right systems in place, email can deliver amazing results without all the hassle.

Now What?

Hopefully after reading this article, you have a few action items you can get started on right away. Whether that’s adding photos to show who is behind your business, removing unnecessary content, or growing your email list, you’ll end up with a lower bounce rate and more visitors coming back to your site again and again.

Ideally these are all changes you can make yourself, but I know not everyone enjoys the technical stuff. That’s why I’m going to give away two free one-hour email marketing setup consultations (usually $297) to help you jump-start your email list growth.

Here’s how to enter… Subscribe by entering your name and email below, confirming your subscription,  and following the directions in the next email you receive from me.

Two winners will be selected by Wednesday 4/9!

Good luck and please comment below with any questions.