There is A LOT of website design advice out there. Some of it is incredible, and some of it is just wrong. I’m sharing 4 common website design tips I’ve heard people say that are straight-up incorrect. Keep reading to make sure you’re not making these mistakes so we can keep your online presence in tip-top shape!
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Website Design Advice You SHOULDN'T Follow
1. Be sure to tell people as much as possible about your business and services.
You may have read or been told to “get super detailed in your website copy” and “share as much information as possible!” This is advice I often hear, but the truth is that less is more when it comes to your website copy. People want to know what they need to know in order to make a buying decision. Keep it short and sweet and to the point. This is especially true when it comes to your services. There are different levels of information giving: the information on your website for anyone to see, there’s information that a potential client will learn after reaching out to you about working together, and there’s what a client learns while working with you. It can become overwhelming and confusing if you put it all out there on your website.
People want their buying decisions to be simple and clear.
Here are some fast tips for cutting out unnecessary content and making your content more readable:
- When relevant, use a list instead of a paragraph.
- Divide up paragraphs with headers, call out text, and images to make reading more exciting.
- When in doubt, cut it out!
My website templates really set you up well for this! They aren’t wordy and are set up for you to minimize the amount of text you have on each page. So, if you need extra help with this, definitely check out the shop. With the template, you won’t even have to think about this much because the template prevents you from making this common mistake.
2. You should create your website for your own taste.
This one is common, and tough because it happens even when we don’t realize it! We often subconsciously try to just create our website for our own taste without considering “What is my ideal client’s taste and how is it different from mine?”
As a designer, I have to remind my clients of this often. It’s not a website for your taste and style, it's for your ideal client. At times, you’re going to be really similar to your ideal client, but this is not always the case. For example, oftentimes in the coaching space, you are similar to your ideal client. They are you a few steps behind, so your taste might be similar. (In the last episode of the podcast, I talked about coaching websites!)
But, let’s say you’re a male who owns a wedding photography business. Your design taste might be more masculine, but your ideal client is likely looking for a more romantic, feminine design aesthetic when shopping for their photographer. Regardless of your industry, don’t just think about YOUR tastes. Think about your ideal client.
3. It has to be a HUGE investment of both time and money.
This is the falsest one of them all! I often hear that a good website has to be very expensive and time-consuming for it to be truly good. And this is just not true! When people hear this advice, it often stops them from getting a website when they need one. Yes, custom website design costs more money, but of course, the price still varies greatly depending on what you’re getting and how experienced the designer is.
Also, I don’t think custom design is the best option for everyone! And, this is false advice I hear too — that you HAVE TO do custom design if you want a good website, it has to be expensive, and it has to take a long time to complete. I think in most cases people should start out with a website template. And then after your first website, possibly STILL a template. A template can work for anyone in any stage of business, which is why I really love templates!
I also love custom design, since it’s a huge part of my business. But, I see so many people get bogged down into thinking there’s only one way to get a website and that it has to be stressful and financially taxing for it to be any good. That’s just not true!
With a template from my shop, it’s easy to use allowing you to get your website up quickly without any prior design knowledge. And they are beautiful and strategic, which helps your website work for you to help you build your clientele! And, they are not going to cost you a year of savings, a month’s salary, or anything like that! They are affordably priced and come with an entire training course on how to set it up, plus real 1:1 customer support.
It’s a win, win, win!
4. Once it’s done, you don’t need to update it.
This is so far from the truth, but unfortunately, a lot of people think this way. In reality, you need to update your website frequently in order to maintain good SEO (search engine optimization). By updating your website, you tell search engines “Hey! I have new content you can add to your search results. Come check me out, it’s good stuff!” When you get a website designed, then just leave it to rot, search engines see your website as dead content and you’re less likely to rank in searches. So, update your website frequently!
The best way to do this is with regular content creation (like blogging). And, even more specifically, creating content that people are actually searching for and would want to read about. This allows people to find you when they search for a topic. You show up because your content is relevant and set up well to rank on search engines.
In my course that you receive when you buy a template, you get some awesome training content on this exact topic. I give you training on blogging SEO, SEO for your main website pages, how to index your site with Google, and how to set up Google Search Console.
All of those tools are going to help you get found on search engines! I know social media is a great lead generator and hopefully always will be; but, sometimes I think we don’t put enough emphasis on the power of getting found on search engines. For my business (and specifically ACTUAL SALES), Google is a huge lead generator! I know this and can see it in my analytics thanks to Google Search Console showing me what searches I rank for and when people are clicking to my site. But, I also see it in sales, and I love it!
So, don’t forget about the power of SEO and updating your website in general.
And if you are a template buyer or are thinking about buying a template, then definitely don’t miss those trainings on SEO in the course! They are a game-changer!
If you were once a believer of those of these false pieces of advice for website design, I hope now that you can let it go! Building a website doesn't have to be hard or painful. I hope this advice has been helpful to you!
