Why your WordPress website isn’t driving new business

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Most people with a self-hosted WordPress website are running a business. Not all, but most. This means you need your WordPress website to be a business driver. You're paying for hosting, WordPress care and spending time working on content. You need all that activity to bring you a return.

You need your WordPress website to convert visitors into customers – conversion rate is a key metric for a successful website.

Does your WordPress website really reflect your business?

For your website to convey the unique aspects of your business, you need to be able to convey your message quickly and clearly to the visitor. Your website isn't a list of your services, but a place to showcase your difference.

You've probably spent a considerable amount of time putting your WordPress website together. But, now you are finding that it isn't driving any new business. You're probably scratching your head, trying to figure out what you have missed.

Don't worry, many people entering the world of digital marketing and website promotion experience the same issue. Putting together a business driving website isn't as straightforward as you may have thought initially, there are critical but often sometimes subtle elements that make a substantial difference in converting visitors into customers.

Your WordPress website requires critical elements that will help you to power-up your WordPress website, maximising its ability to drive new business. If you're missing any of these elements, then you are missing out.

If you are serious about driving business from your WordPress website, then follow these essential points.

Design

Outstanding design is critical for a compelling business website. If your design is dated, jarring, not appealing to your target audience, not reflective of your business and brand, then you are going to have a high bounce rate. Grabbing a Theme that looks close enough or a quick fix may not reflect your brand. If it is a theme that is aimed at your sector, it opens up a potential for a similar business to use the same theme. Making your website look like competitors. Consider the following...

Poor website design impacts business conversions.

  • Dated Design.
    A design that looks dated can give the impression that the business is not active or not progressive
  • Poor Navigation.
    If your navigation design is unclear and disorienting then visitors will leave your website
  • Off-brand.
    If your design doesn't reflect your brand, it can lead to confusion and lack of trust and visitors will leave your website
  • Just plain confusing.
    Does your design get in the way of the Users Experience? A great design doesn't always mean an unobstructed user journey. Both design and user journey must work in harmony
  • Low Quality = Low Trust.
    Design elements or graphics that are low resolution, poor quality or just plain confusing can damage trust, visitors will leave your website

Spending the time to create a truly outstanding website design.

  • Design Principles.
    Take the time to understand the core principles of good design before you start. Not everyone has an eye for good design. Engage a professional designer whenever possible
  • Keep your design up-to-date.
    You don't need to be at the cutting edge of the latest design trends, however, remain relevant and fresh. Most websites need a design review at least every 12 months. This doesn't mean a full redesign, more an audit of what is working and what design elements need a refresh or improvements
  • Is your website 'on brand'?
    A well-branded website isn't just your logo. Does your website incorporate your overall colour pallet? Does it use your brand typefaces?
  • High-resolution graphics, images and elements.
    With today's retina screens and high definition displays, your graphics and images need to be super sharp and in a style that truly reflects your brand.
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UX (User Experience)

User Experience is more important than ever before. The process of enhancing your visitor's satisfaction and enjoyment when visiting your website is highly essential and has a dramatic impact on business conversions.

The internet is a massive place, people jump and flit from site to site, from social media platform to online store.

Getting found online is ever more challenging, so when you achieve that 'click' through to your website, you don't want to give your visitor any reason not to have a positive experience and achieve what they came to do.

You want your visitor to entirely focus on your content and take that journey to your overall goal. When creating your website, you need to avoid too many distractions or confusion when they arrive on your website. User Experience in hand with design needs to make your visitor feel at home and that the site was designed just for them.

User Experience resources:

Performance

If your website takes a long time to load, then visitors may not stick around. Once they have found your website, if it takes more than a few seconds to load, they will leave. That is why website performance is a major factor behind conversions. Google measures performance as part of its SEO algorithm, if your site is slow, it could push you down the search rankings.

Check your website performance with:

Improving the speed and performance of your website is not always a straightforward process. Many factors impact on page load speed or 'Time to first byte' (TTFB). These can include:

  • Theme - does it include a lot of 'code bloat' - unnecessary or unused elements that load even when not needed.
  • Plugins - quality rather than quantity can impact page speed
  • Hosting - packed on a shared server with thousands of other websites and no load balancing - a major speed factor
  • Images that aren't optimised - large image file size will certainly impact page speed

Consider the following to improve your website performance:

  • Research or create a lean Theme - code bloat on poorly developed themes is a major performance factor
  • Research your plugins and use them wisely
  • Pay for the best website hosting - buying cheap is not an option
  • Optimise your images, ideally before you upload them to your WordPress website and after - using tools like TinyPNG and Imsanity
GTmetrix Website Speed and Performance Optimization 2018-02-18 16-56-19

Copywriting

The copy on your website is a crucial factor in conversions and engagement. A poorly written website, with dull or formulaic information, is enough to make a great design dull. Writing copy isn't always easy, and businesses can find it challenging to put a fresh angle on a subject they know intimately. Sometimes you are just too close to know how to write about what you do to a website visitor who has a short amount of time to understand what you do and why you are different.

It is highly critical to get your website copy written by a professional. Primarily on your main website pages. A good copywriter will develop a 'tone of voice' guide for your brand and work closely with you to understand your business and create the right words to quickly and convey what you do. A good copywriter will also understand how to weave in your SEO keywords for that extra impact.

Our go-to copywriter – Haydn Grey

Why your WordPress website isn’t driving new business-copywriting

Calls-to-Action

If you don't clearly say what you want your visitors to do, how do you expect them to take the action you need. This is where a clear 'call-to-action on every page of your website will guide the visitor to the goal you want them to take. Most visitors want to be guided through your website, they want to know what to do next, what action to take. So make it simple for them. If you don't make it clear, they will most likely just leave.

Great Call-to-Action resources:

FREE Guide. How to get started with your WordPress Website.

Your FREE PDF guide to get you up and running with your *WordPress website - fast!

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Specialist WordPress Training Newcastle

*For self-hosted WordPress websites.

Digital Marketing Strategy

Having a well designed and inspiring WordPress website is just the start. Your website won't drive business if your target audience doesn't know about it. This is where a clear and consistent digital marketing strategy is essential. Measurable goals are needed so you can track what does and doesn't work.  Factors to plan and consider include:

  • Regular content creation
  • Search Engine Optimisation
  • Paid for Advertising
  • Content Marketing planning
  • Social media strategy
  • Online PR
  • Tracking and metrics

Our go-to Digital Marketing Strategist - Dolezal Consulting.

The Takeaway

Creating a business driving website takes time and expertise. WordPress is the perfect platform on which to build your online presence. However, there is a range of elements to consider and include when creating your website. Including and perfecting the above factors will add to the conversion rate of your website. If you are serious about driving business from your website, then contact me at WP North East for personal and tailored WordPress training or WordPress design and Content Creation.

Belinda White | WP North East

Belinda White, WordPress Training Consultant. WordPress Training, WordPress SEO Training - Creative Director at Arttia Creative Limited. Creative designer with over 20 years experience in the UK web and design profession.

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