Last week, we kicked off our bonus “Summer Slowdown” series — a 4-part series with actionable ways to elevate and grow your business, starting with Episode 121: Let’s Talk About Slow Seasons.

This week, and for the upcoming 2 weeks, we’ll be exploring creative, purpose-driven ways you you can use your slower seasons to equip your business for success in the seasons ahead. Today, we’re sharing the real reason why your website isn’t converting. 

The Real Reason Your Website Isn't Converting - Brand It Build It Podcast - Best Marketing Podcast by With Grace and Gold

The Real Reason Your Website Isn’t Converting

Welcome to Episode 122 of The Brand It, Build It Podcast: The Real Reason Your Website Isn’t Converting. First, what do we mean by “converting?” To begin, it helps to think about the real purpose and meaning behind your website. It’s natural to think of your website as a standard, must-have feature of your business… but what is the deeper and more meaningful purpose behind having a website? 

We believe, not only should your website showcase your products and services, but it should do so in a way that showcases your expertise, credibility, and trustworthiness — in a way that helps you to form meaningful and lasting connections with your visitors, and in a way that openly, honestly, and authentically leads your visitors toward becoming confidently-paying customers or clients. So, when we say “converting” we really mean your website should truly work on your behalf — to equip your visitors to become confidently and excitedly-paying customers or clients. 

Today, we’re eager to share the real reasons why your website may not be converting — and actionable steps to ensure your website effectively works on your behalf. These reasons are based upon our 8 years of web design experience, and the roadblocks we’ve helped our clients at With Grace and Gold to overcome. 

  1. You didn’t have a clear goal for your website. Like many decisions small business owners make, it’s essential to have a clear goal in mind, so you can take action steps in support of your unique goal. The same is true for your website. Whether you create your web design from scratch or you hire a professional designer, it’s essential to have a clear goal in mind. When you do, every detail of your design can be rooted in purpose. From a designer’s point of view, knowing our clients’ unique goals informs each and every decision we make — from the navigation menu design, to each page’s layout, to the typography we choose for high-impact copywriting, the photos we recommend showcasing, and so much more. Each and every detail from top to bottom can be designed in alignment with your unique goals. So, if you began your web design process without a clear goal in mind, it could lead to fewer conversions. Put another way, when your website is created in alignment with your unique goals, your visitors can gather information about your business in a purposeful way, and be led toward confidently choosing to work with you.  
  2. Your website showcases too much content. In Episode 108, we share why and how less is more in web design. According to a recent Google study, visually complex web designs are actually considered to be less beautiful overall than clean and minimal web designs. The study goes on to explore how complexity can color visitors’ first impressions — impacting how easily visitors can understand a website’s content, or how willing visitors are to continue exploring a website further. Minimal web design can create space for conversion, can serve visitors in the way they value being served, and can equip you to focus on the content that matters most to your visitors. 
  3. Your website is a blend of what you have seen work well for fellow businesses. If you’ve found yourself trying website template after website template, or comparing your website to fellow business owners’ websites — perhaps even recreating features you enjoyed from their websites — your website can begin to feel pieced together. Worst of all, your website can begin to communicate something different from what you intend, because its features will be a blend of fellow businesses and those business owners’ goals. We can’t stress enough the power of having a web design rooted in your unique business, vision, and goals. When you do, each and every detail can be meaningful to you and to your prospective clients. Each and every detail can educate, guide, and serve your audience. So, if you have even a small inkling that your website doesn’t accurately represent your goals, your expertise, the caliber of your work, or your approach — it may be worthwhile to consider starting from scratch or hiring a professional designer.  
  4. Your website doesn’t speak to your Ideal Client. Some of our clients at With Grace and Gold to work with professional copywriters — perhaps purchasing their digital products and resources, or perhaps working one-on-one with a copywriter. Copywriting resources and services can make all the difference in how your website connects with your visitors. Through purposeful copywriting, the words within your website can truly help visitors to hear your voice, sense your personality, and build trust with you. If your website doesn’t currently speak to your Ideal Client, prospective clients may not experience the connection you are hoping for, and therefore, aren’t becoming paying clients. 
  5. Your website is missing clear calls-to-action. Whether you include a button, a link, or a form, having a clear call-to-action on every page of your website lets your visitors know what they should do next. After exploring your Services page, what should a visitor do next? Put yourself in your visitors’ shoes, and ensure there is a clear and simple call-to-action for them to follow as they explore and reach the bottom of each page. We often say, we wish we could personally guide our website’s visitors through our website in the way we envision our website being used… but since we can’t, the details of our website have to work on our behalf — to serve our visitors even when we’re not around. 

Which of these reasons resonates with you? What action steps can you take to ensure your website effectively works on your behalf? If you’re unsure of what could be hindering your website’s effectiveness, please know, With Grace and Gold offers a Web Design Audit service — a one-on-one meeting through which we review your current web design and share action steps for creating a conversion-focused, connection-driven web design for your business. 

Tune in next week for Part 3 of our Summer Slowdown series: Multiply Your Website Traffic for Good. There, we’ll be sharing how we have multiplied our website’s traffic — and have sustained website traffic growth, too.

About Brand It, Build It Podcast, Hosted by Kelly Zugay

Hosted by Kelly Zugay, co-founder of With Grace and Gold, The Brand It, Build It Podcast is a leading small business marketing podcast for small business owners, creatives, founders and entrepreneurs. Enjoy weekly, actionable episodes to build a successful, sustainable small business from the inside out.

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