Common mistakes people make when building their WordPress websites

More people than ever are creating their websites with WordPress. Yet that doesn’t mean that people are necessarily making the right choices. When you create a website it is important to think of so many more aspects than just what looks visually appealing to you. If you are looking to create a new website then these are things that you need to consider. After all, a website can be costly and you don’t want to waste your money on a site that people can’t navigate or that has a high bounce rate. You want your site to be the right balance between informative and engaging, while also fit for purpose. Here are some common mistakes that people make with WordPress websites and how you can avoid them…

The website is overly busy 

If your website is overly busy it can be an instant deterrent to visitors. They can find that they don’t know where to look, what to click on and what they are meant to be doing. It has been found that visitors make a decision on a website within the first couple of seconds of being on it and this means if it has a bad design, they will simply click off. You might have the best service or product in the world but if you don’t give potential customers or viewers the chance to learn about you and find out more information then you are missing a trick. Try to stick to no more than two colours and don’t have too many images and elements cluttering up the pages. 

The website is too minimalist

While being too busy is a no-no with your WordPress website, it is also important not to do the opposite. Minimalism might be in, but if your website looks bare and like you don’t have any information, it can instantly turn people off of it. Your visitors don’t want to have to search high and low to find out any information or be left feeling confused and like they don’t know what you offer. Try to find a good medium between cluttered and basic and ensure that your site is simple yet informative, engaging but aesthetically pleasing.

It is difficult to navigate

Your customers are coming to your business website because they are interested in what you offer. Therefore, don’t make it difficult for them to find it! Ensure that you have the most important information on the home page and that it is obvious to find. The top header navigation should also not be too complex nor too vague. Break your site down to the main categories that people will want to search for. It is a good idea to install a search function so that if a user is looking for something in particular they can find it in no time. It is a good idea to have links to important pages in your footer and make sure that your logo links back to your home page. It is also important that your navigation bar and search box are easy to find – too often now people focus on making the design sleek and get rid of the most important components.

It doesn’t appeal to your target audience

When creating your website you can get wrapped up in all the fancy features and plugins that are available and forget about who you are aiming your products or business at. You need to ensure that your site conveys your business message in everything from its typeface to its colour scheme. If you are a lawyer, for example, you are going to want a much more serious font and sombre colour theme than if you are a music festival aimed at young adults. You want to make sure that you use no more than three types of font on your website and if possible that it is web-safe. These are fonts that can be read easily on all devices. When you are designing your website keep your target audience in mind at all times. Are they the sort who will be interested in large chunks of text? Will they want a more formal language? Or something more colloquial? What colours will appeal to them? It is a good idea to look into colour theory and understand the messages that different colours can convey and how this can translate through your brand.

There are annoying ads and pop-ups

While we all want ads and pop-ups on our site, remember how these will look to the user. Yes, you can generate some income from clicks, but will you end up losing out on the big purchases because they make people exit your website? If you have large banner ads that take up most of your website and flash up when they are trying to navigate through, this can be a big mistake. Instead, make them more discreet and not in the way of your content. You want forms for things such as to sign up for your newsletter, but this should be somewhere such as your sidebar. If you do want it in a pop-up, make sure it comes up just once. You don’t want it to be too “in your face” for users who come onto your website. Think carefully about the balance between plugins and ads that cater to you and that are suited for your users.

Too many plugins

Plugins can be great for a WordPress site and they are there to make your website better and improve the user experience for your customers. Yet it is important that you don’t rely on these plugins too much. Plugins can slow your site down and this, in turn, can make people give up and close the tab. They can also cause security breaches which can be extremely damaging for your site and business. If you download a plugin it is vital that you download it from reputable sources. Make sure they have good reviews and have been updated recently. If they haven’t been updated in a while then it can mean that the company doesn’t work on it anymore and it can be open to potential security flaws. Try not to have any more than twenty plugins on your website.

Not focusing on the SEO of your website

When you get your website created it is important that you focus on SEO so your site has a good chance of ranking in search engines. It is easiest to implement this as you go when you are creating the site, rather than having to go back and do it all once the design elements are finished. By doing it as you go along it saves time and you can also strategize with how you create the design or input the content for the best chance of ranking. Make sure that you implement things such as keywords, metadata and alt tags on images. You also need to ensure that your images are as small in size as possible so they don’t slow your website down. By doing this it means that your site can handle more traffic, will load quicker and will deliver a much better experience for your customers and users.

These are just a few common mistakes that people make with WordPress websites. When you make your site it is vital that you create it with longevity in mind. After all, websites are expensive and you don’t want to waste money on a site that never gets seen by anyone because the SEO is poorly executed. 

Choosing the wrong website host

When you choose your website host, it is important that you do your research. You want a host that will ensure your website is fast, doesn’t lag and can copy with the visitors that you are going to get. It is also a good idea to get one with a dedicated support team so that if something were to go wrong, they can rectify this for you as soon as possible. The quicker your site is then the better your SEO is too, so a good host can help with this.

These are just a few common mistakes that people make when creating their WordPress site. By eradicating these you can ensure that your site is in the best possible position when it launches to bring in traffic and gain views. What are some top tips you like to follow when designing a site? Is there anything on this list that you weren’t aware of? Let us know in the comments below!