Top 10 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make When Creating a Website

Over the years I have consulted on hundreds of small website development projects. During the course of development of these sites, I often see the same mistakes made over and over again. I thought it would help a small business owner to read about these mistakes before tackling a new web project so they could avoid some common pitfalls.

1. Unrealistic Expectations
Many small business owners approach the website implementation process with wildly unrealistic expectations. Often these expectations are centered on Too Many Features (#9), which results in Delayed Implementation (#2) and Lack of Marketing Plan (#4). They also don’t realize that obtaining site visitors (and resulting new customers) will often require an ongoing marketing plan and budget. Nothing is free.

Where Unrealistic Expectations really does damage is in the world of ecommerce. Many think that selling things online will be an easy and steady way to augment sales. Reality is that most small business ecommerce projects never even pay for the cost of implementing the online store. If you are planning to sell things online, be sure to do a lot of research in this area before jumping in.

2. Delayed Implementation
I have known people that have delayed getting a website built for years because they were unable to make decisions on things like site features or domain name. A single page site is far better than no site at all. Keep it simple, get your site up, and worry about adding features later.

3. Bad Domain Name
A good domain name should be easy to remember and if possible, contain at least one keyword related to your industry. Example: BendLawyer.com is a much better domain name than KarpicznkyCraigenandSchultzLLC.com. Your name doesn’t need to be in everything.

4. Lack of a Marketing Plan
“Build it and they will come” is a common misconception on the Internet. If you don’t have a marketing plan in support of your site goals, your site will never perform to your expectations. Your marketing plan is just as important as your site implementation plan so give them both thought before implementing your site.

5. Choosing a Non-Professional to Implement Your Website
Everyone has a cousin that is doing web design out of their garage. Resist the temptation. There is a world of difference between the product a professional or agency will deliver, and the product cousin Jimmy will whip up in the Garage. Even if cousin Jimmy happens to be really good at this, is he going to be able to ensure that your website meets your business goals? Going with a non-professional will likely lead to at least five of the issues in this list. Don’t get cousin’d.

6. No Content Optimization
The text content of your site is very important for both Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and for delivering a clear and concise message to potential customers. It is rare that a small business owner dedicates enough time to quality website copy. Before a site is even built, you should have a rough outline of what text each page is going to contain so that the pages can be built with SEO in mind. Consider hiring a copywriter if you need help with this part.

7. Lack of Updates
Don’t have your site built and then forget it. If you have chosen to have content like articles or news - make an effort to keep them updated. If you do not anticipate having the time to keep these features updated, it is probably best to not implement the features to begin with. Look your site over every few months and make sure it accurately reflects the current state of your business. Even small things like updating the copyright statement in your site footer to reflect the current year are important.

8. Poor Design Ideas
Hire a professional and trust their judgment. It is just fine to comment on colors or make suggestions that will guide a designer toward your goals. However, suggesting things like implementing sound, animations, or other unprofessional elements will ruin the effectiveness of your site. Remember: this is a professional marketing tool, not a third grade art project.

9. Too Many Features
A lot of business owners will agonize for months over what features their sites should have. This creates several serious problems in the Website development process. Feature load often leads to the second biggest mistake in site development: Delayed Implementation. It also can lead to Lack of Marketing Plan (#3) because too much time was spent analyzing features rather than the important marketing phase. Feature load can also be a contributor to Unrealistic Expectations (#1) and Poor Design Ideas (#6).

Unless you have a clear idea of what your site goals are and what features will help you reach those goals, keep it simple! You can always add things later……

10. Over-Complicated or Poor Technical Implementation
The small business owner really doesn’t have too much control over this aspect of site implementation other than in choosing a reputable professional (see #3). To be avoided here are things like unreliable or outdated programming platforms, over-complicated page structures or URLs (could negatively affect SEO), and difficult to use site administration tools. I have included this here to place emphasis on choosing an experienced Website professional, so don’t worry too much about the details of this item.