Having a successful website takes time and careful consideration. Your site is one of the first things a prospective client sees. When it comes to evaluating your website, you don’t have to be a web developer or a design expert to realize these tell-tale signs of a bad website.

Websites with no images

If you have a website without images, or if your image quality is very low, it reflects poorly on your site and you might need a website redesign. Visitors benefit from seeing visual representations of your product or service. In fact, content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images.

Images are the fastest way to get a message across to the viewer, so when used correctly it can be a great way to educate your audience. Using images simply as a placeholder won’t do you justice. Every aspect of your site should be there for a reason.

Websites with big chunks of text

If you have large paragraphs of text without breaks, your reader will start to lose focus; this is especially true for your homepage. Try using teaser text and intriguing headers to get the viewer interested in clicking and learning more. Then they’ll engage and be willing to read deeper into your content.

A limited number of site pages

If your website doesn’t have enough substance, you’re wasting your time. When trying to attract and convert visitors into leads (and eventually customers), you need to provide them with enough information to understand your product or service.

Visitors should be able to explore your site and get many of their questions answered just by their own research. When you provide enough relevant information, visitors will trust you more.

Websites that aren’t mobile-optimized

Make sure your site has a responsive design so it opens correctly on a mobile device. You might have a beautiful desktop version that you spent countless hours designing, and still be wondering why you’re not getting the leads you hoped for.

Today, 65% of all digital media time is on a mobile device. Skipping this important step when creating your site prevents you from reaching this increasing number of viewers. If your site isn’t easy to read when opened on a phone or tablet, a viewer will decide right away that it’s not worth their time to read, and leave the page.

Websites with too many distractions

Don’t let the design of your website be too loud and detract from the content you promote. It will reflect poorly on your website and may cause visitors to forget the reason they came to your page in the first place.

You may think that since you have empty space on your site you should fill it with more information, or stuff it with images or icons. Don’t do it! Take advantage of the white space on your site. A clean simplistic layout goes a long way and keeps your viewer focused and free from confusion.

There is a lot of work that goes into creating a great website. Use these criteria as a starting point to perfecting your site. Address each issue and don’t let your website hold you back.