A study into tradespeople’s websites has found that many companies may be missing out on new business opportunities through failing to make the most of their websites.

The results feature below and while I’m not party to the websites studied, I have to say that I wasn’t surprised by the news as I spend a great deal of time navigating my way through various websites every day, searching for contact details, images I can use and other information, and I often find myself thinking; “Now why have they done that?” or “Why haven’t they included this?” and the like – and that’s not just with tradespeople’s websites but those of some big international companies too.

I often wonder whether there’s a gap in the market for people whose sole job would be to navigate their way through companies’ websites, pointing out flaws and features that are cumbersome, while making suggestions on any much-needed improvements. One of my bugbears for example is when the only imagery some companies offer is a video – which busy people will not have time to watch (and especially so when it takes longer than it should to buffer). Another issue I regularly encounter is where the web designers have tried to be a little too clever and have over-complicated things to the extent that users have to try and fathom out how to get to where they want to be, or keep being taken back to the same page despite trying different links. It should all be so easy but so often it’s not.

As a journalist, I find it particularly frustrating to come across beautifully written and illustrated case studies that haven’t been sent out as press releases. Many potential customers will not plan to visit your website so if you’ve gone to the trouble of producing case studies for your site, you really should send them out to those like me who may decide to share them with the world – and thus entice new customers into your virtual showroom.

Your website, to those who aren’t local to your business, is your shop window… your showroom… your place to look after your visitors. Can your customers find their way about easily and uncover everything they need? Will they always find the answers to their questions or will they leave your ‘store’ and look elsewhere instead?

Worth checking perhaps?

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Yours,

Jan Hobbs