"What am I doing wrong?"

Let's imagine you've had your website for several months (perhaps several years), but rarely does it get any visitors, let alone your perfect customer contacting you.

Perhaps you receive the occasional email every so often... but these tend to be from SEO ranking companies! Or someone wanting your services or products for free?

If this sounds a bit like you, then it's only natural that you might be feeling disappointed and disillusioned: you were advised to 'get a website', but let's be honest, it's been a waste of time and money!

It's often at this stage that website owners contact me.

Very often, it's when they've invested a few hundred pounds (or a few thousand pounds... yes, honestly!) but their lovely new site is just not performing as hoped. It's sitting happily in its space on the World Wide Web, but nobody knows it's there.... or they might find it in passing, but don't stay very long. Not long enough to contact you to find out more... So... what happened?

Obviously, you should have contacted Eartha much, much earlier! I'm joking - but the reality is that the pre-planning stage of any website project is vital.

I believe a successful website doesn't just happen... it's created. It's birthed. And this process takes time....and most of that time is in the pre-planning stage; then it's about the right look and feel - the essence of the site; the copy/tone of voice, the structure and navigation - and last but no means least, the content of the website. It should all come together very naturally, like building a house, bit by bit and over the course of a few weeks' development work, your website is born: and it should be a perfect reflection of who you are, what you do and most importantly, what your target customer really needs.

So many times, I've responded to an SOS (Save our Site) and my heart has dropped. I get frustrated, and a bit angry, as usually these lovely people have been charged a lot of money for nothing more than a pretty looking site (and sometimes, not even that pretty....!)

The website tells me nothing about who they are. It has no purpose. It doesn't sell. It doesn't appeal. It doesn't make me want to make contact - it doesn't excite me, or make feel anything.

As a customer, it's very likely that I'll click back out within 2 seconds and try the next site.

A quick note about bad design: the thing is, most 'poor' sites can be turned around quite quickly, with a bit of know-how, time and attention. However, occasionally I come across a site that can actually do more harm than good for a business. My advice for dealing with a sad looking website, is to take it down temporarily and replace it with a good-looking, on-brand holding page. Don't leave a very bad site for the world to see, as they will judge you and your service by how it looks - first impressions count, and once a brand has been damaged, it can take much more work to repair it.

This might sound a little harsh, and negative, but after 20 years of 'rescuing' websites and still seeing the same mistakes still being made today, it frustrates me that there isn't better advice and education, in the area of web design and development. We have come on in leaps and bounds with technology and we have supersonic internet speeds, but I've noticed that many (not all) web developers are still confusing business owners with complicated jargon, and selling sites based on the latest bells, whistles and fancy add-ons, rather than determining what is appropriate for that particular business and their customers.

Also, with the trend for self-created sites (where you buy a template and drop in the content), I'm currently seeing very similar-looking web sites with big, impressive 'hero images' on the first page, which stretch and take over the whole screen - you might love it, but is it appropriate for your customer? Also, the social media frenzy continues, as does the obsession with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and Google 'analytics'. Please don't get me wrong: I love new technology and Google is obviously essential to getting the right traffic to your site, and I'm fascinated to discover what is working, and what isn't on my sites - but are we losing sight of the site... or rather, what we want the customer to experience, when she steps in to your space?

"What can I do, now?"

If your site isn't working for you, then it is usually down to oversights in the planning stage, and a need to spend more time working out who you are, what you're offering, coupled with who your customer is, and what she wants - and not being too distracted by the latest bells and whistles! Tried and tested techniques, and a healthy dose of good old-fashioned common sense never goes out of style!

I'll shortly be sharing some Quick Web Wins for when planning your new site, or considering a makeover. And if you like, you can contact me personally, and I'll take a quick look at your website for you for free. I'll give you a fair, balanced view of your site and how I feel it could be improved - there's no obligation to use Eartha for any impovements, but I hope we can work together. :-)

Thanks for reading and keep shining!

Karen x