Identifying the Ailments of Your Web Site

Ailments of a web site? What is that supposed to mean? Let us first define what a healthy web site is. A healthy web site is one that succeeds in the purpose it is intended for. In other words, it is a successful web site. If your web site is not succeeding in retaining the visitors it attracts, then it must be because of some problems or ailments it suffers from.

How can the health of your web site be maintained?
The first step is to identify the ailments it may be suffering from. There are many web site ailments. But some of them are more common than others, and those are what we may attempt to discuss:

Ailment#1: Extreme Suitability Deficiency Syndrome

This happens when you build a web site without determining the purpose it is supposed to serve. Or you may have a purpose in mind but your web site is not built according to that particular purpose.

You may be offering irrelevant information, or offering in a way which is not effective or persuasive.

The web site is not focused on its purpose in the way it is designed and/or written. If there is no focus, there would be confusion for the visitor. People don’t like being confused. They would simply leave and forget all about you. Now, that’s what we call unhealthy, right?

Prescribed Remedy:
Your Web site Copy or Design must be suitable to the offer you are making, or the customers you are targeting. Try to come up with a prioritised list of what you want your visitors to do, and then design and write the copy of your web site, based on that checklist.

An example of such a list may be: make the visitors stay; lead the visitor to browse the services page; make the visitor read the text; make the visitor interested in the services; persuade the visitor to buy the services or ask for a free trial;make the visitor remember the offering even after he/she leaves.

Ailment#2: The Blundering Web site

This is when your web site has broken links,typing and grammatical mistakes or HTML errors. This would result in an utterly unprofessional impression of your web site.

Your visitors are likely to make the conclusion that if you cannot pay attention to the details of your web site, you would definitely not be attentive to their needs either. As a result they would be very hesitant in buying from you (if they stay long enough after looking at the errors).

Prescribed Remedy:
Proof read your web site copy again and again to identify errors. Also check all the links for problems. If possible, hire a professional proof reader/virtual assistant, especially if the web site is a big one. Consider this as an investment in building your image.

Ailment#3: The Drowsy Web site

This problem occurs when you put your visitor to sleep by being too technical or too boring in your Web site Copy. Your product or your life history may be the greatest thing in the world to you, but your visitors honestly couldn’t care less. They are only interested in how something can work for them and what they get out of visiting your web site.

If you bore your visitor, or if you don’t come up with good reasons for them to stay at your web site, they are quite unlikely to stay for long, or ever come back.

Prescribed Remedy:
Try to think the way the visitor does. Tell the visitor about what he will get out of your product/service. In other words list all the key benefits in a persuasive, interesting and easy to understand manner. Focus on what the visitor is interested in.

Again, if possible, hire a professional to write your copy. It would be much easier for a professional to identify key areas of emphasis in your offering, and to keep the visitor interested Remember, if you want to persuade your visitor to buy you must come up with interesting and effective copy for your web site.

Ailment#4: The Obese Web site

You make your web pages so heavy with text and graphics that they take ages to download. Net surfers are extremely impatient and would only wait for a few seconds to see something of interest. If they don’t see it they would leave and never come back.

Prescribed Remedy:
Write and rewrite your text to ensure that it is not longer than the required length, and that you are not missing any important points.

Make sure the images are relevant to the purpose of the site. If they are, then use an image crunching program to reduce the image size. If they are not, then get rid of the graphics. There is no use for a pretty picture if no one can see it.

Ailment#5: The Frenzied Web site

A frenzied web site would be one that is full of distracting and irritating elements. Some examples of such elements are animated graphics (also difficult to download), blinking text (impossible to read) animated banners and others.

Needless to say, it is hard for people to concentrate in a place which is full of irritating elements, and the same applies to web sites. They won’t wait long to click on to some other site, possibly your competitor’s.

Prescribed Remedy:
Identify the distracting elements in your web site and get rid of them.

Ailment#6: The Indeterminate Web site

Your web site is indeterminate if it is not properly organized or easy to navigate. Your visitor won’t be able to find the desired information. He/she would also most likely be confused and won’t know where to go.

It is a known fact that people detest web sites that are not easy to navigate, because they confuse them, and would not stay for long.

Prescribed Remedy:
If it is not possible for you to reorganize your site the right way, then hire a professional web designer to do this for you.

Like I said before, these are only a FEW of the possible ailments a Web site may have. If your web site suffers from any or all of these ailments, it is not a healthy web site and this would prove FATAL for your sales.

Some of these problems can be cured by a little effort on your part and others may require professional advice or help. Also, do encourage your visitors to give you feedback, so that it is possible for you to identify areas with problems and look for solutions.

Remember, a little investment in your web site’s health would go a long way in building the right image. Your web site must attract visitors and keep them there to ensure your online success. Make as much effort as you can to MAKE IT HAPPEN!