The number one thing that will make potential clients leave your website is CONFUSION.
I’m going to walk you through a hypothetical coaching website to show you what I mean. (This fake website is a conglomeration of mistakes I see ALL THE TIME.)
Here we go…
3 things that make your site confusing and cost you clients:
1 – Your header menu isn’t clear
I land on the homepage of your beautiful coaching website. At the top of the homepage I find the main menu. Perfect! But wait… the menu has quirky titles and I don’t really know what they mean. I’m looking for ‘work with me’ or ‘coaching’ but instead the menu says things like ‘explore your potential’ or ‘follow your passion.’
Then – even worse – when I click on one of those headings, I find another menu hidden inside with no context. For example, I click on the heading that I think means ‘services’ but then 3 more options drop down and they have no explanation or context. So now I have to choose between things like ‘clear your energy’, ‘open your heart’ and ‘express yourself’. If none of those options resonate with me, I click away and you lose me.
The way to fix it? Just keep the menu at the top of the page SUPER SIMPLE and concise. Stick with the titles that people are looking for, like ‘about’ and ‘work with me’.
2 – You lead with your own story
Let’s say I stick around and start read your homepage. I came to your website to learn about your coaching program… but your homepage starts off with a section telling all about you and your story. I’m not interested in that yet.
What I’m trying to find out is exactly how you can help me. I need to quickly see who you help and what you do before I’m interested in getting to know you better. Don’t make me search for that info. If I can’t see it at a glance near that start of your page, it’s confusing and I leave.
How to fix it? Clearly explain who you help and what you do in the first sections of your home page.
3 – You don’t tell me what my next step is
Yay! I read your whole home page. But now I’m at the end of the page and there’s no clear path for me to take from here. I’m looking for a button to click with a clear call to action telling me how I can learn more about your services. But what I find instead is a bunch of blog posts highlighted… and then I see your Instagram feed highlighted… and now I’m tempted to click away from your website to see what you’re up to on Instagram!
How to fix it? Make one big call to action in the final section of your home page directing me to learn about your services.
So there you have it. If your website is confusing you’re going to lose me. The best way to fix it is to make everything simple (including your words) and follow a structure that is designed to tell me which step to take next.
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