8 Fatal Website Errors That Will Kill Your Business Website

What Are Fatal Website Errors?

Are you just starting on a website redesign project, making some website updates, or getting a new website for your business? In that case, you need to be aware of the following fatal website errors. Many businesses have websites that do little to attract your ideal target audience. Don’t let that happen to you! Fatal website errors will have a direct impact on your business.

Simply put, fatal website errors either prevent users from accessing your site or provide such a bad first impression that potential consumers would rather go somewhere else. By hiring a professional web design agency you can usually avoid these fatal website errors. But if you designed your own site or hired an amateur web designer you want to check for these fatal website errors on your site.

8 Fatal Website Errors to Avoid!

Not Having a Mobile-First Website

This is the most serious of our fatal website errors. In 2019 the majority of your online visitors will use a mobile device at least once while surfing your website. If your website does not provide an awesome mobile experience your potential customers will find one that does. Plus not having a mobile-friendly site is a direct violation of the Google Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Update of 2015, and you will not make the Google Mobile-First Index either.

Still Using Flash

This should not even be part of fatal website errors you can make in 2019! Once the epitome of a cool website Flash is obsolete for web design. Not only does it have significant SEO and page speed shortcomings. More importantly it, Flash does not work on most mobile devices! Therefore still using Flash for your web design is totally outdated.

Using Pop-Ups

Easily one of the most annoying of our fatal website errors is the use of pop-ups on your site. And we are not alone. According to Hubspot, 73% of website users dislike pop up adds. Not only that; Google has recently banned the use of interstitial pop-ups on mobile devices. Our recommendation is not to use pop-ups at all. If you do want to use them to minimize the effect of disrupting the user experience of your site visitors.

No Above the Fold Content

Website visitors come to your website to get information, buy a product, or otherwise interact with your business. That means you need to tell them what to do. Many “cool” websites fail in that regard. You know what I mean; beautifully designed sites with stunning images, and absolutely no above the fold content. And that makes it one of our fatal website errors. Your above the fold section must not be limited to hero images or CTA buttons. Add at least some context so visitors can figure out what your site is all about.

Having a Splash Page

Years ago having a splash or intro page for your website seemed pretty cool. It gave visitors a little teaser of things to come. In 2017 this is the worst thing that you can have on your website. Not only does it slow down your website; it also prevents visitors from accessing your business info. Don’t make this fatal website error and reconsider having a splash page for your site.

Not Cross-Browser or Device Compatible

Another one of our fatal website errors is only checking your website on one browser. This is the Internet, and not everything will look and work the same on all browsers and devices. At the very least you need to make sure that your website is rendering correctly in the latest versions of major browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Internet Explorer. If you don’t have access to all of them you can use this browser emulator to check your site.

You also need to make sure that your business website displays correctly across the most common mobile devices. Here is a great tool for checking how your site performs across a variety of devices from HDTV screens to smartphones. This will help you avoid fatal website errors on a variety of devices.

Repeating Background Images

This is another dinosaur in our fatal website errors. Repeating background images were a cool design effect, about 10 years ago! If you still use them in 2017 your website, and by extension, your business, will appear totally outdated. Repeating background images also slow down your site, and in most cases, they are just not visually appealing.

Not Focusing on Mobile Users

The last of our fatal website errors involves sites that are not focusing on mobile consumers. You must pay attention to this, as most consumers will use a mobile device to access your site at least once during their journey of conversion. Mobile-friendly website elements include breaking up content into bite-size chunks, using images and lists to facilitate content scanning, and having size-appropriate click targets on mobile devices.

Final Thoughts on Fatal Website Errors

Now that you know what they are you can check your business website for fatal website errors. If you recently redesigned your site or got a brand new site for your business you should be good. The most common website error we find on new sites are pop-ups or insufficient above the fold content. Both of those are relatively easy to fix.

Older websites tend to contain more fatal website errors. How you can go about fixing them depends on a number of factors. They include the amount of time since your last redesign, the number of fatal website errors, and the results you need from your business website.

If you only have a few fatal website errors a simple website update most likely will correct them all. But if you have serious web development issues, or if you made most or all of these fatal website errors on your site, getting a new website will be the most time and cost-effective option for you.

Need Help Fixing Fatal Website Errors?

Our innovative web design team can help you develop just about any type of website. We are experts at carefully crafting custom mobile-first websites to meet (almost) any budget. From designing new WordPress websites, redesigning or updating an existing website, building responsive e-Commerce websites to creating a multilingual online presence for your business we work directly with the client to prepare them for the ever more demanding mobile consumer. Why not get started by requesting your free web design estimate?

And if you are still not sure what all goes into user-friendly web design, don’t worry! Simply reach out and contact us. Our expert team will listen to you, answer your questions, and determine the best way to remove the obstacles in the way of your business objectives and continued growth. It is one of our specialties, after all!

Did You Fix Fatal Errors on Your Website?

Did you have any fatal website errors on your site? If so, how did you fix them? Did fixing these errors improve your online engagement and conversions? Or did you have other problems with your business website design? Please feel free to let us know so our audience can benefit as well and grab our feed so you don’t miss our next post! And feel free to share our post with your audience!

Thank you! We appreciate your help to end bad business websites, one pixel at a time!

By ESPRESSO Team Mobile-first experts translating innovative web design ideas into measurable business results! @ESPRESSOcreates