Dos and Don'ts for your Tech Website

To help you get started with optimising your own technology website, today’s blog provides you with a checklist of what not to do on your website, and a second one on what to do. 

7 Don'ts for your tech website

While you can find many other "Website Don'ts", the following 7 rank among the highest in terms of user experience. 

1. Flash – Forward-thinking websites won’t be caught dead employing the use of flash design as smartphones don't support it, putting this old design format high up on the list of "no no's" with regard to User Experience (UX).   
2. Fail at Responsiveness – A site's responsiveness is directly proportional to its success, as having a tech site that doesn’t load fluidly on every platform (tablet, mobile, PC) is a major Brand Fail. What’s more, Google's strict policy on responsiveness is sure to get your site penalised for non conformation. As a last warning, remember that more than half of internet users access the web on mobile devices, which means your business risks losing half of your prospects if you fail at responsiveness.   
3. Poor Web Design Quality – There is no excuse for poor design quality, especially considering the availability of easy to use and reputable Content Management System (CMS) services. With the help of HubSpot, WordPress, Joomla or Drupal and a purchased professional template, even an amateur can create a site that ticks the foundational boxes. 
4. Text-Heavy User Interface – Even tech buyers feel intimidated and overwhelmed by text-intensive pages. Clear, concise and action-driven content is the key to engaging your users and triggering those conversion actions. 
5. Lack of Call-to-Action – A CTA is your most critical and vital move for lead generation. Fail to place a CTA, and you lose out on your opportunity to add new leads to your nurturing cycle.    
6. Bland Royalty-Free Images – Most enterprise level companies have a team of hands-on, savvy designers available to brighten up their site design, logos and blog images. For the smaller enterprise, it’s important to remember that the image you decide to use may very well be the same image used by many other companies. To stand out, try to find images that convey an emotion related to your topic, instead of choosing an image of a concrete object or standard action.  
7. Confusion – Confusion distracts visitors from your company's intention, service or product, and could even make them leave your site right away! Common sources of confusion include  unclear or broken links, a cluttered homepage, outdated voice-overs, music and sound effects.  

Once you've gone through the checklist and identified areas where your tech company's site may be lacking or overcompensating, it’s time to look at our checklist of DO's.  

A list of DO'S for your company's website: 

1. Error Free – Now that your site is clear and focused, ensure that it is error free. This is done by continuously testing your site’s functionality, links, plugins and making sure that there are no 404's for your users to battle through. 
2. Page Loading Time – Once your responsiveness has been addressed, focussing on reducing the loading time of each of your website pages is especially beneficial. Users hate waiting for a site to load, which is why you should be performing regular page and speed tests to ensure that you’re on par with your competitors.  
3. Sharing – Sharing is caring, and content sharing is vital. Make sure you’ve set up and keep working at creating engaging social media accounts, and you’ll always have access to an engaged audience for your content promotion. 
4. Authority/Credibility - Authority and credibility go hand in hand. To become an authoritative site or source is to be a credible one. This is established through internal and external linking and the coveted, all-important backlink. Apart from SEO credibility, tech companies can establish the credibility of their business by providing case studies, testimonials, interviews and even online access to customer support. 
5. Security – An integral part of best-in-class information technology websites is the attention paid to security, whether it be the latest SSL encryptions or high-tech payment gateways. The tech company that goes out of their way to provide safety and security for their own site as well as for their customers’ sensitive information, gives their prospects unquestionable proof of their expertise. 

With your checklist of DO'S and DON'TS you are off to a great start to making your tech website a roaring success. Next up - get going with Growth-Driven Design.