If you’re a business owner in Kelowna and your website is tanking your customer experience, it’s time for a change. A good website should work for you, not against you. If your clients find it challenging to use, they won’t stick around. Whether you’re running a landscaping company or managing real estate in the valley, your website needs to be fast, clear, and mobile-friendly. But too often, we see the same mistakes pop up. Bad user experience. Old designs. Pages that load like it’s still 2003. That stuff turns customers away before you get the chance to connect with them.
Below, we’ve gone over the most common blunders we see and what to do instead.
Bad User Experience Is Killing Your Website
Let’s start with user experience (UX). UX refers to how people interact with your website. Can they find what they need? Can they get there quickly? Does everything feel smooth? To illustrate, an example of bad UX might look like misleading menus, buttons that don’t work, weird pop-ups that block the screen, and broken links that lead nowhere. If people have to work to use your website, they’ll be gone lickety-split.
One of the biggest mistakes we see on websites is clutter. Too many words, images, and unnecessary information. When a visitor lands on your website, you’ve got about five seconds to grab attention. So it’s important that people can understand what your business does, where to go next, and how to contact you.
We also see a lot of sites with confusing navigation. Your main menu should contain the basics like your home page, about, services, and contact. If you’ve got a dozen subpages under one tab, it’s time to clean it up.
The most unfortunate problem we see with client websites is their lack of mobile friendliness. It’s so important to test your site on a phone! Most people will likely visit your website from their mobile device. So, tap around. Scroll through. Is it easy to use? If not, your customers are going to get frustrated and find someone else.
UX ensures that people can do what they came to do. Whether that be booking an appointment, seeing your hours, or buying a product, make sure it’s easy.
Speed and Style Can Make or Break Website Design Kelowna BC
If your website is slow, customers will be gone before the page loads. Speed matters for both users and for search engines. Google can drop your ranking if your site is sluggish. Thankfully, slow websites usually come down to a few avoidable problems. For example, too many large images, fancy animations that don’t serve a purpose, and plugins you don’t need. These things bog your site down. Try to keep your site lightweight where possible. Use compressed images, limit extras, and don’t overload your homepage with bells and whistles.
By the way, if your website hasn’t been updated since 2017, it probably shows. Fonts, colours, and layouts age fast. What felt modern five years ago might look very different today. We’ve seen businesses in Kelowna with amazing products or services lose potential customers just because their website looks outdated.
As we mentioned above, mobile website design is non-negotiable. Over half of all browsing is done on a phone. If your site isn’t designed for that, you’re leaving money on the table. We wrote all about the importance of mobile-first web design in our March blog article!
SEO Mistakes That Might Be Sinking Your Ranking
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps people find your website on Google. We’ve written extensively about SEO on our blog, but just in case you missed these posts, here’s a little refresher on the subject.
If you want your website to rank well in search engines, it’s important to follow SEO best practices. Each search engine has its own criteria for ensuring good ranking. But, in general, Google sets the standard. To rank well in Google, your website content needs to be built and formatted in a specific way. Little things like ensuring all pages have titles, meta descriptions, and using different key terms can make a big difference. Though with Google’s new updates, there are some other standards to keep in mind.
Google now prioritizes helpful, user-focused content. That means your site should answer real questions, provide clear value, and avoid keyword stuffing. Page speed, mobile-friendliness, and accessibility also play a big role. And don’t forget to include internal linking, because it helps users find their way and tells Google which pages matter most.
SEO is a long-term strategy. Regularly updating your content, reviewing your analytics, and staying on top of algorithm changes will keep your site visible and relevant. If SEO feels overwhelming, start small. Simple changes like fixing your titles, writing better descriptions, and adding location-based phrases can all help your ranking!
Contact Us About Website Design Kelowna BC!
If you’re running a business in Kelowna, your website should help customers do what they came to do. Bad UX, slow speeds, and SEO slip-ups are all fixable. And making these changes doesn’t have to be complicated. If you’re not sure where to start, contact us today!
We’ve been building and fixing websites in Kelowna for decades now. Whether you need a full redesign or just a speed boost, we can help. Chat with us about good website design in Kelowna, BC, today!
