Unfortunately we often speak to people that have spent considerable time and money on a web site that has failed. What do we mean by ‘failed’? It delivers nothing to their business, or maybe it was never even finished. They are unhappy, out of pocket and have wasted time. I have taken a few minutes to consolidate the typical reasons that these failures can be tracked back to. Of course sometimes it is not just one of these but a cunning blend of several! Ring any bells… ?

1.  The kid down the road built your website.

Well why not? After all everyone knows that children know more about all this technology than their parents! Apparently he had built a few other sites for people, seemed to know everything about it and was SO CHEAP. Unfortunately what you ended up with was CHEAP in every respect. Whilst sonny might be great at computers he probably is not so clued up about business. How could he be, he hasn’t left school yet! So the site might look OK on day one, but actually it doesn’t support or GROW your business. Then you need it changing, but he has gone off to University (media studies degree) or has met someone from the opposite (or same) sex – somehow your website just isn’t that important to him anymore… Now you have a problem and unraveling it will cost much more than just starting again. Shame you wasted ALL THAT TIME though.

 2. You outsourced to an off shore company

Using highly qualified resources that happen to be in a different economy can create great financial advantage in a web development project. Absolutely no doubt about it! However, whilst you will be saving money, you will also be MANAGING a resource in a different time zone (how do you feel about midnight conference calls?) and their first language is not the same as yours. So be very prepared to sharpen up your skills in project management. If you have experience gained from running MANY web or software development programs and have already created DETAILED specifications – you will probably be fine. After all we are! However chances are that the technical and creative skills are a small part of the service you need. Be prepared to waste a lot of time and endure a lot of stress. Then be prepared to start all over again. 

 3. You found some cheap web hosting, bought a template and built the thing yourself.

Look, how hard can this be for goodness sake! And after all you know more about your business than anyone else and you know what you want, right? Well that is true, the only flaw in the argument is that you probably do not have all (or any even) of the skills you need in order to translate ‘what you want’ into a working and effective website. In the same way that I have a copy of Microsoft Word and Excel but I am neither a financial wizard nor author, a bit more than you may appreciate goes into creating a website! Some people use DIY business cards and their very own, home produced, ‘logo’ – so the question is do you want to join them with your DIY website? If you have not invested in your business then it is hard for a prospect to see why they should.

 4. Your website was fantastic – in it’s day!

Unfortunately a website does not last a lifetime and there will definitely come a day when it starts to show its age. It is part of your marketing; in some cases it is your shop front. Your lack of investment in this part of your company’s image might be seen as a lack of confidence. If you are not confident in your business can you really expect anyone else to be?

 5. You forced your designer to include an exciting Splash Page.

There was a point in time when splash pages were fashionable. They were not effective, but at least they were fashionable! Today they are still not effective and definitely not fashionable. There really is no good reason to have one and most people say that they find them a nuisance.  The situation is worse if you have a FLASH website as the user sits and waits for the progress bar to reach 100% and then discovers that they are still not at the content – but now have to sit through another load sequence before they get to the START of the content.

 6. You have started small – with a one page site.

There are still people out there who are being persuaded to put up a single page with their contact details on, thinking they have a website. All the other sites that users visit set their expectations before they  see your site. Users expect to find SOME information when they visit a web site. Obviously whilst your site is being built you should expect to have a coming soon page (all though there are SMARTER options even for this!) but the finished site should DEFINITELY be more than a single page.

 7.  People only visit one page on your site and not for many seconds.

To be frank they find your content boring and irrelevant TO THEM. Except nobody ever tells you this! Too often we see content that has been produced purely from the web site owners perspective not THEIR CUSTOMERS. Of course the complete lack of enquiries gives you a clue, so does the fact that you have seen NO INCREASE in business since the site went live. Too often the company you hire does not challenge you enough – after all you are the boss because you are paying the bill right? Well if the end product does not do the job you wanted it to do, they have really done you no favors. 

8. You hired a web designer.

What can possibly be the problem with this! After all who are you supposed to hire when your company needs a new website? Most people are not experts in developing effective websites, and are not familiar with the process; therefore the easiest most tangible aspect of the new web site project is ‘what it looks like’. Don’t misunderstand me, the visual aspect IS important, but it is only one small aspect of the whole project. No point having the most phenomenal design if nobody sees it, or if drives the wrong outcomes. Rather than focusing on the ‘portfolio’ engage with web consultants that can tell you specifically what and how they impacted their clients businesses. Expect to discuss business rather than look at nice images.  

9. Your site is off brand.

If you combined an SEO guru with a web designer you could still end up with a commercial disaster. Probably a bigger disaster because it would be very visible being at the top of Google! Your web property MUST reflect your brand (which is A LOT more than colours and logo). It needs to fit into a clearly defined business process, attract the RIGHT sort of clients (not just a lot of the WRONG sort). Don’t let the focus of your project be what your suppliers can deliver – keep the focus 100% on what your business needs.

 10. You didn’t calculate the ROI model for the project

If you didn’t calculate this in advance and then build robust ways to measure financial performance, how do you KNOW that the SITE IS A COMPLETE FALIURE? The only thing worse than owning a website that has failed, is not knowing…