Why is my website not working?

Todays question came in from an on line enquiry (you can find the form here)
Suppressing my natural instinct to say its because it wasn’t built by us, I thought this would be a good topic to discuss in a blog.

There are a number of considerations if you find yourself saying why is my website not working, we will discuss the most common problems we find.
1) Firstly, are you getting traffic to your website?? If nobody is visiting your site then it is not a website problem as such but a search problem you are having. A different topic, for today we are discussing what is happening if you are getting visitors to your e-commerce site, but they are not buying from you.

2) Secondly, are you getting the right traffic to your site?? Are you sure the people visiting your shoe site are looking for shoes?? If you are getting a lot of visits from people looking for slippers but you don’t sell them, you are not getting what is called qualified traffic.

3) Thirdly think about your purchasing behaviour when shopping on line. What is it that stops you buying??
Does your site contain your pet hates – they are probably not unique to you .

Research shows that 57% of shoppers abandon a site if they have to wait more than three seconds for it to load.
Around 85% of shoppers read online reviews before using local businesses.
And 41% abandon an online shopping cart because of hidden charges at checkout.

4) Can your visitor find what they are looking for?? Think about your behaviour again if you go to a site that involves too many clicks to get to what you want to see you will navigate away, most people do, so you do not have much time for your prospect to find what they want. Make sure your site is easily navigated and if you have a large site make sure you have a search bar (one that works is very helpful here).

5) Does your website contain information and or education about your product or service?? you will probably find as many people visit your site with the intention of getting information as those who have the intention to buy from you. Your task is to get the information seeker interested in buying from you rather than using the information to buy from somewhere else (whether on line or off line)

6) Does your website reassure the visitor that your product or service is the answer to their problem?? If you think about it most people searching for products or services on the net have a problem, if you are selling shoes you are actually solving a visitors footwear problem. Make sure your copy (wording) is compelling to your site visitor and makes it clear your are the best solution to their problem.

7) Is your copy believable?? You can make the most extravagant of promises but these need to be in line with your visitors expectations of quality and service. For Instance, you can claim to provide the fastest service in the universe but if your visitor does a quick on line search and finds complaints about the amount of time it takes you to deliver product, then they will not trust your site and will not place an order.

8) Finally never forget that your website visitor is placing quite a lot of trust in you when they place their credit card details on line, always repay their trust with the best service you can, this will lead to further orders in the future
Don’t forget if you find yourself asking why is my website not working? or are having any problems with your website ask for a review from Assist Marketing 

Cheers