Creating the perfect website for your small business is about much more than simply picking the right domain name and pictures. Companies must instead be able to include practical information about their business while also avoiding common mistakes that often plague websites.

"Small businesses need to be represented in those consumer online searches even if they don't actually sell products or services online". "However, just having a website isn't enough. If a website isn't appealing or functions poorly it could hurt a business more than help it."

1. Avoid Complicated Web Design
"Don’t use every technical trick and all the bells and whistles you can fit into your website,"If your website doesn’t load quickly and accurately in a visitor’s web browser or mobile device, they’ll leave and might never return. Choose design elements that enhance your site rather than damage the user experience. Less is more when it comes to Web design."

2. Avoid Overflowing Content
"Research shows that you have just three seconds to communicate your message on a web page to visitors before they’ll click away"."Oftentimes the first thing you will want to do is fill up the page with text, photos and as much information as possible. By doing this you commit the deadly mistake of overkill and end up sacrificing quality for quantity. Instead, make it clear through your website messages that you specialize in one type of business, product or service. Determine your niche and become the go-to business for that niche. Complement this message with clean and relevant images. You want the website to be a simplistic guide, easy to follow and useful."

3. Don't Look Like Your Competitors
"Copying your competitors is dangerous"."You have got to find a way to stand out from the competition! Create your own messages, reputation and strategies, and allow those unique aspects of your business to shine in your website design, promotions and communications. You need to stand out from the crowd, not blend in."

 4. Failing to Use Responsive Design
Since over forty percent of modern searches are conducted on smartphones and tablets, having a website that can display properly on those devices is of paramount importance for businesses. However, recent estimates show that less than seventeen percent of the world’s 876 million websites have been created with responsive web design. Since Google introduced a search update that penalizes non-responsive sites in mobile searches, this is a major problem for those who generate leads online.

 5. Relying On a Free Website Builder
Numerous companies offer “drag-and-drop” website building apps that claim to allow users to launch a new website in minutes. The problem with these types of services is that each design facet adds dozens of lines to the back-end code and makes the site load slower. Over time, this can lead to serious performance issues and countless errors.
If budget restrictions are a problem, then consider purchasing a premium theme that already has the look and style of your ideal website. There are thousands of talented developers at Pebble Softwares that can lightly and cost-effectively customize a theme. 

 6. Forgetting About Actual Design Elements
Some businesses are also guilty of either going completely overboard or flat-out ignoring the design elements of their website. Too many customization can lead to the same issues talked about in the previous topic, plus it can distract the reader from the actual content. Minimalist websites with very few design features can also be a turn-off to visitors though, so finding a balance is essential.
This same concept applies to photos, videos, banners, and other types of graphics as well. For most websites, the entire page should be designed to lead the consumer’s eye towards making a favorable action (opting in, requesting information, making a purchase, etc.).

 7. Poor Use of Headers, Sidebars, and Footers
People often assume that heading areas, footers, and sidebars are designed exclusively for advertisements. However, it’s a big red flag when a webpage displays a high number of ads and banners, especially when there’s little content to go along with it. These areas can be much better utilized for additional navigation within the site.
Now, that’s not to say that it’s wrong to place a banner across the top of the page advertising a special promotion. This only means to remember the importance of design and balance throughout the site.

 8. Not Capturing Customer Information
While some sites may have too many ad placements, other domains might spend countless hours and advertising dollars driving customers to their site, only to fail at capturing a sale or even a lead. The odds are strongly against that missed customer returning on their own, which means that even more revenue needs to be invested in re-targeting campaigns or other strategies to win back the customer. Some corporations waste millions per year trapped in this vicious cycle without ever actually capturing the consumer’s information.
This problem can be largely eliminated by creating a homepage opt-in offer that will appeal to your visitors. It can be something as simple as an instant discount or free shipping on retail sites, while others may want to offer an appealing freebie or a contest giveaway.

 9. Dealing with Broken & Poorly Optimized Pages
There’s nothing worse than clicking a link and seeing “Page Not Found,” especially when it comes to a product or landing page. In other cases, the page may still exist but not display properly due to a site conflict or a broken plugin. Some websites also lose potential conversions by neglecting their product descriptions and failing to provide enough information. Any of these mistakes can have a huge impact on a business’s bottom line.
The only way to avoid these issues is to actively have eyes on your website—whether it’s an engineer, a QA specialist, or through direct feedback from customers. There are tools that can assist in locating and solving some of these issues, but it still requires a hands-on approach with a system in place for diligent bug reporting and eliminating problems.

10. Don't Just Build and Wait
"Getting traffic to your business website is not as simple as the famous line, 'If you build it, they will come"."In order to drive traffic to your website you have several options, you can advertise on sites like Google or Facebook, or you can join online conversations happening on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn."

"By publishing comments and sharing your own expertise, you can post links to your relevant content. It takes time to build credibility in search engine keyword results. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight and will take some proactive measures on your part. You can also join affiliate programs, send emails, newsletters and partner with other sites and businesses to find traffic-sharing opportunities."

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