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7 Most Common Errors on Websites
As written by a website reviewer
Having a look through my archives, I’ve found that I have been reviewing people’s websites as a service, for over 4 years now. Given that I started off reviewing websites on a forum back in 2004, I can safely say I have reviewed websites for more than 20 years.
Some of my reviews have resulted in lasting client relationships, some have fizzled out to nothing and some people just ghosted me as they didn’t like the sound of someone criticising their beloved website. And one woman just snapped her fingers and said “Oh send the report to my VA so she can make the changes” I did not because that was just rude.
But I do not criticise: all I do is look into your website, see how old it is, how Google see it and how the general public see it. Then then make recommendations of how it can be improved.
In the 4 years, there are some common mistakes that the average web builder overlooks. I have picked 7 of the most common and what you can do to fix it.
1. A Tiny Logo
First things first, your company logo is the identity of your website. I get that you want to save space and have it inline with your toggle menu, but does it have to be that small? Twin this with a logo that includes a strapline and you are onto a losing streak before your page has even loaded.
I recommend: Make the logo larger. Look at it and ask yourself honestly “can I read this?”
Another good tip is to keep the logo separate from the strapline. This will save vital space in your logo plus the strapline can be emphasised more in a larger format still in a prominent position.
Social Media Links at the Top
I do cringe inwardly whenever I see this. Here’s why. Someone has taken the trouble to come and visit your website, so why would you have your social media links up the top of your page?
If they click these, they will be diverted away from your website and now they cannot take the desired action on your website to buy from you, enquire about your services and so on. Done enough times, Google will also get suspicious as to why people are clicking off your website so quickly.
I recommend: Add the social media links at the bottom of each page. Then your client can look once they have read your page and can simply visit your channels if they want to know more or view your content.
No Call to Action / Contact Details
The internet is a very impatient place. If you are not making it as easy as possible for people to take action on your website then they will click back and try another company. Maybe your competitor.
I also include contact details in this section because sometimes even a location seems to be a big ask. If for example you are based in Rural Essex but want to appeal to people in London. This does not contribute to know like and trust. Instead it just comes across as really suspicious.
I recommend: Make your buttons eye catching and prominent on each page. Did you know, you can also link phone numbers? So all the user has to do is press the button to get a direct line to you.
With location, if you really must appeal to a specific area, then get a virtual or mailbox address. It will cost you anything from £30 a month onwards.
Unoptimised / Massive images
Cover images are very popular. They are also the bane of a slow loading web page. If I ever find a page is slow to load, this is the first thing I check out.
An image that spans the entire screen on say a 23″ monitor would need to span 1920 pixels. You could get away with a 1200 pixel wide image. But when you see the image is 4000 pixels wide and the filesize is about 1Mb.
That image hasn’t been optimised at all, its just been swipted form a phone, and directly added to your page.
But this isn’t exclusive to cover images. Any image slows down your website if you haven’t taken the time to resize it. This reduces the filesize and should help to improve the download time for your page. Also Google loves quick loading pages.
I recommend: Resize your images. This is easy to do on both Mac and Windows PC’s using their default image editors. For cover images use 1200 pixels wide (but test the quality). For other images, aim to resize a maximum of 800-1000 pixels on the longest side. And optimise your images in .webp format as this is also a game changer.
No Back to Top Link
Have you ever seen it when someone on a mobile is looking through a web page that they get to the bottom of and have to manually scroll up again? No one is going to thank you for making it look like they are spinning the wheel of fortune. So a dynamic button on your website make for a better user experience.
I recommend: Add a back to top/scroll button. These are easy to add to your website, with just a couple of lines of code or a free plugin. I use WPFront Scroll Top https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/wpfront-scroll-top/ which literally takes 2 minutes to configure.
Optimising just the Home page.
I am of course talking about search engine optimisation. Many times I have had to utter the words, “Google ranks web pages, not websites.”
Therefore, every page on your website is a potential opportunity. Yes your home page is the most visited page on your website, but just adding a concise page title, description and content to just your home page is a wasted opportunity.
I recommend: Optimise your home page for your main keyphrases (what your company is about) and optimise your more niche keyphrases for your other pages (Your services/product).
Rewrite the page title, wite an off page (meta description) and either write your text to reflect your niche keyphrases. Or hire a copywriter that specialises in web content.
No Privacy Policy/GDPR
The final most common issue is the one that can land you in the most trouble. You will have cookies on your website for things like Google Analytics, if you use a page builder or CMS/Ecommerce platform to run your website.
These need to be declared when someone calls up your website and you need to ask for consent from the user to visit your site).
More so, if users are volunteering their personal information to you (via a form or email), you need to include a privacy policy on your website. Outline what information you collect, how long you keep it stored for and what you intend to use it for. These seldom get read but they serve as peace of mind to your user. Mainly that you are not going to exploit there details and sell it to every spammer in the world.
I recommend: Two things: Have a good read of https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/advice-for-small-organisations/ which outlines everything you need to include and comes up with a few good tips and resources. CookieYes provide a plugin that can generate a privacy and cookie policy. https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/cookie-law-info/
Conclusion
I could write about 10, maybe 20 more common website errors, but these 7 cover the basics.
Basically, if you keep your website efficient, simple, easy to use and make everything blatantly obvious, your website will be your greatest asset for years to come.
If you are struggling with your website and would like a reality check covering everything from SEO to pagespeed, Google Business pages to general layout, contact us for a free no-obligation website review.
Using a Page Builder? I need your help.
Yes you heard that correctly. I am keen to pick the brains of any website owner that users a page builder. Whether its, Wix, WordPress.com, Weebly or even the many page builders that hosting companies offer.
I am keen to get an insight into the appeal of using page builders, what are the pros and if there are any cons. If you can spare two minutes to answer 9 questions, I would be very grateful.
I am hoping to collate this information into a infographic so I can get some insight and hopefully further improve my Build Your own Website Programme.
Click the button below to get started. It will take you over to SurveyMonkey (and is a bit no thrills as I’ve gone for the free option.)
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DVH Design – Online Superhero: In AI
Over the last 48 hours, there has been a worldwide craze where people resort to AI to create theirselves in a box as a miniature character. I have seen some pretty accurate ones, some bizarre ones and a few that have made me chuckle (One of my friends is a Madonna fan, but AI thought he meant Maradona).
I could do that, but that would be very predictable and, 2 days in any trend, a bit boring. My accessories would inevitably be a laptop, glass of wine and my headphones. Meh, I’m sure you will agree.
Besides the BBC think that there are some concerns with environmental impact. Mainly because the process is quite involved https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yg690e9eno
So I did something a little different: Instead of expecting ChatGPT to do everything for me, I thought I would ease the burden a bit.
The first image (above) was taken about 3 years ago at one of my BNI meetings. I was in great shape after running a marathon and jokingly bought a cape and mask to reflect my online superhero persona. So half the work has been done already.
So I fired up my faithful ChatGPT (I should add that I use this strictly for research, my posts are still my own hand!). Then I merely uploaded the photo and asked it to make me into a Pop Funko character. I have a couple of these figurines already and I just find them way cooler than kit dolls. And they still come in a box.
The process did take a few minutes and I did have a refresh at one point, but here is the finished result that I can use to reflect my business. Not bad for about 10 minutes work!
As an added bonus, I can actually take this design and get it made into a Pop figurine https://funko.com/pop-yourself.html
I would love to know your thoughts in the comments and see your efforts, if you haven’t already shown it on social media.
Image Copyright: A Rough Guide to Staying Safe
I was getting ready to write a LinkedIn post a couple of weeks ago. My goal was to drive home the benefits of backing up your website in case it all goes a bit “Pete Tong” (wrong). I was able to locate an image of Pete Tong off Wikipedia, but it wasn’t his best.
So I went to some of the popular stock image websites. There was a great selection of Pete Tong related images, but these were all marked Editorial. This means that the image could only be used for reporting and non-commercial only.
I could of course argue this was the case, but in the end decided to abandon the whole piece just to stay safe.
All about Copyright
The first instance of copyright law dates as early as 1709, to protect the interests of publishers. In time this has come to protect artists, writers and photographers. A website is no exception. Printed material may only reach a limited amount of people for a short time. A website is there all the time for anyone across the globe to stumble across.
Twin that with reverse image searches in Google Images and monitoring services such as Pixsy or Tineye, and you could find yourself in trouble very quickly. And it can get expensive.
The first experience I had of web copyright was as far back as 2005. I worked with a local manufacturing firm that told me his story. He bought 2 images from a well known stock company to use on his brochure. When he came to create his first website, he thought “oh let’s use the 2 images I’ve just bought for my brochure.”
Two weeks later there was a dull thump on his doormat. In the form of a hefty copyright bill for £7k per image. Ouch.
Of course this is the story I tell to advise my clients to not full foul of the same fate. After all, a lot can be done with £14,000. Paying a disgruntled photographer or artist shouldn’t be one of them.
That goes for Artwork as well
This isn’t limited to photos, this can be videos, graphics and so on. I recently complimented one of my clients for the graphic for one of her product hampers. When she announced “Oh I just did a Google search and copied it”, I took it upon myself to recreate a graphic that was just as good but wouldn’t potentially cost her 5 figures.
Deviant Art, one of the largest art galleries online does a pretty sterling job of explaining copyright on their website .
A quick word about celebrities
I have recently called out someone who I was going to work with by pointing out he had an image of a popular tennis player on his website. As this was a PT, it could be implied that he trained them.
I was shot down in flames due to the fact that he had included this image on his site for several years and had not had any issues. In fairness the image has about 100 pixels wide and very bad quality.
But why even take the risk? As I found out from my Pete Tong expedition, the only images are editorial. To include them on your website unless you are a news resource is a very dangerous game.
Celebrities (and their photographers) take a very dim view on having their work exploited and as Kendrick Lamar said at the Oscars, are “lawyered up”.
So what can you do?
There are a number of ways still to include images on your website and stay above board.
- Original Content. This is the best method. Take your own images, make your own graphics. Or enlist on the help of a professional to create something that is truly yours.
- Get written permission. It nevers hurts to ask. A polite email or letter might lead to a “no” but how would you know, if you don’t ask? If you’re selling products on behalf of a company, they should give you consent and probably even point you towards a trade website allowing you to take what you need. If not, then just get an ok in writing, even as an email.
- Popular stock libraries. If all else fails, there are many stock websites for photos, videos and graphics. The top ones are iStockPhoto and ShutterStock. Generally you can get an image for about £7-£20. I would however read the licence agreements prior to using any stock website. Unsplash.com is also a good library to check out. Mostly these are free for commercial use. Access to premium images are available for £10 for a month.
- Try free stock libraries. I have had some success using some of the other free options, such as FreeImages and Pixabay. Again read the small print first, just so you know whats ok and what’s not.
- Check Out WikiMedia. If you are that adamant on getting a celebrity image, try WikiMedia which look after the images on Wikipedia. It can be a bit hit and miss, BUT read the Reusing content link first and follow the instructions thoroughly. Chances are you will be asked to add an attribution.
Conclusion
We all need content for our website and social media, but you cannot just Google an image and swipe it for your own use. By following my guidelines, certainly gives you better guidance into getting what you want without being my next horror story.
If you need help with your website then contact DVH Design today for a free no-obligation review.
Keyword Repetition: How much is too much?
A recent conversation about keyword repetition sparked this post to guide anyone else falling into the SEO trap.
I was talking to a client this week who was panicking about the content on their website. Basically they had been speaking to an outside expert about their page copy and how it could be improved. Fair enough so far.
But then the age old subject came up about keyword repetition. Cue the client physically counting the times a keyphrase is repeat throughout several of the blog posts I had written.
For anyone that hasn’t been working in the web world for nearly 25 years, I shall bring you up to speed: Before 2012, it was possible to game Google (et al) into ranking your website higher than your competitors. One of those early tactics was to stuff your chosen keyphrases into copy as many times as you could. it didn’t have to make sense but it worked.
Luckily at around 2012, Google put a massive stop to that with the Google Panda and the Google Penguin updates. Between them, websites that were both thin on content and were blatantly using bad techniques to promote their website saw a massive drop in rankings. Overnight.
So now the playing field is more even. Yes, you will have to repeat your keyphrase in the content you write, but what extent of keyword repetition is bad?
An Extreme example of how not to do Keyword Repetition
I shall start with what is not allowed. What i am about to give you is an extreme example of keyword repetition.
Tell me if you can comfortably read the copy in this image:
Nope. Neither can I! This is too much. That text isn’t even readable and reeks a bit of desperation.
Copy like this will make any visitor to your website do a 180 and go back to Google. And after a short while, Google will want to know why so many users are doing the same. And bang! You are on the naughty list.
So what Should I do?
When talk about a subject, you know a lot about, or are passionate about, you talk about it using using common terms with a second thought. So by creating compelling content about the subject, any potential keyphrases are repeated naturally.
Whether you are writing a page or a post, it also helps to know what keyphrase you would like to rank for. I will tackle this in another post, but let’s just say for now, you have your keyphrase in mind.
Write Something Compelling
Remember the internet is still an information super highway that most of the population of the world use for information. Google and other search engines exist so web users can find the best information to serve them.
So if people are coming onto your website to read your content on X keyphrase, it means they want to know more about it.
Not necessarily to buy your product/service. They could just be seeking advice on the subject, or doing research or comparing ideas.
So how can you best help that end user? What advice can you give them about X subject? What do they need to know moving forward? Even better, what shouldn’t they do? These should give you ideas for good content.
Is there an actual number for Keyword Density?
Keyword density is the number of times a keyphrase appear in a web page (or post).
There is not a definite number to adhere to, but as a guide, there is a formula according to SEM Rush.
If you divide the total word count of your post/page with the number of times your keyphrase is repeated. Then multiply this number by 100 and that is your percentage.
But that’s a bit techy isn’t it? You may get some SEO consultants give you a figure such as repetition every 1-200 words and SEO software that say aim between 0.5%-3% for the optimum in SEO.
My Best Tips
- Focus on User Experience not SEO. You could easily drive yourself mad by focusing on keyword density for SEO, so don’t! Instead focus on serving the user. The keyphrase needs to appear as early as possible, for example in a heading. This at least tells the end user that they are on the right page.
- Write for the people, not the search engines. An age old tip that applies even now. You are not a robot and your users are deifintely not. So write natural content for them. If you try writing your copy with search engines in mind, people will turn away. A massive red flag for Google.
- Use an SEO plugin. If you are on WordPress, a shop site or any CMS based platform, you can add a good SEO plugin that can notify you if your repetition is just a bit too much. For WordPress, I use the free version of Yoast SEO. This checks your content in real time and warns you if you are over optimising for your keyphrase.If you aren’t on any platform then try an online tool like SEMRush’s Online Checker
- Read through your content. Copywriting can be mentally draining, so once your’ve written your piece, go away and take a break from the screen. Make a cup of tea, watcha film or something. Then look back on your article on a fresher mind. Does it read ok? Do you understand it? If not then make changes.
- Get someone else to read it. it’s also easy to get to engrossed in your writing. So ask someone else to read it: A colleague, your boss, your friend. They will tell you if it sounds forced. If you are stumped, then I volunteer my Mum who gives a very honest opinion!
Conclusion
Whether you are conscious of falling foul of Google or want to write the best piece possible for your website. These tips should give you a better insight on what to focus on. If your article is that compelling and well written then othr websites will want to link to it naturally or even better, Google will use your content to inform its users.
DVH Design offers both small business SEO and dedicated SEO for larger companies. Get in touch today to discuss your SEO needs
How to Bring Expired Domain Names Back from the Dead
This is a true story of a domain name that expired and what you can do to get it back. But any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
About this time last year, I took on a customer of a family run business. Their original website had been created by a “friend”. This friend had created the website, set up their .co.uk domain name, their hosting and kept it updated.
Then to cut a long story short, this friendship went sour. The friend stopped communication and as a result I got a frantic phone call from the client to take it from here.
Everything was going well, their website was re-designed, we set up on a new hosting provider and everything was going great. All we needed now was the access details so could set up the domain name to point to the new server.
And that was a problem. Because the friend was not playing any more. This was a red flag.
Is the domain name in your name?
This was my first question. If the website is at least in your name, you can go to central registry (Nominet for .co.uk, ICANN for .com) and dispute/claim your domain name.
Sadly, GDPR doesn’t allow Joe Public to view a domain owner’s personal details anymore. So we could only assume that it wasn’t set up in their name at all.
This was confirmed when the client requested this and the friend replied he would change this when the domain name expires in 6 months time. Red Flag number 2.
In the meantime we used a new domain name if just to launch the website.
The Honourable Thing
So fast forward to expiry day and I try the domain name transfer feature on my registrar. The friend will get the email and in theory, he just needs to log in and change the IPS Tag to the new registrar.
Just so it wasn’t a big surprise, the client also sent a nice polite email just keeping the friend in the picture of what was going to happen and what he needed to do.
They got nothing back. Not a sausage. I however got a notice from my registrar telling me that the transfer had been refused by the owner.
I tried this a couple of times. And got the same outcome. Oh boy.
Expired. Now what?
So of course the domain name expired. So that meant that now the domain name would be released and we can call first dibs on it, right? No.
A domain name doesn’t become free as soon as someone forgets to pay for it. It varies depending who you are registered with but domain registrars tend to give you a grace period of around 30 days before that domain name is suspended officially. It can still be renewed in that time but friend did not take any action.
When a domain name is finallly suspended, the registrar cannot touch it. But now neither could we. In fact there is a separate little problem now.
The unwritten rule
Everything I have written so far, I already knew, but this bit was a little bit of a grey area.
So, when a domain name is finally suspended by a domain registrar, is goes into a quarantine period for 91 days. On the 92nd day, it gets deleted. On this 92nd day only then is it available for anyone to reclaim or register.
The salvation
By this time, I was having nightmares about Google Calendar reminders set for 90 days time and whether I should be getting up at midnight to ensure I register this little delight.
I mentioned this whole escapade to my IT friend, Sebastian, From T Star Tech. He sent me the link of Dropped.uk. At Dropped, you can back order a suspended domain name and they keep an eye on the dates and do all the donkey work so you don’t have to.
You have to pay for the actual back order but only if they successfully obtain the domain name for you.
The 92nd day
So finally we get to the day where the domain name was going to be deleted. I checked the login panel at dropped and the actual release date was announced for 10.30am. I did have a training session booked for the same time, but thankfully the client was late for his meeting. This enabled me to check at the exact time the name would be released.
Almost immediately it came up with “Successful, please pay us”. So I did. In this case I paid £35, which considering that they’d taken the guesswork out of what had been a long saga and rescued my client, was an absolute bargain.
All I had to do now was add the correct registrar details and transfer the domain name to my actual registrar and we were good to go.
Cue me sending a good news phone call to my client. Which I wish I could do many more of!
Happy Ending
So the domain name now redirects to the current website as it should have done a year ago.
Whether it still holds any of its former weight from an SEO perspective will definitely be covered in a later post.
The Takeaway from this
I already know that I harp on a lot in my blog posts, but at least hear me out on this one:
The domain name on a website is vital. More vital than the design, layout (these can be changed). But do yourself a favour and either register the domain name yourself. In your name.
Reliable Web designers etc can do this on your behalf, but be transparent from the start and ask for documentation. This is a service that I provide when asked to.
And just remember, even if you trust your friend into doing something that you are not sure about, remember relationships of any sort can go sour.
Sometimes its just easier to be brave or get in the professionals.
Stop Press: We Have Moved Premises
As of 10 January 2025, DVH Design hace relocated to a new premises. Our new postal address is:
22 Ignite House
Braintree Enterprise Centre
46 Springwood Drive
Braintree
Essex
CM7 2YN
However, if you would like to book a consultation or a meeting, we accept advanced bookings via our website.
Onsite bookings are available. Alternatively we accept advance bookings at the Following locations:
- The Plaza, Rutherford Park, Great Notley, Braintree
- The Chelmsford Club, Old London Road, Chelmsford
- The Innovation Center, Boundary Road, Colchester
- Space 282, Claydons Lane Rayleigh
This is mainly because the coffee at these locations are top standard and they are nice quiet spaces where I work regularly and have lunch whenever the mood takes me.