Congratulations! Your new website is finally live. You’ve invested time, money, and effort into creating a beautiful online presence for your business. But here’s the truth: launching your website is just the beginning, not the end.
Many businesses make critical mistakes after their website goes live, thinking their job is done. These mistakes can cost them customers, sales, and growth opportunities. Let’s examine the most common ones and learn how to avoid them.
1. Thinking “Set It and Forget It”
The Mistake: Many business owners believe that once their website is live, they can forget about it, and the customers will automatically come.
The Reality: A website needs constant attention, just like a physical store. You wouldn’t open a shop and never clean it, restock it, or update your displays, right? The same applies to your website.
What To Do: Plan regular updates to your content, check for broken links, and keep your information current. Set aside time each month to review and refresh your website. If you’re too busy running your business, consider partnering with the best web development company in Kerala to handle ongoing maintenance.
2. Ignoring SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The Mistake: Launching a website without proper SEO or thinking that SEO is a one-time task.
The Reality: If people can’t find your website on Google, it doesn’t matter how visually appealing it is. SEO is an ongoing process that helps your website rank higher in search results.
What To Do: Regularly add fresh content, use relevant keywords, optimize your images, and build quality backlinks. Consider working with a digital marketing agency to create a long-term SEO strategy.
3. Not Tracking Website Performance
The Mistake: Not installing analytics tools or ignoring the data they provide.
The Reality: You need to know how many people visit your website, which pages they view, how long they stay, and where they come from. Without this information, you’re flying blind.
What To Do: Install Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Check your data regularly to understand visitor behavior and make informed decisions.
4. Forgetting About Mobile Users
The Mistake: Only checking how the website looks on a desktop computer.
The Reality: More than half of all web traffic comes from mobile phones. If your website doesn’t work well on smartphones and tablets, you’re losing customers.
What To Do: Regularly test your website on different devices. Make sure buttons are easy to tap, text is readable, and pages load quickly on mobile.
5. Not Having a Content Strategy
The Mistake: Adding content randomly or not adding any new content at all.
The Reality: Fresh, valuable content keeps visitors coming back and helps with SEO. A stale website tells customers you’re not active or don’t care.
What To Do: Create a content calendar. Plan to add blog posts, update product descriptions, share customer testimonials, or post news regularly. Even one new piece of content per month is better than nothing.
6. Ignoring Website Speed
The Mistake: Not paying attention to how fast (or slow) your website loads.
The Reality: If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, most visitors will leave. Slow websites frustrate users and hurt your search rankings.
What To Do: Regularly test your website speed using free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. Optimize images, remove unnecessary plugins, and consider upgrading your hosting if needed.
7. Not Backing Up Your Website
The Mistake: Assuming nothing will go wrong with your website.
The Reality: Websites can get hacked, files can get corrupted, and hosting servers can fail. Without backups, you could lose everything.
What To Do: Set up automatic daily or weekly backups. Store them in a secure location. Test your backups occasionally to make sure they work.
8. Neglecting Security Updates
The Mistake: Never updating your website’s software, plugins, or themes.
The Reality: Outdated software is the number one reason websites get hacked. Hackers actively look for websites running old versions of software with known vulnerabilities.
What To Do: Update your website’s core software, themes, and plugins regularly. Enable automatic updates when possible, or schedule monthly maintenance checks.
9. Not Engaging With Visitors
The Mistake: Having no way for visitors to contact you easily, or ignoring messages when they do reach out.
The Reality: Visitors may have questions, complaints, or want to make a purchase. If they can’t reach you easily or don’t get a response, they’ll go to your competitor.
What To Do: Make your contact information easy to find. Respond to inquiries within 24 hours. Consider adding live chat for immediate assistance.
10. Failing to Promote the Website
The Mistake: Assuming people will magically find your new website.
The Reality: There are billions of websites online. You need to actively promote yours to stand out.
What To Do: Share your website on social media, add it to your email signature, include it in all marketing materials, run online ads, and tell your existing customers about it.
11. Not Testing Everything Regularly
The Mistake: Never checking if all features, forms, and links on your website still work.
The Reality: Things break over time. A form might stop working, a payment gateway might have issues, or links might become broken. You won’t know unless you check.
What To Do: Test your contact forms, checkout process, and all links monthly. Ask friends or employees to try using your website and report any issues.
12. Ignoring Customer Feedback
The Mistake: Not listening when customers mention problems with your website.
The Reality: Your customers use your website differently than you do. They might spot issues or have suggestions you never considered.
What To Do: Actively ask for feedback. When customers mention issues, take them seriously and fix them quickly. Use surveys to understand what visitors want.
The Bottom Line
Launching a website is an achievement, but maintaining and improving it is what leads to real business growth. Your website is a living, breathing part of your business that needs regular care and attention.
Don’t make these common mistakes. Stay proactive, keep learning, and treat your website as the valuable business asset it is. If managing all of this feels overwhelming, that’s okay. The best web development company in Kerala can help you navigate these challenges and ensure your website continues to drive business growth.
Remember: A great website isn’t built in a day, and it’s never truly “finished.” It grows and evolves with your business.
