STUDIO FIVE

Updated June 2024

Is Your Business Website Holding You Back?

Are you a business owner or entrepreneur looking to overcome common website limitations? Look no further. This comprehensive guide will provide you with the essential strategies and tips to avoid these common website limitations. By implementing these tried-and-tested techniques, you can ensure that your website operates smoothly, maximizing its potential for success. Say goodbye to frustrating setbacks and hello to a website that drives growth and enhances your online presence. Let’s dive in and discover how you can overcome those common website limitations.

Don’t Limit Your Options!

We are a web design agency, so we discuss their websites with many business owners. And most of them have grand plans to grow their business, which means they need to expand and grow their online presence. And that can be a problem sometimes. Why? If you don’t avoid common website limitations initially, you will have limited options later!

It doesn’t matter if you have a simple brochure website or a robust e-commerce presence. Your business website can make or break your business. Either way, you can’t afford to treat your business website design as an afterthought. You can most often avoid these common website limitations by carefully considering this process.

It does not matter whether you are building your website in-house or hiring a professional web designer or agency. Here are four often-overlooked common website limitations you must avoid to get the most from your online investment.

Common Website Limitations You Must Avoid

Not Prioritizing Mobile Users

Since 2018, mobile users have outnumbered desktop users. Most e-commerce purchases originate on mobile devices. Numerous Google algorithm updates have prioritized mobile-first design in search rankings. In 2024, not focusing on mobile users is terrible for any business.

Around 90% of websites today have implemented responsive design. 

Hostinger

Responsive design alone isn’t an option anymore. Your site should work well and be easy to use on mobile devices. Web design will continue to focus on creating websites that are thumb-friendly. But what exactly is “thumb-friendly”?

We’re talking about how we use our phones. If you’re reading this on your phone, look at how you hold it. Your fingers are probably wrapped around it, leaving your thumb to do all the work.

That’s how most of us use our smartphones, and that’s why thumb-friendly navigation is essential. Putting the navigation bar, menu, and even contact buttons in the space your thumb can reach (the center of the screen) makes your site more comfortable. And it improves your UX tenfold.

Not Focusing on SEO

When you run an online business or an e-commerce store, your first goal is to attract people to your website. The more people visit your page, the more new customers will purchase your products and services. Considering that organic traffic will grow and reach 53% in 2024, with paid traffic providing roughly 15%, SEO is your most effective tool for attracting customers.

68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.

Ahrefs

Suppose your website is unclear or not mobile-friendly. In that case, people will likely leave the page and purchase a similar product elsewhere. The design of your home page matters as much as marketing and SEO strategies. We have been talking about the importance of attracting new visitors. But you also want to keep them on your site and purchase your products.

From the sizes of your images to tags, features, and colors, any element of your website must support the user experience. Visual appeal helps your ranking and keeps your visitors engaged and active on your page.

Limiting E-Commerce Options

The next of our business website limitations applies only to e-commerce sites. For example, suppose you are selling products or services online. In that case, your e-commerce platform is the most critical part of your business website. It must meet all your current and future needs, especially if it impacts your website design and choice of payment, shipping, and fulfillment providers.

If you are a growing business, opting for a low-cost solution like Squarespace, Wix, or Shopify is tempting. But be wary of putting yourself at the mercy of an e-commerce platform that limits the number of items on your site or the number of sales you can process each month.

In 2023, global retail e-commerce sales reached an estimated 5.8 trillion U.S. dollars. Projections indicate a 39 percent growth in this figure over the coming years, with expectations to surpass eight trillion dollars by 2027.

Statista

As your business grows, you will either have to pay more money or scrap your website and start again. We recommend carefully considering short—and long-term options and limitations before signing on the dotted line.

Your choice of e-commerce platform can also dictate your choice of back-end third-party service providers, such as your website hosting service, merchant facilities, and order fulfillment and delivery options. Unfortunately, some demand a slice of every transaction and get greedy if they know you have no alternative but to use them.

Also, consider whether your e-commerce solution requires complex and expensive integration to work with your financial package and other business systems. Perhaps you are integrating your e-commerce site with marketing automation or a CRM platform. Your web designer can help you determine your best options.

Skimping on Website Hosting

Once your new website or e-commerce store is finished, park it somewhere. This is another one of our common website limitations! We understand you spent a lot of money, and the urge to economize is great. Budget website hosting deals may seem like a great answer, but they are often too good to be true and won’t meet businesses’ needs.

Budget hosting providers sound good initially. Many offer unlimited storage, so there’s no restriction on the size of your business website. Likewise, you have unlimited bandwidth, so there’s no apparent restriction on how many people can visit your site. It sounds perfect, but the hidden limitations behind the scenes make it one of the most common website limitations.

Retailers Lose $2.6 Billion Annually Due to Slow Websites.

Hostinger

Budget hosts run your business website on the same physical server as dozens or hundreds of other websites. Since each site can only use a fraction of the server’s memory and processing power, this quickly becomes a problem. For example, suppose your business website experiences a traffic spike, putting extra load on the server. In that case, the hosting company will take your website offline.

Unfortunately, hosting providers often keep things vague rather than specify exact usage thresholds. Still, you need to know what happens when your business website has a traffic spike. Some hosting companies will pull down your website and wait for you to complain; how nice of them! Others have less draconian policies, which throttle your site and return to regular service as the traffic spike eases.

Find out about these policies before deciding, especially if you’re signing up for a long-term contract. Otherwise, you might be stuck with a hosting deal that leaves you in the lurch when you need it most. If you expect plenty of traffic, paying for a dedicated web server or using a managed service like Cloudways or WPEngine might be worth paying extra. The added cost is negligible compared to what a loss in sales can cost you!

Any business website hosting can vary widely in price and quality, especially for e-commerce sites. So, to avoid this common website limitation, compare different business website hosting options before deciding.

Avoiding Common Website Limitations

Your business or e-commerce website is another area where you must balance your current budget with your long-term objectives. We always recommend that you look at the design and development of your business website as an ongoing effort rather than a one-time deal. That approach alone will help you avoid the most common business website limitations.

Our standard approach is to build business websites in phases. Start with the minimum viable version to launch and build on that. Selecting industry-standard components such as WordPress, WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento), and payment processors like Stripe and Square creates a robust foundation for growing your business. As your business grows, you can add more functionality and options.

Using standard building blocks and frameworks, you avoid many common website limitations from the start. Regardless of your business location, you will have no problems finding hosting providers and skilled experts ready to take your business website to the next level.

Of course, you can ignore these common website limitations and forge ahead regardless. And maybe you are even successful in initially maintaining and scaling your business website. But there will come a time when you hit a brick wall and realize you can’t go any further. And that will be a costly moment!

Clint Eastwood’s character Dirty Harry cautioned: “A smart man knows his limitations.” So likewise, as an intelligent business owner, you should know your limits and avoid common website limitations. Trust us; it is the most time and cost-effective approach.

Ensure Your Business Success

To ensure your business’s success, it is essential to prioritize your website design and avoid common limitations. Whether you have a simple brochure site or a robust e-commerce platform, your website can make or break your business. Don’t underestimate its impact. By carefully considering the design process and addressing potential limitations, you can position your website as a powerful asset. 

Take charge of your online presence today and unlock your business’s full potential. Contact us now for more information about our business and e-commerce website design services.