Easy, breezy websites are all the rage these days. Big open areas, light designs, like opening the window to your chamber. But while you may be reworking your website to follow the latest design trend, you don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak.
You want your website to remain an excellent source for the things people in your community (and beyond, if your community attracts visitors) need.
There is nothing more frustrating than visiting a website and not being able to find the information you want. That’s why we compiled a list of the biggest frustrations we see on chamber websites.
While every chamber is different, there are some basics that web visitors expect to see and there are some universally ineffective things.
Let’s talk about those.
15 of the Largest Sources of Frustration on Chamber Websites
Are you doing any of the following things on your chamber website? In no particular order, they are:
Missing an Obvious Join Now Button
When someone wants to give you their money, take it. Sounds reasonable but there may be friction on your current site if you don’t have an obvious Join Now button. Call it what you like, but it needs to be visisble.
I worked with a client who had a very tidy sales funnel she wanted to follow. She had heard you were supposed to tell people how they could work with you. Her order went something like this: First, watch the video, then learn more about what we offer, then buy. She even explained this in a step-by-step process.
It was orderly and understandable but she was inadvertently frustrating people who wanted to give her money. Some people simply don’t want to watch the video. They’re ready to hand over the moola.
You will have web visitors who are ready to sign on the dotted line as soon as they get to your chamber’s website. They’ve done their due diligence. Now take their money.
Outdated Content
We’re all busy. But leaving your event from months prior in prime real estate on your home page makes people think you either don’t have any current events going on or you’re out of business. Refresh your content often. Even if you’re not ready to fill the space with something new, remove the old.
Slow Load
Your brand-new video banner is cool but not if I can’t see it because of the loading drain on your site. Make sure your chamber website is optimized for quick loads. This is essential because 53% of mobile visitors abandon a site if it doesn’t load in three seconds.
T-H-R-E-E.
Where in the Heck Is…
Poor navigation is a killer. Have you ever visited a website that has countless tabs (and subtabs!) and you still don’t know where to go for anything? It is better to use fewer, but better-organized tabs, than to have dozens of subtabs and leave people wondering where the information they want is.
No Calls to Action
It’s nice to believe potential members (and members) will see your information and inherently know what to do next but we’re all dealing with distractions.
Ensure you have powerful calls to action on each page that align with the content/direction of the page. For instance, “Join the Chamber” is not an effective call to action on every page, especially not on a committee info page. You can assume anyone interested in that information is already a member.
Web Forms the Length of the US Tax Code
If you are building an email list, have a sign-up form for something, or a membership application, you don’t need to collect 20 pieces of info online. It’s tiring and few will want whatever you’re offering enough to stick around through 20 questions.
Instead, create a “just the basics” form and worry about the rest of the info later.
Badly Timed Pop-ups
Most people hate pop-ups, but they’re wildly effective when used at the right time. Ideally, you want to pair the pop-up with the moment your web visitor is ready to take action, not before. For instance, many e-commerce sites offer visitors a special discount the moment they show up. That’s too soon. If the visitor is there for the first time, they’re not even sure you have what they want. The discount should come when they are looking at the items for sale.
The same is true for the chamber. Don’t time your pop-up to interrupt viewing the moment the visitor lands on your homepage. Instead, give them some time to look around and get to know you.
Where Are We? Missing State
There are 22 cities named Columbus in the US. While search engines usually present results based on location, you can’t assume your website visitor has location enabled. While they are searching for Columbus Chamber of Commerce (or another town name), they may not want that Columbus.
Avoid frustrating them by adding your state to your chamber’s site. That way they’ll know immediately if they’ve reached the right place. You may get inquiries from visitors as well so make sure it’s clear where you’re located.
Adding your state doesn’t just help people searching for your chamber but improves your results in local searches as well.
Cluttered Design
Words are great. Solid blocks or walls of text, not so much. Break up your text for a skimmable experience.
Grammer Mistakes (yes, I did that on purpose)
It happens to the best of us. Plus, spell check does not always run, even when it’s enabled. Read, reread, and read again.
Stock Photos from the 90s
Okay, so this photo is missing scrunchies and clothes that look like an 80s hangover, but you know the kinds of images we’re talking about–the ones that everyone knows are not of your chamber.
We all have phones and most chambers have plenty of events. Take a few shots (get a media release, just in case), and post them to your site. You can also hire a pro or exchange services for membership. You want people to recognize those pictures as people in your town, not folks they’ve seen in an image library.
Social Media Icons to Sites You Haven’t Posted on in the Past Decade
If you list the social media channel on your website, that means you’re active on it.
Critical (and valued) Information
Your chamber is a resource for the community. Positioning yourself as such will bring more visitors to your website. One of the ways you can do this is by posting critical and valued information as it’s needed. This could be something as serious as hurricane recovery resource links to something celebratory like trick-or-treat hours. If your community needs to know about it, post it.
Tiny Text or Weird Fonts
Make it easy to read. You’re not an art studio.
Missing Fun
Yes, your chamber is the voice of business but there’s no reason not to make membership look fun too. Use images of your events and businesses to show the “party” side of being in your wonderful group. Love this picture on the home page of the South Tampa Chamber. Now that looks like an awesome ribbon cutting.
