How to avoid an “Under Construction” page on your website

When it comes to creating website content what I see quite often is companies publishing “under construction” accompanied by a clipart picture of a construction worker on their homepage, or the website has "Website coming soon" but has no further information.
 
Personally, I don’t like these type of pages, firstly they don’t provide useful information. Plus, not only do they make the website look incomplete, it can look unprofessional. 

Here are 4 ways you can avoid publishing an “Under Construction” page:

1. Link your domain name to your business's social media account – if you recently purchased a domain name for your business, but haven’t finished building your website consider linking your domain to one of your social media accounts (e.g. Facebook Business page) This lets anyone who looks up your web address access information about your business, and avoids the “This site cannot be reached” page appearing.

2. Creating a simple web presence – Sometimes it can take months to write, develop and launch a website. Business owners can become so eager for their company to have a web presence, they publish a “Website is coming soon!” message on their homepage. Instead of creating a page with little information think of displaying information such as your phone number, business hours, address, email address, a web enquiry form and links to your social media accounts. This will allow potential clients to get in touch with you, and still give your business a web presence until the completed site is rolled out.
   

3. If you haven't written all the content for your website and have blank web pages published - Sometimes I notice websites that have published a webpage with only a heading and no content. If you haven’t finished writing your web copy I would recommend removing these pages. These types of pages look unprofessional, and as if there is a problem with information displaying on your site.
   
   An alternative is to add some wording along the lines of "If you would like further information about {TOPIC/SERVICES} please contact {NAME} on {PHONE NUMBER} or to receive a PDF please complete the enquiry form". You may not have all the information they require on the website, but at least you are giving them a point of contact.
   

4. Use social media to keep Clients in the loop – While your site is being developed, think of using your business’s social media accounts (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram) for keeping your customers and clients in the loop!
   
   Social media is such a popular marketing tool. It has multiple uses from promoting new blog posts, advertising promotions to showcasing new products -- by using social media to connect with your clients on the progress of your website you can keep them up-to-date, and avoid publishing a “Website coming soon” message on your site.

One thing to remember is that users like to receive information quickly, so by not having any information available, you could find them looking elsewhere. You don’t want a simple mistake such as not supplying contact details lose you potential clients to another business.

If you would like help with creating a web presence for your business get in touch with JAM today! Julie can be contacted on 0452 393094, email or by completing the contact form.