7 Things to Remove From Your Website Immediately

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Click here for the masterclass to get your clients-on-demand website blueprint 👉 wesmcdowell.com/training

[@The_Daliban]

Isn‘t it harmful to take keywords off the site or is a better organized page the superior way here?

[@begracefulonline]

I disagree with removing the contact form to replace with a calendar call. It all depends on your business and your purpose. We actually dont want to speak to clients, because we get so many tire kickers and its a waste of time 60% of the time. So our form actually helps us weed out people who arent serious and in the process we obtain an email and phone number. At the end of the form, we tell them how long it takes us to respond, but we actually have a phone number people can call, so we add a simple "if your request is urgent, please give us a call". So to each their own.

[@opossumgrylls3275]

I absolutely will not fill out calendar call forms. My day is far too fluid to be sitting waiting for a salesman to call and some of the time they haven't called. Am I old-fashioned? With this, yes! Further, my day is (again) far too fluid for me to be locked in to a call at a certain time... I'll get back to them at my first opportunity which may be minutes or hours. If the initial conversation is positive then we can lock in a time for future conversations.

[@gabrieles.muller3391]

In the EU, there are laws that oblige a website owner to be easily and unambiguously accessible. You can explain in one or two sentences what the contact form is for.

[@rahadianputra3745]

I second this

[@michaelzwiener1756]

Also its better for Google to have a contact page

[@dantenewyork7380]

@@gabrieles.muller3391 laws that oblige you to be accessible? wow. what an utter totalitarian world do we live in?

[@TreasureZona]

"You don't want to get a new follower at the expense of a new customer already at your website."

[@RobertWardDavidson]

Thanks Wes. While I do love the idea of a team group photo over stock photos, they can be a nightmare as team members come and go from your company then you have to remove them.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Thanks a great point!

[@DevynBrugge]

Love the advice, Wes! I get what you're saying about the team page, but team profiles can actually be a plus. Customers like to know about the practitioners and can easily book with their fave team member. Works great for certain businesses!

[@14torre1]

Another thing is to stop using hamburger menus on desktop versions.

[@alexkodr]

Why?

[@hclyrics]

Heck, stop using hamburger menus on your mobile site too. They perform poorly across the board. If you only have a few links in your top navigation, why hide them?

[@JoelYoungMarketingOnline]

Regarding contact forms, what if a calendar isn't really relevant to contacting us? What sort of contact widget is better than the usual?

[@alessandromorelli5866]

What is your business about? What is your call to action?

[@nickclement]

Ling's Cars is an absolute masterpiece. No critique needed. In a sea of sameness it stands out and has huge brand awareness.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

If you say so Nick :)

[@nickclement]

@@WesMcDowellInc she’s the multi-millionaire dude.

[@liquidsnakex]

@@WesMcDowellInc Dude, your mascara is running

[@Seticzech]

"Ling's Cars is an absolute masterpiece." 🤣

[@numerounoweb]

Great tips! Removing clutter and improving the user experience are crucial. Replacing the contact form with a calendar for direct booking sounds great for some types of businesses. For some, the form might be a better option even today.

[@2snipe1]

Yes, some people are intimidated by a face to face meet, email might seem lower entry.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Doesnt have to be "face to face", could be a scheduled phone call.

[@gmonte]

@@WesMcDowellInc but i don't want to be called, i just want to ask a question. in any case, isn't putting 'expect a reply in 24 hours' more effective than a diary in a calendar?

[@elephantics]

agree to the most points. but the team images are a bit more tricky than you might think. i am a ux professional for 2 decades and we see e.g. in healthcare that the individual persons are very important for customers. as well group shots are nice but if the fluctuation of team members is high you have to do these shootings over and over. but agree - the sucking stock images are not connecting to people so remove them :-)

[@PhillipCornwell1974]

I've also built a ton of healthcare provider sites and agree. Bios for the providers are almost mandatory. The PROVIDER is the product being sold rather than some widget. But to also support what was said in the video, we rarely added staff because of turnover. It's one thing to add the new doctor's bio but another when you add and remove office staff that are replaced a lot.

[@hclyrics]

I work at a healthcare marketing company and this is very true.

[@ahearnejames]

Thanks for this Wes! You advise using better language for H1 on homepages, which I completely agree with from a consumer perspective. However, you also advise in other videos to use keywords in H1 headings (to help with SEO). It's challenging to come up with both something that's keyword-optimised and linguistically persuasive for consumers. What is the best strategy here? Thank you!

[@Mobeegirl]

awesome, simple, this gave me ideas to share pricing and you are absolutely right love the price calculator

[@walterjohnson8192]

Love your stuff! One thought on the removal of social media. For some businesses, the best current celebration of their experience based business is happening on social media, which also includes interaction with raving fans, which can be much more powerful in moving toward closing than anything on your website. Depends on the business.

[@PhillipCornwell1974]

I don't know if the idea is to completely remove them, there are always exceptions. I've had some clients using FB as their store rather than their site so the real goal was to get them back to FB to make a purchase.

[@considercaption]

Great video. Very informative. I love that text randomize animation. Is that practice, digitally screened on or a combination?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

It’s a real Vestaboard. Thx!

[@radientproductions9799]

this is pure gold. Wes, do you offer simple website audits/suggestions as a service?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Not anymore, just focusing on my courses and youtube content at the moment, sorry!

[@hollycow8171]

you will find better ones 😂

[@powerfuldigitalsolutions]

If you need help finding someone who offers simple website audits/suggestions as a service, feel free to let me know :)

[@opossumgrylls3275]

​@WesMcDowellInc do you recommend someone who does site audit and random improvements to tighten and tidy it up?

[@therichmohr]

Thank you Wes! I'm redoing my website as I type this and this information was extremely helpful!

[@begracefulonline]

As for the social media... Again, depends on your business and purpose. We actually dont get our followers funneled from social media. The bulk of our traffic is from ppc (20%) or organic search (80%) and we then have them come to a landing page, which, you guessed it has our form AND links to social media. We use our social media as social proof of our services. Most of the time they are on the fence about our services, but when they see our social media they either contact us or dont. And we are ok with that, because not every visitor needs to be turned into a client. Sometimes clients are a bad fit for us and us for them. So the earlier we find out, the better for both of us. We only want clients that want / need / afford our services. Again, to each their own and do what works for you.

[@AndreasBodin]

Great video Wes! Love the logical and sound tips and advice. Curious to know the data analytics for clients who made the change and what difference it made to remove these seven things.

[@dogacakdag]

Ah man. I’m learning so much from you. I’m designing my website from scratch to put it on a vps because every hosting provider keeps asking for more money and change their terms etc. It just a pain. With your videos I’m making strategic decisions and design elements. Thank you 🙏🏼 Can you recommend on learning platforms? What to do and what not to do?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Do you mean like courses I'd recommend?

[@dogacakdag]

@@WesMcDowellInc No, I'm building a website from scratch and integration vimeo together with content protection pro plugin LMS type thing. But I want to keep my customers engaged and hook in order to give them the tools they need to improve. I want to avoid website mistakes and unnecessary distractions. I'm about to watch your 1,5 hours course. Maybe you'll cover some of them there :)

[@ruchiramatidharmachari]

Thanks for these very insightful tips! SUPER REQUEST: I work for a nonprofit, and we always struggle to convince more people to donate to our cause. Could you make a video about donation pages for non-profits? We would be incredibly greatful Thanks!!!!

[@powerfuldigitalsolutions]

You'll definitely want to create a video that resonates with your audience and compels them to contribute to your cause. Also make the donation process very simple and straightforward.

[@louis-philippesavard742]

I often land on website after Google search and I want to check social media to see last activity (if any) and see how legit the business is. What would you recommend in that case ?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Just put it in the footer where most ppl will naturally look for that

[@xReisk]

I really liked your tip about social media buttons, it makes a lot of sense and I always never understoof the whole porpuse of then but just because my clients want it... Good video

[@Imoroaenoch]

What about for a portfolio website should I remove my social media ?

[@ExiArts_HristoHvoynev]

Thank you, amazing video ❤❤ I just removed all social media from my website and also the contact form. What do you think should I also remove the contact from my navigation menu?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

What I'd do is change the word "contact" to something much more specific. book a consultation, make an appointment, etc. And style it like a button, not just a text link. That should go in the upper right corner of the page. Cheers!

[@djoakeydoakey1076]

​@WesMcDowellInc is it better to word it in the perspective of the customer eg Book my table, book my appointment etc? I read somewhere that wording this way helps. Do you think that's true?

[@nustaniel]

​​@@djoakeydoakey1076Book my table sounds odd, is it my table? Do I own it? Book a reservation is better if you ask me. Does it really matter though? No, it can have a positive effect on some people and a negative one on others, but ultimately the large majority won't care about the wording to that extent.

[@loveandwhiskerscatsanctuary]

Thank you. This is great information. I did remove my Contact Form because I was getting a lot of spam.

[@opossumgrylls3275]

Get a better contact form with some kind of human authentication. I only get occasional spam anymore.

[@loveandwhiskerscatsanctuary]

@@opossumgrylls3275 Thank you. Better yet I deleted my website. No more spam😄

[@powerfuldigitalsolutions]

Thank you Wes for another wonderful video packed with amazing content. This definitely reminds me of something I heard from another expert: all roads should lead to your website (i.e., your website shouldn't send people to your socials).

[@opossumgrylls3275]

Very interesting. I hadn't thought of this, but now that you mention it, it makes absolutely perfect sense.

[@opossumgrylls3275]

I disagree about the clients not caring about the bio. It depends on the business. I get potential clients asking about my certifications and experience at least once a month. I have a bio page, but it isnt prominent. But when people do ask, i can direct them to the bio page.

[@CprfloridaNet]

Always awesome website help, youtube ideas and seo strategies. Thanks Wes!

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Any time!

[@LabdeBeats]

Would you say this applies to staffing companies too?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

yep!

[@EleaRingenwald]

Which schedule plugin did you use? It looks nice. 😊

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Calendly :)

[@JaneNewAuthor]

I disagree about using AI to generate images. They're usually obvious, and will turn a lot of people off.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Have you seen images from midjourney? They’re actually super realistic

[@JaneNewAuthor]

@@WesMcDowellIncthat's the problem.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

The problem is they’re realistic? I thought the problem is that they’re obvious. Which is it?

[@freddiesnijman]

You will eventually get used to it 😁

[@elenav986]

That all depends on how you use it ;)

[@energiastudios7532]

So no social media on the website at all or just not on the home page?

[@MimiBondi]

I get what you mean about removing social media but isn't it a great way to keep them connected in between newsletters?

[@grizfan93]

think about it this way; what is the point of keeping "them connected"? For most businesses, the sale or lead generation happens on the website. Getting people to the website is nearly at the end of the funnel. Why distract at that point? If your social channels need support from the website to keep their audiences engaged, that's a problem with the social accounts and not something the website should solve.

[@MimiBondi]

@@grizfan93 thanks for your feedback. I’m an artist and sharing my process and connecting with people is an important part for me. My socials are not supported by my website, they support my website - by constantly reminding my followers of what I have to offer and making them part of the experience. I don’t see them as distraction because they can only be found at the bottom of my contact page. I see them as more options for people to reach me and get to know me.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

If you're an artist that's kind of a different funnel. Not my speciality.

[@MimiBondi]

@@WesMcDowellInc ah I see… btw I posted a long reply and thank you to the previous person and my comment was deleted 😢

[@PswACC]

Hi. What video editing software did you use to make this video?

[@nationalibus9896]

What if you need to have a multilingual website?

[@roofoofighter]

8:37 “Our Sepcilities”- spelling and grammar errors are more of a turn off to me than stock photos

[@adrianbta]

I understand your point about social buttons but I don't agree with it. I think it definitely applies to dedicated landing pages but not to the general site of a business. I for one, look for them almost reflexively and it's frustrating if I don't find them. Put them at the bottom of the site but don't get rid of them completely.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Thats what I said to do :) Cheers!

[@renatooliveirausa]

My comment may not be related, but does anybody know how long before my SaaS is ready should I have my landing page live?

[@leewright4941]

Sounds like great advice. To simplify why don't I dump my "About Us" & "Privacy Policy" pages. Does anyone really read them?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

About us pages are usually the second most viewed page on a website. And privacy policy isn’t really a big page for visitors but it’s got an impulses purpose for your business. But put that one in your footer menu for sure

[@hadel5149]

Dont forget for seo purpose it also needs these pages

[@agi.kitchen]

And as ai gets looked into more, having transparency about how you use it is valuable

[@letssolveitten1728]

Great video as always. Please make video about website accessibility. Just finished creating my website, I held a lot of people talking about using plugins or widgets for website accessibility in order not to get sued. Please help us

[@grizfan93]

Thinking about accessibility after you build the website is usually where the problem starts. Plugins and widgets make the problem a LOT worse. Those stupid accessibility overlay widgets are basically an admission of guilt. Accessibility is one area that reveals the difference between a professional web designer or developer, and a poser. Starts with the color palette and builds from there. If you're using something like Elementor or Divi, expect bad results. Same for page builders like Wix or Weebly. While all are capable of producing an accessible website, they make it so easy to completely mess up accessibility.

[@nustaniel]

You don't need to do all that much for accessibility. Though it can depend on the way your site implemented it's features. If it's not using divs for buttons and the colour contrasts are sufficient, it'll already be likely plenty accessible for screen readers and users with vision impairments. In any case, aria attributes can help make a site more accessibility friendly. If it has a responsive design that can adjust to user font size choices in the browser and such, great, if not, the user will likely zoom. YT is not a responsive website in example, neither is Twitter, nor Amazon. Not an excuse to not make responsive designs though.

[@grizfan93]

@@nustaniel Does the website work when only using keyboard navigation? Does it make sense when relying on a screen reader? Are your headings in the right order? Proper use of alt text, the list goes on. Seems like you are conflating responsive design with accessibility, and also really over simplifying the work needed to make a website accessible. Aria attributes can't rescue a poorly planned or coded website.

[@nustaniel]

@@grizfan93 If the site is using HTML elements like buttons and such instead of divs, then keyboard navigation will be largely usable, otherwise you may need to bring out tabindex="-1" to insert the custom element into the tab order, if you want it to be accessible. You may want to bring that out regardless of you want to tailor the tab order, but in many cases you will ruin the accessibility experience and mess up accessibility software that will otherwise jump through the page to a given section, by trying to be clever with the tab order. If you use labels, you don't need aria attributes to make a screen reader read out loud what an element's purpose is. Alt text on imagery isn't exactly difficult to add to a site and should be done regardless. Headings in the right order should be done regardless. Responsive design is a small part of accessibility and respecting the user choices, but not a must. Aria attributes is what you use to make custom elements behave with screen readers like the default elements. It's also not a huge undertaking to make your site accessibility friendly, even if you didn't start out thinking about it. It may already be plenty accessible as is and need minor additions and tweaks to be an even better experience.

[@nustaniel]

@@grizfan93 KZbin at it again not showing replies, so not sure if it's there or not. In any case, most sites will be perfectly accessible with default elements and common sense use of alt attributes on images and labels for input elements. Headings being in the right order shouldn't be an accessibility concern, that should be something you do regardless. And I barely mentioned responsive design as a nice bonus, so how you made my entire reply into that is baffling. But with that reading comprehension, I guess it makes sense why you'd think making a site accessible is a huge undertaking.

[@7printsDesigns]

Hey there Wes can you post the top website creators of 2024? Or just say what one you use I do love your software, it’s got some things mine doesn’t.

[@christianschulze2028]

Great advice Wez

[@FutureTechPilot]

Hey man, how did you draw over the screen?? Did you take screenshots and take them into photoshop?

[@roofoofighter]

You can see him drawing on an iPad while he’s talking

[@FutureTechPilot]

@@roofoofighter right, but I can't find a program that lets you illustrate over your screen

[@DesignedByTaz]

This was definitely eye opening, thank you!

[@charleen_miguel]

The video I never knew I needed. Kinda 🤭 thank you!

[@aianish]

What camera do you use for recording your video?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Sony ZVe10

[@alf_urrutia]

Good Video Wes

[@InstitutoTerapiasEnergeticas]

great as usual. thanks

[@familieundbusiness]

What do u think? Are Calendly links still State of the art? It seems and feels like more and more people felt that it’s too much time they spent for a call. And what do u think about a second button as a Leadmagnet?

[@WesMcDowellInc]

I don't know that I'd call them state of the art, its more about removing the back and forth, and getting leads form a to b as seamlessly as possible. Include a few "weed out" questions in the form if you need to qualify calls in advance, then just politely let some ppl know that you probably can't do your best work for their situation. And a secondary lead magnet CTA is a great idea. Cheers!

[@Matumark]

I have a similar question! I’ve heard you recommend to use only one CTA per page, but what if you have CTA for the call and also for the lead magnet. It’s okay to have them both on the same page if only one has a special color that stands out from the rest, I guess?

[@elephantics]

@@Matumarkfrom ux point of view - don‘t distract but move a potential client on the right road. if both cta elements lead into a road of business they are ok as clients might have different speed in connecting with you. the first one might use the booking call while this is to intimidating for the second one who just need more time and who is well seated on your mailinglist. it‘s not that black and white :-)

[@silvakko]

Thank you!! Nice tips!!!

[@growwithpaul]

Another great video, thank you Wes I love them

[@zenout3463]

Glad to know I got my site down to T according to these tips 👍🏻

[@adityakumarsah-kd8ij]

Hey sir, after grinding for 2.5 years, recently I get an opportunity to change my life, but there's a problem. Can you help me please reply.

[@designermike]

Great advice and a brilliant video Wes!

[@AAW60-85]

Wes your videos are the best out there. In short, concise no nonsense clips you show how to make a websites that work. Thank you.

[@Dexter101x]

Nah, I would not agree to use AI images. If you want a more natural environment get a photographer

[@Richguy-wj5od]

But the question is that why do you have a contact page on your website?

[@Sims_it]

I disagree with the removal of the social media links. Social media might be on the top of the funnel, but I depending on the type of business, Google might be even more on top. If people come from Google and land on your site, you want a way to remind them of your existence and not let your website rot and their already cluttered Favorites tab.

[@belvederebaileycambodia]

What about dark mode, Wes ??

[@WesMcDowellInc]

What about it?

[@PatrickHallScreenwriter]

Yep

[@AngeliqueStidhum]

Anyone else gasp when they saw Amy Porterfield's website included on the "naughty" list? 👀#shotsfired 😂

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Ha, I'm a huge fan! But don't link ppl back out to your socials!

[@AngeliqueStidhum]

@@WesMcDowellInc I love that you didn’t let her off the hook just because she’s Amy. I’m a big fan too. I still don’t get why she hasn’t jumped on KZbin

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Yea, she's pretty famously shy about being on video.

[@Luca-ui3rn]

Pls use timestamps :)

[@dougscott188]

This is a good list but sometimes clients are hard to persuade or stuck on their one big bad idea 😂

[@bhautube]

That is helpful

[@imagohouse7412]

You ain't have to do the sista like that 9:05....just kidding appreciate the tips!

[@alexinaustralia]

Gold

[@matthewmarcoux]

Crazy colors like in the background of this video... just kidding

[@ibuprofenPill]

Our contact form goes directly into our CRM and we respond within one or two days.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Just make sure they know that!

[@ibuprofenPill]

@@WesMcDowellInc they do. We send an automated reply letting them know.

[@ibuprofenPill]

@@WesMcDowellInc they sure do. We have an automatic responder saying as such.

[@DarrenCato]

Poor Amy Porterfield

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Ha she’s doing great! But for those of us who aren’t Amy, probably best to play it by the book 😜

[@xshounak]

Literally thousands of websites ?? Hmmmm

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Yep... I've had thousands of students in my paid program, plus my clients and my subscribers. I've reviewed literally thousands. Cheers!

[@LongWaster]

When have you ever gone on a website and been confused about what to do? This is a fake problem.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

When there’s no clear cta? Watch an older person struggle with it and you’ll understand. Ppl won’t give it any time to figure it out either.

[@LongWaster]

@@WesMcDowellInc I watch people use old websites. They cant figure out what you think is "clear" either. But the thing is, you shouldn't randomly be on a website in the first place. You should only be on a website to do something specific. That's your cta.

[@alexisdemoulin5514]

No, Mr MacDowell, you got it all wrong. Colors, contact page, social buttons, they're OK, they don't matter, as long as you have a great product or service.

[@WesMcDowellInc]

Ha if only it were that simple. If that were true marketing and advertising wouldn’t be multi billion dollar industries

[@Sitrec]

Good one. You have the mindset of an early 2000 middle aged business guy that still think computers are a fad.

[@cannabistalk4164]

Advertising is just ideas that hit or miss. It's not that deep. Everything you mentioned will become a trend when the right person does it ​@@WesMcDowellInc

[@dougscott188]

Terrible marketing can undermine a good product, so if the website is terrible, the user may never find out about the great product or service.

[@krisproaffiliate]

You are missing the point. The point he is making in the video is about colors, fonts, images, social buttons etc... because these can either make or break your website. Because how will people know you have good product or service if your so called product/service is buried bellow ton of useless information, weird/fake looking images and color's that only distract you and make your head hurt while trying to sort everything out. That was his point and he is right. You can have the best product in the world but what good it is when your customers can't find it or even believe a word's from your own website. 😅 Plus people have attention of goldfish these days and if the website isn't simple and doesn't lead straight to the product/service chances are they will just leave your website and click on someone's else website instead.

[@JV-qb6ib]

Great job Wes!

[@roman_prr]

Hello, Wes! My name is Roma, I'm PR-manager at one of the popular ad networks. How can I contact you to discuss the opportunity to collaborate with your channel? Thank you