Overview for Hair Websites Audit: Common Mistakes and Recommendations

Recently I made a couple of rounds investigating the hair business websites out there.

You can think of it like the hair business police.

I have been amazed by most of the websites, it was a good hair happy hour with Casamigos vibes.

However, many mistakes kept going under the dedicated entrepreneurs’ radar.

The overall consistency of your website is what is going to make your sales.

If your website lacks certain qualities, it can take the whole business down, or make your sales flat though you’re increasing your investment.

So, open your website and make your little review as you read the article.

Welcoming Pop-Ups

Your pop-ups are the welcoming gestures that can set the tone for your website.

If it’s a harsh sell, people will get skeptical. If it's fun and sassy people can ease off.

Using multiple pop-ups is disastrous and annoying.

Think of your pop-up as the first greeting you would say if you entered a room full of people interested in what you’re going to say and potential customers.

If you write down an offer, be specific.

If you try to build a list, ask only for the phone number or the email address, not both.

If you make them a bargain they can’t refuse, tell them how much they will lose by turning it down.

Use your imagery use, make your fonts readable, and provide every action you want them to make with a free value in return.

Organizing Headers

Next thing after the pop-up the eye will automatically go to the header.

I don’t know why people keep messing this up.

The logo should be properly portioned for the eye.

Your logo should use 2 to 3 elements in total with up to 4 colors but the less the better.

It should be related to your industry without big leaps in metaphors.

Negative space is the white space left between elements; in some brands, this void can be shaped to be an additional element.

Rather than that the logo should be cohesive and compact.

To be perfect for a website, elements should be organized horizontally not vertically without using anything but clean illustrations.

Your graphic designer should deliver the logo in vector so you can put it as a transparent PNG on your website.

If this process looks complicated for you, you can go to Private Label Branding and get yourself a custom logo.

You don’t want your header to push down your website sections, so, don’t use a double banner above it, or an ongoing banner because it can slow down the website.

Your sections and collections should be based on customer experience to get where they want quickly, so get rid of the home button because it’s common sense now that if you click the logo, you will go back home.

If you have a currency button but don’t sell internationally remove it.

And of course, don’t do a double-header.

Sculpturing Website Body

Your website is a sandwich where the header and the footer are the buns, while the scrollable body is the meat and potato.

There is that new thing called scrolly-telling. Where you basically tell a story by scrolling down the website.

Each banner should have a purpose whether to tell or to sell.

The opening banner should be shuffled according to its content reading time.

The images should be high quality but not too high to load.

Adjust the image opacity if you’re more focused on the customer reading your content.

The next thing is the banners that go under, you can start with a product line-up for the most popular items.

Then followed by different imagery that can be user-generated or model photoshoots.

The texts should be reasonably lengthened to deliver a concise message.

Avoid any links that can take the visitor outside your website.

Your collections should have a cover photo that it’s clickable and goes right to the collection.

Don’t overuse different font styles, if your brand uses a specific logo keep using it and its bold and thin variants.

Finally, your text shouldn’t be like indigestible bricks, pay close attention to spacing to make it skimmable.

Enriching Footers

Whether it’s a mobile or desktop view.

Your website can’t look bottomless or blend with the body.

So, use the header color, or any color on your brand spectrum.

The footer should have 3 separate brackets for visual balance.

It’s preferred to be in equal lengths too.

If you have “Powered by Shopify” or any other website host, make sure to remove it, if you can’t, check our Hair Business Masterclass for a solution.

You can have a currency button on the footer too, so remove it in case you don’t sell internationally.

The social media buttons usually come pre-linked to the Shopify social media. Update these links so you don’t waste traffic in the wrong direction.

If your theme doesn’t visually separate your website well, you can always update it, but please note that it can get so much work undone.

So, do it in an inactive time, when you won’t be getting customers on your website.

But it can always be for the better, as you don’t want to stick with an outdated look, some brands' websites have been getting insanely innovative in the last year.

But of course, they have dedicated teams to do all the work.

Where Orders Happen!

Your product landing page is kind of sensitive.

Spare yourself the noise though.

Make it simple to the point to solely serve its purpose.

Don’t repeat your brand name all over it. No one will care, and it can be crowded.

If you partnered with some payment option, make sure it’s only one button, not free advertising all over the place.

Your product description should be concise and full of information with copywriting tweaks.

Make sure that there are no errors, double descriptions, or faulty images.

Dropdowns are somehow out of date, use buttons for the variants that show the variant availability.

Unify the images in style and size and let the product shine without any filters that disturb the hair color, it’s critical in the hair industry.

You can add a review program like Judge.Me that facilitates tying up the review to its products with outstanding color for the stars to entice the customers.

Make sure to respond and manage this review too, social proof can grow your brand exponentially.

If you have a certain policy for refunds or things similar, water it down while maintaining transparency, to not scare the customer off.

Tweaking Creative Assets

Your creative assets are your brand's own hair extensions.

It is your brand's way to dress up and shine.

Don’t use low-quality images unless it was a celebrity visiting your store.

Your copywriting is vital too, you can be hilarious, boring, or approachable.

Get creative and loosen up without sounding monotonous.

Use your fonts wisely, and your colors too.

Pick up a color palette and stick to it, keep it contrasted and leave it for a while then review it with fresh eyes.

Don’t draw too much attention to the background, keep it in simple white or off- white.

And always remember to be consistent.

Check other hair website reviews now!