The vast majority of consumers who used small business websites in the past year have discovered serious usability faults, according to new research from web host Streamline.net.
The Streamline.net study questioned 1,700 consumers, with 83 per cent of those users questioned saying they faced faults when shopping online with SME companies, including unfinished web pages, broken URLs and email addresses and an out-dated website design with stock images and badly worded product descriptions. 15 per cent also found confusing jargon, which made selecting products difficult.
A further survey of 450 UK firms found that whilst most -- 51 per cent -- consider their website to look 'professional', 1 in 3 owners admitted that they are guilty of 'neglecting' their own websites. The data also highlights a worrying discrepancy between where consumers wish to find web addresses, and where companies are displaying them.
Streamline.net discovered 48 per cent of firms questioned still do not make any efforts to optimise their URL on search engines like Google.
The company also found in the past year, 1 in 5 consumers have used a web address taken from the side of a small company's vehicle, yet only 10 per cent of small firms currently display their web address in this way.
1 in 10 websites owners -- 11 per cent -- admitted to having withheld their URL from customers in the past because they were aware of technical problems on their website.
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