13 Unlucky(But Common) Mistakes on

Insurance Agency Websites

And How to Fix Them

Mistakes happen.

But they don’t have to.

Mistake #1Narrow Websites

Less really is more. But don’t go too far.

Modern Average Website Width: 1000 pixels

Narrow websites will give potential clients the impression that you don’t pay much attention to your website.

The Quick Fix

Widen Your Website to give yourself more room

Mistake #2Messy Color Schemes

Color is important.

A bad color scheme is a bad first impression.

Colors that are too similar to each other will be hard

to read.

The Quick Fix

Focus on Your Branding

Match your website colors to your logo.

Use lighter and darker shades ofone color in your logo.

Use any additional colors as“highlight” colors to make your call

to actions stand out.

Other Modern Trends:“Bright Sites”

Many websites can help you give good color scheme ideas.

Mistake #3No Contact Information

Phone numbers and address not easily found on

your website.

How do you let your clients know how to contact you?

The Quick Fix

Add your office’s physical address and phone number(s) on the

bottom of your website

Bonus:Phone number in top

right

Mistake #4Empty Website

A website is not a virtual business card.

How do you want your customers to interact

with your website?

The Quick Fix

Features & Functions

Make your website usable.

• Add Quote Forms• Let people manage their

policy• Add claims and payment

information

The more interactive the website, the more

automated your process can be.

Mistake #5Complicated and

Cluttered

Don’t go overboard on features.

Easier for your call to actions to get lost.

User un-friendly websites cause frustration.

The Quick Fix

Rely on your navigation menu

Avoid too many clicks to get where the client wants to go

Mistake #6No Lines of Business

How will your clients know what you can do for them?

If they do not see what they are looking for, a client may leave your

website.

The Quick Fix

Promote Your Biggest Lines of Business

Reserve a prominent section of your website to show off 3-5 lines of business that you offer. Avoid putting too many or it will get

crowded.

They can be lines you do the most business in already or lines you are wanting to drive more traffic towards.

Mistake #7No Quote Forms

“Want it now” mentality

Less interactive the website, less chance for a sale

The Quick Fix

Add at least 1 Quote Form

It’s all about process:• Clients fills out quote form

• Receive lead• Add client to prospect mailing list

• Contact client

Get the customer involved in the process from the start –

higher chance for a sale

Bonus:Use an online rater like Turborater or EZLynx

Mistake #8Overly Long Quote

Forms

Longer forms are good for current customers being

directed to the website by an agent.

For potential clients, longer forms can be intimidating and

have less chance of being submitted.

The Quick FixUse Shorter Forms

Shorter forms that capture just the

most basic information tend to be completed more

often.

Easier to fill out and not as intimidating.

Gives you reason to contact customer and establish a personal relationship during quoting process.

Mistake #9No Way to Pay

Online

Don’t make it hard for clients to pay their bill

online.

Adding payment links can also decrease chance of letting a

policy lapse.

The Quick Fix

Add Links to Company Payment Pages

Makes your website more necessary for your current clients and helps with retention.

Mistake #10No Claims Information

Claims are already a stressful process.

Having to track down easy to post information will hurt your relationship

with your client.

The Quick Fix

Add Your Carriers’ Claims Information

Whether it’s a phone number, a link to

another website, or adding your own claim form – post it on your website somewhere

easy to find.

Mistake #11Using Too Much Flash

Flash slideshows are large files and will cause your website to

load slower.

Flash created files will also not work on tablets or mobile phones. More websites are

moving away from Flash because of this.

Too much animation can confuse a client and hurts the eye.

The Quick Fix

Use HTML5

HTML5 works in much the same way as Flash, without slowing down your website or not working on certain devices.

This is becoming a modernindustry standard.

Mistake #12Intro/Splash Pages

Falls under the “user un-friendly” category by adding

another step between the client and the substance of

your website.

Splash pages now hurt your search engine rankings,

because they do not include text content.

The Quick Fix

Ditch the Splash Page

It’s unnecessary and can annoy your clients.

Focus that energy on making your home page

stand out.

If need be, create a landing page instead.

Mistake #13

Auto-Play Videos/Music

Fastest way to get a customer to click away from your website

Automatically playing music and video used to be popular, but now is viewed as outdated and an annoyance.

The Quick Fix

Don’t Automatically Play the Music or Video

Giving the customer the choice to watch the video by adding

a play button.

Videos are wonderful and efficient ways to capture you

clients interest.

But don’t force them into it.

Lessons to Learn

1. Make your site easy for any client to use

2. Make them useful, get your clients involved with the process

3. Keep your website design up to date with current trends

ITC is holding the first

ITC Agent Conferenceon April 15 & 16

Want to Learn Even More?

www.agentconference.org