I tell my kids not to use the word “suck,” and yet there it is in the title of this blog post. Yikes! Why did I use such strong and colorful language? Because desperate times call for desperate measures. You see, some coaching websites are just so bad there is no other way to describe them except to say “they $#©&!”

How could you know if your website is missing the mark? In my experience, coaches tend to suffer from a small handful of website woes. To help you gauge the effectiveness (or not) of your website, I’ve compiled a list of the 6 most common problems I see with coaching websites. Use this list to help you evaluate your own coaching website and help it soar, rather than, well you-know-what.

Mistake #1: You have the wrong hero.
Every story has a hero and your website is telling a story. But who’s the hero? One problem with many coaching websites is that they tell a story in which the coach is the hero. These websites essentially shout: “Here’s the coach to save the day!” So what’s wrong with that? It misses the fact that your client is the hero, not you. You want your website to resonate with your ideal coaching client, who is on some sort of heroic adventure such as becoming a better leader, writing her first book, getting in great physical shape, or picking a career path. While your website needs to tell potential clients some stuff about you, what they really want to see is stuff about them, so make them the hero of the story.

Mistake #2: What you do is a mystery.
If a visitor to your website has to spend more than about 15 seconds figuring out what you do, you have a problem. Mysterious websites tend to occur because the coach is not yet crystal clear what she does and for whom she does it. To help with this, try stating in one short sentence who you help and what challenge you help them solve. For example: “I help new managers become great managers” or “I help over-scheduled moms perform a guilt-free calendar purge.”

Mistake #3: You talk too much about coaching and not enough about client success.
Dentist websites don’t have pictures of the dentist expertly performing a root canal. Ouch! Instead, they have pictures of smiling people with clean, straight, healthy teeth. Why? Because nobody wants a root canal, they just want healthy teeth. When it comes to coaching, potential clients become paying clients when they get a clear picture of the benefits they will experience from working with you. They don’t want a dissertation on what coaching is, how it works, and all of that – they want a clear and compelling vision for what could be true in their life. Coaching websites that go into great detail about coaching miss the opportunity to showcase client success.

Mistake #4: You talk too much. Period.
Even if you’re saying the right things, it’s a mistake to go on and on. Website visitors need bite-sized pieces of information so they can scan, get the big picture, and then dive deeper if they choose to. Coaching websites that speak in long paragraphs perform much worse than those that speak in short sentences, headlines, icons, and pictures. By the way, if you think keeping it short equates with being shallow, you’re wrong. It’s far more challenging to craft concise communication than to wax on indiscriminately. I have much more to say on this, but I think I should stop now.

Mistake #5: You have no clear call to action.
What do you want people to do as a result of visiting your website? Here’s a hint: you want them to hire you – maybe now, maybe later, but eventually you want people to make the powerful, life-changing decision to work with you. Sure, maybe you also want them to read your blog (if you have one), check out your bio, marvel at your devilishly handsome photo, see what a credible coach you are, and so forth, but none of those things are actionable. Strong coaching websites tend to have two very distinct calls to action: one is an obvious way to hire the coach (“click here to schedule your first appointment”), while the second is a way to get some lower level of value in exchange for their e-mail (“click here to learn the top ten ways hidden sources of stress and what to do about them”). So decide what one or two things you most want your web visitors to do, then design your site to encourage those actions.

Mistake #6: You made it pretty, but not practical.
Some websites are simply gorgeous. Like works of art, they draw the viewer in and impress them with aesthetics. That’s nice, but your website is a sales pitch, not an artistic expression. If you want to create art, buy a canvas, paints, and some brushes. If you want to get clients, build your website to perform. I’m not saying that an ugly website is good, I just saying that if you value aesthetics over marketing, you’re making a mistake. Sites with sweeping images and microscopic text don’t function well when it comes to encouraging people to get coached.

So how’s your website? Is it helping visitors become clients? What could you do to improve it?