A website which is intuitively designed and properly executed is key to the success of your business. Poorly structured sites, in many circumstances, can cause visitors to leave as soon as the homepage has loaded. Whether you’re looking to build an entirely new site or redesign your existing one, here are five reasons why your website users might hit immediately hit the back button:
1. Slow website speed.
We live in a fast paced world where the expectation of most online users is to get to what they need at the touch of a button. Put simply, people aren’t going to wait around for a website to download, after they’ve landed on it. Furthermore, research from KISSmetrics shows that load times matter when it comes to website performance. 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less and 40% abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. There are a few factors which affect load time but they are pretty simple to rectify; supplying smaller images, optimising the load order of included content, increasing server power and / or moving a server to a more local location are all steps which can be taken.
2. Poor design.
There are far too many sites in existence where seemingly little or no thought has been given to the design element. Design has a direct effect on users choosing to stay on your website and learn more about you, or go somewhere else. It also impacts on the perception of your business. If a website looks outdated, the chances are, users may consider you to be outdated and ask why your products and services have not been presented in their best light. If a user doesn’t see the value in your brand, they are at liberty to click back to the search engine and into the next listing.
3. No clear call to action/s.
What is a call to action? Well, it’s a clear and easy to read message which tells your visitors what you’d like them to do next. Calls to action are all too often misleading and if overly complex, can confuse the user, ultimately resulting in them leaving the site. So to give you an example, here are a couple of call actions you could use; “View a product demo”, “Download our White Paper today”, “Take Advantage of a Special Offer”, “Book your next adventure Here”.
In short, your users won’t take action if you don’t prompt them to do so. Home pages, end pages, blog posts and product pages need to be compelling and they should contain a simple and relevant call-to-action.
4.Your site isn’t responsive.
Mobile browsing is now more common than desktop browsing and therefore, it’s a given that your website should be fully compatible with and work seamlessly on mobile devices. If your site isn’t fully responsive to this changed environment, you’ll likely lose out significantly in organic search rankings.So make sure you’re optimised for mobile, so you maximise your reach in terms of target audience.
5. Your site is difficult to navigate.
This one may seem obvious but it is often, surprisingly overlooked. Easy navigation is key. Every website visitor arrives with a specific goal in mind; it may be that they want more information about a topic, to buy something from you – or to simply get in touch. If they can’t quickly and easily get to what they need, they will go elsewhere. Take time to test your links and make sure the number of steps your audience is required to take are minimised.
Final thoughts…
It’s important to consider all five factors when optimising your website. It may feel like a no brainer but each of them has the potential to be easily forgotten, particularly when it comes to getting bogged down into more complex strategic design and marketing decision making. Don’t be fooled into disregarding or forgetting the basics; experience and data consistently shows how this can negatively impact on a business. If you already have a website and would like us to cast an eye over it, if you’d like to know how your website is performing or you’re ready for something brand new, you can contact The Digital Studios here.
