What makes people run away shortly after visiting your website and what can be done about it?
It’s not easy to create a fantastically good looking website with the best user experience and because of this most websites have some problem or another. You can do yourself a favour though and avoid some things. Here are a few that cause visitors to run.
Slow page load times
Don’t make your customers wait! They don’t like waiting and most already pay for a good home broadband connection and will be damned if your slow loading website is causing trouble for them. If they really want or need to visit your website then they might wait, but if they just clicked a link on impulse then they are more likely to leave.
Senseless navigation
The user experience has to be kept at the forefront of your mind when it comes to your website and bad navigation is like shooting yourself in both feet. Navigation needs to be as seamless and straightforward as possible. Flash-based websites tend to be among the very worst of sinners. Heaven help us if you are still using a flash based website. Visitors might hang around, much in the same way that people slow down on motorways to stare at car crashes but they will be off again once recovered from the shock
Key information has gone walkies
I visited an online bookshop recently to find out how much a certain book would cost me. After a few seconds of hunting around, I realised that there were no details regarding the cost of the particular book that I wanted. Well, there was no way I was going to click the ‘buy now’ button just to see how much the book costs. I just purchased the book from Amazon instead. Make sure your key information isn’t missing.
Old Website Updates
Your visitors like to see an up to date ‘news’ or ‘blog’ section on your website and active social media accounts This indicates some signs of life and that you haven’t gone out of business. If the last ‘news’ or blog was from ‘January 2005’ then I doubt they will be hanging around long.
Excessive scrolling and flashing
People are browsing your website, they are not in a nightclub which is the only place where they will tolerate lots of flashing lights. Grabbing the attention of your visitors is important but there are ways and means. Don’t be desperate? The same applies to music. Music is suitable for some websites but ensure that it complements the tone of your website and actually stops playing at some point.
Narrow sites
Why on earth would a website be designed for 800px monitors? We are no longer in the year 2002. A full-screen modern look is more appealing, fresh and with built-in responsiveness creates a market for you of purchasers buying using their mobile phones. Mobile phone purchases have now overtaken desktop purchases, something to bear in mind.
Left-aligned sites
Again – we have long past the year 2002 so there is no need for this. It just does not look right. Very scary to be an ongoing thing in the year 2017.
Poor grammar
Poor grammar and typos are a no, no and do not send the right message to your visitors. You should be paying attention to detail. If you’re not bothered about that kind of thing then what kind of message does it give out? That is not the way to go.
Colour clashes
Incorrect colour combination makes it difficult to read text. And if you cannot read anything why stick around when you can scoot. A qualified web designer will be versed in the knowledge in colour harmony and colour theory. Putting this skill to task can save you losing visitors, sales, and unnecessary headaches.
Services unclear
Visitors need to be able to tell what a company does within seconds. If you prefer to keep what you do top secret then that is fine but what’s the point? If visitors can’t find things easily and quickly then they will look elsewhere.
If you feel its time for a re-design of your current website or you are thinking about building your first one give me a call. Maybe you just want some key elements changed or a regular blog written and posted. Either way Winners Web & Graphic Design is at your service. 07956 836 679
