Why Prospects Exit Your Website In Seconds
Do you ever wonder why people press the back button within seconds after landing on your page? It can be frustrating when you accomplished designing a great website with all the best details. You even edited the content ten times over and believe that your pages are true masterpieces. So, why aren’t your visitors sticking around?
As one of the leading web design agencies in Phoenix, Arizona, we have compiled ten design elements that increase your website’s bounce rates:
1. Pop-ups
Pop-ups are forms of online advertising on the Internet. It is a graphical user interface (GUI) display area, usually a small window, which suddenly appears in the foreground of the visual interface. Pop-ups are a way to get your message across in the fastest, most in-your-face possible. One pop-up is usually tolerable. However, if you bombard your visitors with pop-up after pop-up, they are likely to lose their patience and leave. Always remember the very reason why a web visitor is on your page in the first place: he or she assumes that you have the answer to their search engine query. They did not go to your website to read the contents of your pop-up windows.
2. Immediate Registration Demands
If there is anything worse than a pop-up, it’s a pop-up asking web visitors to register for a newsletter or service immediately. This is especially true for first-time visitors who know nothing about your company and only clicked out of curiosity. Before asking web users to sign up for anything, allow them to browse through your homepage at the very least. Tease them a little. Timing is everything.
3. Auto sounds
There was a time back in the nineties and very early 2000s when sound or music on websites was all the rage. Today, it is incredibly unlikely for anyone to prefer automatic audio. It is unfair to assume that your visitor wants you to auto-play sounds for them. So, even if you are confident that they share the same tastes in music and video as you, it does not immediately mean that they want to hear it. In fact, it is without a doubt driving people away from your website.
4. Slow Loading Time
According to surveys conducted by Akamai and Gomez.com, nearly half of web users expect a website to load within two seconds or less, and that they tend to abandon a site that does not load within three seconds. In other words, never make your visitors wait. A lot of people pay premium prices for 50MB home and office broadband connections. If your website is taking too long to load, they will know that your site is to blame. Specifically, if a web user is only curious and has clicked your URL on impulse, they are more likely to leave.
5. Confusing Navigation
Navigation ensures your visitors that they can explore your website without having to hunt for a hidden treasure. The design of a website’s navigation has one of the most significant impacts on the success or failure of a site. It affects traffic and search engine rankings alike. Web visitors expect to find seamless, horizontal navigation across the top fold or vertical navigation down the left side of your page. Conversely, putting your navigation in standard places makes your site so much easier to use.
6. Typos
Types and poor grammar do not make you look professional. Enough said.
7. Bad Selection of Fonts
Your website and your message need to be as clear as daylight. Otherwise, your viewers will not respond to it. Having breathtaking designs with illegible typography will confuse your viewers and turn them off. Using web fonts cleverly will help you avoid all of that. To help you get started, here are the top recommended fonts from Google Web Fonts.
8. No Impact
If your overall web design is not attractive and engaging, or if your copy does not evolve with your business, it is going to come across as boring. There is nothing wrong with wanting your website to look professional, but just because it’s professional does not mean it should have the personality of a deer in headlights. The colors, font, images, and overall organizational schematic can either make or break your web design woes.
9. No “About” Page
Your “About” page delivers the most important and relevant information about your business. Most web users look for this page for a reason: It answers their question about your business, including what your contact information is, where your office is located, and how long you have been in business. Not having this basic and crucial page may impact your legitimacy as a company.
10. Lack of Clarity
When users visit your website for the first time, they need to be able to tell what your company does within seconds. If they scratch their head in confusion, you may need to consider re-conceptualizing your identity as a business. What you need is a unique selling point, which is what defines your company’s unique position in the marketplace. It is the heart of your business: the value you offer and the problem you solve. A strong USP clearly articulates a specific benefit — one that other competitors do not offer and makes you stand out. A descriptive, meaningful, plain English strapline is often key.
When you look at some of these ten factors individually, they may not seem enough to make visitors click out. However, when combined, they can give off an entirely wrong impression.
Give Your Visitors a Reason to Stick Around
It’s not always easy to create a brilliant user experience, and there is a lot of pressure knowing that every aspect of your website represents the competence of your business. In reality, even the smallest defect can significantly increase your bounce rate. If you require assistance in making online visitors stay longer, PrimeView can help develop web design strategies that fit your site’s needs, goals, and identity as a business. Call us today at 480-970-4688.
Read more articles like this: Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, On-Site Optimization, seo, User Experience, Web Design