It can be all too tempting to regard your business website as an online placeholder, a reference point for search engine users who just want to locate your phone number or your hours of operation. Actually, a good website should be much more than that, providing potential customers with a warm welcome, inviting them to spend some time immersing themselves in information about your brand, products, and services.
But what if your website has the opposite effect? If your website repels people, it will almost surely have an adverse effect on your SEO position, your brand reputation, and your sales. The question is, why might a business website send customers fleeing?
8 Ways Your Website is Repelling Users
1) An outdated design.
Have you ever stumbled across a website that looks like it hasn’t been updated since the tail end of the Clinton administration? If so, you probably know what a turn-off it can be. Simply put, consumers don’t want to do business with a company that seems like it’s stuck in the past (or possibly no longer active at all).
2) Lack of mobile design.
Statistics confirm that a majority of online access takes place over phones, not desktop or laptop computers. If your users have to zoom, pinch, and constantly resize their screen just to read your content, they’ll soon abandon your site altogether.
3) Slow speed.
Loading time is one of the most critical factors for ensuring a positive user experience. If it takes more than three or four seconds for your site to load, you can expect to lose some visitors. Ensure that your site loads quickly across all browser and device types.
4) Overcomplicated navigation.
Is it easy for your website users to locate the information they need, quickly and easily? If the navigation of your website is inscrutable or intimidating, you may lose visitors to competitors, who offer clarity and simplicity in their online navigation.
5) Grammatical errors.
Grammatical errors don’t just compromise your professionalism. They can actually make your content more difficult to understand. And they erode any trust that users might otherwise feel toward your business or brand.
6) Autoplaying music or video ads.
Often, when we access the Web, we’re listening to music, digesting a podcast, or possibly even engaging in a conversation with someone. The last thing we want is for our experience to be disrupted with annoying, autoplaying ad content. Not only can autoplay content be frustrating, but it may slow your site speed, too!
7) Pop-up ads.
Speaking of annoying and of out-of-date… pop-ups have mostly been relegated to the dustbins of Internet history, yet we still see them from time to time. Pop-up ads can be an incredible turn-off, and we generally recommend avoiding them.
8) Lack of CTAs.
Clear calls-to-action don’t just instruct people to buy stuff, or to set appointments. On the contrary, a CTA can provide real clarity and direction for the consumer journey, instructing your visitors on how to best experience your website. An inadequate CTA structure can actually mar the performance and usability of your website.
Does Your Website Offer a Warm Welcome?
The bottom line: Your business website needs to be welcoming. It needs to entice users to spend some time with your content and your brand. As such, it’s important to ensure a design without any of these common turn-offs.
Does all of this have you thinking that your site could use an overhaul? That’s what we’re here for. Reach out to the team at Woland Web to discuss strategies for building an effective, highly functional website today.
