Do you have a great website that just hasn’t been effective in capturing customers and leads? Then it’s probably not a great as you think, your website in it’s current state, may not employ the most effective tools for making online conversions.
Think of it this way, your website can be one of your hardest working employees but, like any employee, if it is not set up with the right tools then it won’t be able to generate value to its fullest potential.
Here are our top reasons why customers are leaving your website and some helpful tips on how to improve your sites condition.
Your website is hard to read
There is nothing worse in a customer's eyes than a website that is hard to read. That is why colour and font choice are so important to your sites readability. If your sites colouring is not complementary or if your paragraph font is small and “fancy,” chances are your site is hard to read and users aren’t staying.
People like tradition, that means legible colour contrasts, typically a white or pale background with dark text. Fonts that work best are at least 14 px in size and are sans serif. And never forget to create a visual hierarchy for your content using headlines.
You're not using calls-to-action
Effective calls-to-action, or CTAs, are the best tool that you can use to direct users around your website. If you do not have CTAs, then you are not compelling your customers to take action, for example purchasing a product, on your site.
Don’t make finding content hard for your customers, provide clear paths for them to get to the information and products that they need. When you have, your website will be a great source for online lead generation.
Your navigation is confusing
If a user arrives on a website, but then gets lost trying to figure out where to go to get the information that they need, they will probably bail. That is why having a clear and defined navigation set-up is so important for a positive user experience.
Always consider a user's path and needs when building out navigation, this is the best way to ensure that you can complete the sales process.
Your sites load time is too long
Internet users are impatient, no one has the time for a website that is slow to load; statistically, if it takes more than three seconds most people will give up on your site. Your site needs to be optimized for speed and that usually begins with resizing your images and compacting your coding.
Your sales pitch sucks
It’s great that you have a presence on the web, but does that presence effectively sell your company and its product(s)?
If you do not have a strong sales pitch throughout your website, users have less of a reason to interact with or to buy your product. Evaluate your site to make sure that what you are promising about your product and what you are actually selling, align.
Ensure that you have the key elements of a successful online sales pitch: creative content, solid imagery and a clearly defined brand.
Your website is not optimized for mobile
A website's mobile optimization is now more important than ever; last month, Google's Algorithm was updated to filter out websites that were not mobile friendly.
It is so much easier for mobile users to abandon ship, people do not have time for a website that is not user friendly on a mobile device, they will just leave.
Be wary about Google’s Algorithm update, you may not have even realized that your SEO results have already been affected by this change. Click to read more about how this change could have affected your search results.
This list is in no way complete, instead think of it as the first step on your way to developing an optimized site. Let's talk about how we can make your website even more powerful.