Is Your Website Driving Customers Away?
Making a good first impressions with customers is important. Often that first impression happens online, via your website. That is why it is important to make sure you have a user-friendly and informative website.
Unfortunately, many businesses become complacent with their websites. They think, “well, my website has been fine so far, why change it.” So, they stop growing and innovating. Then without even realizing it their website becomes so dated that it starts driving customers away.
Below are a few ways your website might be driving customers away.
Bad User Experience
There are several factors that contribute to poor user experience on the website. Your website may have a confusing menu structure, making it hard to navigate. Or it may look disorganized with a mix of colors and fonts.
Three important elements that effect user experience are:
- Branding: Consistent branding is important. It helps users understand who you are and what your business is about. It also makes your website feel more organized.
- Navigation: Part of making your website easy to use, is making it easy to navigate. An organized menu structure and onsite search function will help users find what they are looking for.
- Mobile-Friendliness: Many of your website visitors will be using their phone or tablet to browse your site. If your website does not display properly on mobile devices, you will drive those customers away. That is why it is important to make sure your website is designed to be responsive so pages will automatically align to fit the user’s device.
Calls-To-Action (CTA) & Contact Information
Clear CTA buttons and accessible contact information encourages users to interact with your website and with your company. Not including this information can be a sign of poor customer service. Helpful CTA buttons include: “contact us,” “shop now,” “volunteer,” and more.
Slow Load Times
If your website has a slow load time, most users will exit the site and move on. According to Google’s Core Web Vitals, the average load time of the main content on a web page should be 2.5 seconds or less.
Outdated Design & Content
If you don’t keep your website up-to-date, users may assume that your company is either on the way out, or simply just not aware of the needs of modern consumers. So, it is important to keep both the content and design of your website recent. Delete information about expired promotions or out of stock items. And be aware of design and functionality trends.
Note that spelling and grammar errors on the website are also off-putting to users.
Obnoxious Advertisements
Avoid videos and music that auto play on the website. This can be both startling and confusing to users. Pop-ups are useful in moderation, but are annoying when there are too many, or when they are hard to close. Let users access the content on your website, rather than distracting them with ads.
MIBS, Inc. is an experienced website design and development firm. We work with business and non-profit organizations to create affordable, custom website solutions that will attract visitors. Request a free quote to learn more about how we can help you optimize your online presence.
