7 Website Mistakes that are Driving Away Your Visitors
November 5, 2018
Slow Loading Pages
When we talk about website mistakes, having your website load slowly is a huge no-no. People are in the fast lane today and will not wait around for a slow website to load. According to Blue Corona, the slowest loading sites are 4 seconds or more, while the fastest are 1 second or under. Obviously, the faster the better if you want to keep your visitors happy.
Page loading speed also now can effect your ranking in Google. If your website is on the slow side, you may need to get a new hosting company. Hosting companies use different technologies, so it may help your site speed if you switch to a new company.
Poor Navigation
Another element that will greatly determine whether or not a person stays on your website is how clear the navigation is. People will not spend the time to hunt around for what they want. They want a good navigation structure that will easily lead them from one page or section to another. Anything less will encourage them to go elsewhere for what they want.
Too Many Moving Parts
You have probably been on websites where everything is moving. It gets pretty annoying, doesn't it? You can't scroll down the page without something shooting in from the side or moving in some other way. While a little movement on a site can add some interest and "wow factor," too much makes your visitors want to leave as quickly as they can.
Bottom line is, if you want to use some movement, make sure it is subtle and not overdone.
Unclear Message
Is it clear right off the bat what you offer when someone visits your website? If not, you are inviting them to go to your competitors's website. I find it so frustrating when I go to a website, scroll down the homepage, and have no idea what the person offers. Confusion is created when your wording is vague and unclear and also when nothing seems like the prominent feature. If you are talking about all kinds of things on a page, it won't tell what that page is for. Every webpage, whether it's the homepage or one of the interior pages, has to have a clear purpose and call to action (if appropriate.)
Non-clarity creates confusion, and a confused person will not remain on your website for long.
Not Mobile Friendly
One of the biggest website mistakes you can make today is not having it mobile friendly. If that is you, it's time to update it to a responsive design. The percentage of people using smaller devices to do internet searches has grown to the point that you will lose a LOT of potential customers if your website gets cut off on their phone or tablet.
No more waiting - hire a designer to either make your current site mobile friendly or have a new one designed. It is worth the investment.
Site Not Secure
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral.(information quoted from SSL.com)
In July 2018, when using Chrome, websites that do not have an SSL certificate began showing as "not secure." You can imagine the poor impression this gives when someone comes to your site. Whether you are a business or a non-profit, seeing that label does give your visitors a "warm fuzzy feeling!"
Most hosting companies are now offering SSL as part of their hosting packages.
Outdated
Is your website just plain old outdated? Have you updated the content or images lately? You may not think it's necessary, but Google and your visitors think it is.
Think of going into a store where nothing changes - no new styles of clothing, etc. How often are you going to go back to that store? Probably not too often as you already know what they have. However, if they are consistently introducing new styles/colors, etc., you are likely to return much more frequently.
The same idea goes for your website. Once people know what you have on your site, there isn't much reason to return to it if nothing is updated or changed. Even if it's simply adding a new blog post once every couple of weeks, do something to add value to your site and keep bringing your visitors back.
Website mistakes can be subtle or they can be of paramount importance and cost you potential customers. The ones outliined in this post are high on the list of important factors, so if you find your website is guilty of any of them, make time to fix them. It's an investment worth making.