So - you have a website? Maybe it’s old, maybe it’s new. But for some reason you aren’t getting the traffic and the results you expected. You may have spent hours preparing your site, but now you just hear crickets. What’s the problem? What in the “Silent Night” is going on?
Here are some things we’ve seen that cause people to bounce and stay away:
It really isn’t that hard these days to find attractive graphic designs, great fonts, software and user-friendly applications. But many websites look like they are stuck in the 80s. The 80s may have been a great decade, but we have moved on. Seriously. If your website looks like it’s frozen in time then you definitely need an upgrade.
If you are using Papyrus or other outdated fonts on your website, this is a big red flag. Immediately most people will vacate the premises. These outdated fonts are overused and are history (unless you are making another Mummy movie).
According to research, it only takes about 50 milliseconds (.05 seconds) for users to determine their opinion about your site. The average online attention span ranges from 6 to 20 seconds, depending on the source. Most people only read an average of 28 percent of the words on a web page. If your site is slow you might as well start digging the grave.
Instead of creating text-only pages, consider using attention-grabbing elements like images, bullet points, videos. Grab their attention in creative ways, and THEN trust they will click for further information that does have more text. Trade the Tortoise for the Hare and speed it up!
Many times your site just needs to change to a host that is fast (such as VisionAmp). We not only build fast, auto responsive sites, but we also ensure that every website we host is optimized for mobile phones - which brings us to the next point:
According to statista.com, in 2021, the number of unique mobile internet users stood at 4.32 billion, indicating that over 90 percent of the global internet population use a mobile device to go online. With the social media explosion, TikTok, Instagram and other platforms have fueled the fire, creating shorter attention spans and faster-moving content.
Most of the time this is done on a cell phone.
If your site isn’t optimized for mobile use, users will be pinching, zooming in, perhaps click the wrong line or link. Up your game and use a website company that makes mobile optimization a priority.
Let’s face it. We want online users to be aMAZED at our websites - NOT lost in a maze. This happens all the time - especially when your main page is just a gateway and not a destination. Your main page is your bread and butter. It cannot be muddy or vague. It needs to contain EVERYTHING in summary that will keep them there, clicking on subsequent pages.
Other ways they get lost is due to your drop down menu being too exhaustive. Too much is just too much. Rework your route. Make sure customers don’t get confused with the homepage and the category page. Each needs to have their own unique look and feel, as well as content that differs from one another. When someone gets lost on your site they’re gone. Fix the path.
The five letters - HTTPS - that appear before a website’s domain name/address are more than just letters. However, each day millions of people venture online without even giving these letters a second glance. If you rely on sales from your website, or your site takes any kind of personal information from users, this is even more important. Your customers want to know that their personal information is safe. In fact, only about 3% of all users have said that they enter their credit card information on websites that are not secure, or missing the green padlock. That’s 97% that may be wanting a product you have, but are leaving your site to go to a more secure site.
Don’t go another day without a secure website, and more importantly, don’t submit information to a site that is not secure.
So - here’s the question: Is blogging still relevant? Does blogging really help, or is it an outdated idea? At VisionAmp Web Design we strongly believe that blogging can drastically help your website and your business in MANY ways. Blogging is one of the best marketing strategies that will drive clients to your website. This is a proven fact. Blogs often contain answers to questions that aren’t covered in your FAQ section. This is also a platform that most people will give more time to, as opposed to short attention spans on your landing page.
We have several clients who blog every month about subjects and products that are relevant to their business. This has helped them to increase their overall exposure, generate more customers, and even more revenue. Blog away!
Squirrel!!
Ha! Now where were we? Oh yes - Distractions. The fact is, most websites have WAY too many elements that turn people away. This can be anything from an automatic video, pop up banners, too many external links, an audio clip that plays out of nowhere. Get rid of these things and focus on keeping the user focused - otherwise they will bounce.
Squirrel.
Need a fresh, relevant idea? A new look? Perhaps a faster and secure website that is guaranteed to bring you more traffic? Since 2007, our award-winning company has helped hundreds of businesses grow and acquire more customers by building websites that work! We take great pride in being transparent, affordable and ridiculously good at what we do. Give us a call and let’s turn the “no likes” into likes!
-Written by David Jackson, VisionAmp Content Specialist
