Although you may be trying to save money by doing a DIY job on your website design, this could actually end up costing you money in the long run. How? By driving potential customers away, causing you to miss out on profitable sales. Here we will explain eight ways your website is driving customers away and if you find yourself nodding along, it is time to hire a professional web designer to give you a helping hand!
1. Large blocks of content
Content is great, we love content, but the saying ‘too much of a good thing’ certainly applies here. If you bombard users with endless blocks of content, they are simply going to get bored and lose focus. It is important to make your web design as simple as possible, giving users time to digest the information they have taken. You can do this by portioning your text into small chunks and surrounding it with white space.
2. Confusing navigation
Users are not going to want to have to click through four or five pages to get to the information they require. If your navigation is confusing or long winded, users will simply click off your website and go to one of your competitors’ sites instead. If you need help simplifying your website navigation and making it more logical, we highly recommend getting in touch with an expert web designer.
Users are only willing to wait a couple of seconds for websites to load. If they take any longer they will simply look elsewhere for the information they require.
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3. Slow page loading times
Slow page loading times are the downfall of many business websites. If your pages take more than a couple of seconds to load, again users will go elsewhere for the products or services they require. A good web designer will help you reduce your page loading times by tweaking your site and reducing image file sizes.
4. Black backgrounds
If you want users to be able to read your content with ease and take in the information you provide, then do not present it on a black background. Light fonts on black backgrounds are extremely off-putting for users. Change it around so you have dark fonts on a light background. Not only will it make your content easier to read, but it will also let it breath, allowing users to digest it better.
5. No search bar
Websites without search bars frustrate users and rightly so. They want to be able to type in the product they are looking for and be taken straight to the page it is on. They do not want to have to click through numerous category pages until they find it. If your website does not have a search bar, you could potentially be missing out on profitable sales. Ask your web designer to install one ASAP!
6. Not mobile or tablet friendly
One of the biggest mistakes you can make today is to have a business website that is not suitable for viewing on digital tablets and smartphones. The number of people using tablets and smartphones to access the web is growing day by day and by having an unresponsive web design, you will be alienating a large proportion of your target audience.
There are two ways to solve this problem. You can either have a responsive web design built by your web designer or a mobile-version of your site. Either way, it is essential that your business website can be viewed on tablets and smartphones. Seek consultation from Companies like webdesign Manchester specialists, Fluid Digital.
If your website isn’t mobile or tablet friendly, you could risk alienating a large proportion of your target audience.
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7. Difficult to find contact information
If you are going to attempt to sell your products and services online, you need to build up your customers’ trust in your business. Part of this process will involve providing information about your company and ensuring customers can contact you if they have any queries or problems. If you hide your contact information on your website, your customers are going to lack trust in your company. Make sure your web designer inserts your telephone number and email address in the footer of your website pages.
8. Too many ‘call to action’ buttons
Call to action buttons are great for telling users what you want them to do e.g. ‘Buy’ or ‘Sign up.’ If however you have too many on one page you could end up confusing users. A good web designer will advise than you have one call to action per page.
Conclusion
The key to a good website is to provide users with an excellent experience. A major part of this will involve creating a highly functional and aesthetically pleasing design that will engage with users and allow them to carry out their tasks. If you believe your current web design may be driving users away for one or more of the reasons featured in this article, get in touch with a professional web designer and see how they can change your site for the better.
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