You've done something right in the internet universe and a new visitor has arrived at your homepage. Getting them to the door is half the battle. Now comes the second half, convincing them to come in and stay for a bit. Attention spans are shorter by the day. You want... no, you NEED to make their visit as easy and engaging as possible. Little annoyances, like pop-ups and autoplay videos, can drive visitors away in a matter of seconds. Here are 5 ways your site might be sending your prospects packing:
1) It takes forever to load.
Our shortening attention spans are not just making us check our phones several hundred times per day; they're also making us really impatient when it comes to waiting for websites to load. According to a KISSmetrics report, 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less, and 40% abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. Even a one-second delay decreases customer satisfaction by about 16%.
2) It isn't optimized for mobile.
When browsing the internet on a mobile phone, have you ever been forced to scroll from side-to-side to read copy on a website? Or have you had to pinch-to-zoom because the words or buttons on a page were way too small? These are all examples of the painful user experience people can have on websites that aren't optimized for mobile.
3) It offers poor navigation.
When someone lands on your site, do they know what to do? Where to go? What their next steps should be?
Include clear headline copy, jargonless page copy that explains the value of what you do, and a clear primary call-to-action that shows visitors how to take the next steps -- whether that's subscribing to your blog, getting a free trial, watching a video, or any other action you hope visitors will perform on your site.
4) It boasts disorienting animations.
You're probably familiar with the blink test by now. You know, the three seconds users have to orient themselves on any given web page before they click "back" in their browser.
Animations, autoplay videos, blinking and flashing paid advertisements, and other interactive entertainment may seem really cool, but if they're too obtrusive or disorienting, they can detract from a visitor's focus during those critical three seconds.
5) It's littered with generic or cheesy stock photography.
Bad stock photos are generic at best, and ridiculous at worst. Images are helpful if they clarify something for a visitor, and generic stock photography doesn't help visitors or your business.
It's much better to show real pictures of customers, employees, your company, your product, and your location. If you're particularly design savvy, you can create visuals yourself that directly relate to what you do.
If you want to know 12 more ways your site is failing, check out the full list from our partners at HubSpot.
We don't want you to have a site people can't wait to close. We want your web pages to feel like a hammock swinging in the wind on a cool summer day - a place you never want to leave! Contact the Marketing Experts at Front Burner Marketing to get your site on the right track!
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