Top 10 Reasons People Are Leaving Your Website
Here we look at some of the key reasons to consider if your website is not giving you the results you had hoped for. This is not an exhaustive list but is an excellent starting point.
1. Your site is non-responsive
In 2020 this should almost be a no brainer for everyone who has a website. It should be responsive and if it isn’t responsive and optimised for mobile devices then this should be the number one task! With an enormous percentage of users now using a smartphone to browse the internet, performance of a website on mobile is crucial. Non-responsive websites are difficult to navigate, people don’t know where to click or how to find something if they cannot see the entire site within their screen. If a user is having to pinch and zoom (which we know they’ll eventually get tired of) they are likely to click away and find a website that IS responsive. And this is before you consider the SEO impacts of a non-responsive website with search engines adopting a mobile-first indexing approach.
2. Outdated website design
If your website is aging, it’s definitely time for a refresh almost regardless of the industry you’re in. In 2020 the vast majority of users will be expecting to see a website that is modern and fresh and if they don’t they are less likely to identify with that brand. If your website is outdated and not aesthetically pleasing why would they stay on it? You need to give users a reason to remain on your website and an outdated design won’t help.
3. Unclear navigation structure
Users are lazy and want easy accessibility so a website that’s disorganised with complex navigation is just going to put visitors off. Make sure you’re careful with your navigation – test this on multiple different users (particularly those within your target audience) so you can be certain that your website is straightforward to navigate and easy enough for a visitor to find the information they require.
4. No company information page
If your website has engaged the user enough that they want to navigate the website in more detail, many will navigate towards the ‘about us’ page to find out a bit more about your brand. Whether this page is called ‘About us’, ‘Meet the team’ or ‘Studio’ (like we have), a user wants to find out if your brand is credible and valid. An ‘about’ page is an effective tool for adding credibility and helping prospective customers commit to your brand.
5. Poor content
Poor content is something we see all too often, if your content is compelling why would users stay on your website? Poor content can be anything from a lack of content, to content that simply doesn’t suit their branding and brand message. On most websites, we recommend a high volume of content, but it has to be unique, informational and meaningful so value is added to the website visitor. If you are struggling for content marketing ideas check out our recent article for more insights.
6. Content is hard to read
Content font size and colouring can be whatever is most appropriate for your branding. However, your font type and colour needs to compliment your website design. The clearer your text is to read; the more likely people are to stick around on your website. It’s about a clear typeface that is easy on the eye and can appeal to customers in the right way to reflect your brand. Choice of colour can also play a part, depending on the tint of your background.
7. Too many ads
This won’t apply to all websites as many don’t have adverts on them, but extensive use of pop up adverts are enough to put off almost any website visitor, especially when they can’t find their way to the content. Although many well-known sites use pop-ups, people do get frustrated with these as it prevents their reason of action when clicking through to a site. If you use adverts on your website, make sure you’re thinking carefully about how you’re presenting them to offer the best possible user experience.
8. Slow loading pages
This is an enormous problem if you do have a website which loads slowly. Internet connections are generally so good these days that if your website does load slowly there’s a good chance you will lose the website visitor before they have a chance to even make it to your website. This means your website can be aesthetically pleasing, with a great balance of good quality content, but if it takes too long to load, users will quickly move away from it. And this is before you even consider the SEO implications of a website that loads slowly.
9. Lack of personality
Every brand needs a personality in order to stand out from competitors, and nowadays websites are so advanced and video content so readily available that it’s much easier to get your personality across on your website, and much more important too. The old adage ‘people buy from people’ is very appropriate here, and if you don’t showcase who you are as people on your website then there’s a strong chance website visitors won’t connect with you in the same way as if they got a feel for who you are when they land on your website. For more information on this, have a look back at a previous article I wrote on the importance of personality in your website strategy.
10. Broken Links
Picture the scene… a user navigates around your website, they click on a call to action and the page that they are trying to access has an error message. This is not only hindering user experience but it also damages your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) performance. Broken links happen as a result of page title changes or even if a page is deleted but certain content still internally links to that specific page. It can be difficult to fix all broken links if you’re publishing high volumes of content but try and cut down on this as much as you can and users will be less likely to leave your website!
If you feel too many visitors are leaving your website before they have a chance to get a feel for your business, and your conversion rate is not what you want it to be then we would love to have a chat with you and see what we can do to help!
