12 reasons why I'll leave your website quickly
Creating a well designed website with a great user experience is not easy, and the reality is that most sites have some issues. Addressing the following negative factors will lead to a more compelling user experience, stickier website and stronger brand image.
- Auto sound. When I visit a website and a nasty sound instantly plays, I tend to leave with immediate effect.
- First impressions. When I visit a website for the first time, I want to know what that company does within seconds. If it doesn't jump out almost immediately I tend to leave straightaway. A strapline which is descriptive, meaningful, and without jargon is key.
- Poor design. Design is subjective. The basics though are choice of colour combinations, font type and font size. If a visitor can't read your website for one reason or another, then they will leave, fast.
- Poor navigation. Don't make me think. Users need to be able to find content easily. Navigation needs to be intuitive, descriptive and straightforward. There is no excuse for badly designed navigation. Flash-based sites tend to be among the very worst sinners.
- Flash. Pure flash based websites may look good, but have well-documented drawbacks in terms of SEO and usability. Flash is currently not supported on iPhones so your site won't work at all. Flash can be a great presentation tool for rich content though.
- Slow load times. Websites should be fast. If I really need to visit your website then I might wait, but if I'm just curious then I'm more likely to leave.
- Too busy. Websites should have structure to pages. Multiple flashing banners, buttons and text throughout a page are confusing. It's incredibly annoying and distracting.
- Immediate registration. Why make a website gated? A website is a marketing tool for current and potential customers. Don't make it hard for them at the start. "The challenge is to manage the Web in an open way", Tim Berners-Lee.
- Left aligned sites. Sites that are aligned to the left (rather than centrally) just seem rather dated.
- Hiding key information. Users visit websites to find out information. If someone wants to contact you, make it easy. If a user wants the price of a product, have it front and centre. Think why people are visiting your site.
- Typos. Attention to detail. Typos and poor grammar do not send the right messages about your business. What else might slip through the net?
- Signs of life. When was your site last updated? A blog, a news page, or a feed from your Twitter profile shows some activity. Aside from it showing users that the site is not just a 'shop window', search engines will visit sites more often helping rankings.
Please contact us for further information about how we can help with your website design, internet strategy and SEO.
