Are we speaking your language? That’s no accident. We choose our industries with intent—because no competitive advantage rivals experience.
Your website is your most powerful sales tool. It’s more than an online repository of information about your company and products—it’s a medium by which you can convert the curious, the considering, and the committed.
However, many websites underperform because they break some basic principles of web design. Visitors bounce instead of sticking around to learn more; they go down the wrong path and leave unsatisfied; they spend a long time reading, but don’t act on their newfound knowledge. How can you optimize your web design to increase website conversions? Let’s examine a few top web design conversion failures to find out.
You have about 6 seconds to convince visitors to stay on your site. If someone comes to your home page and is overwhelmed and confused by the density of information on your site, they are more likely to bounce. Elements that could cause this confusion include:
Use your prime, above-the-fold real-estate to convey that your visitors are in the right place. It may be your last chance to make a first impression.
Write a compelling call-to-action (CTA) and place it above the fold, right where it’s easiest for your visitors to spot. Many businesses try to be more discreet by hiding their CTA, as a link or an unobtrusive button. They want it to blend in instead of stand out. But this isn’t doing visitors any favors. No, a CTA button that literally shines and sends out a fountain of sparks when you hover over it isn’t going to help you. But a bold red color in large print will!
Beyond the CTA, your design should have a clear and logical path for your users to follow. You don’t want to hem your visitors in to such an extent that they literally cannot explore any more of your site. But you do want an ordered layout that guides your visitors to the products and information most relevant to them.
Layout can be distracting. So can things like links, obtrusive advertising, and pop-up windows. Your visitor’s attention is limited, and with the number of things competing for their attention from all sides (in their physical environment but also across the rest of the Internet), you want to make sure your website holds their focus.
Don’t forget the text on your page as well. Compelling copy can help, but think about every design aspect from a readability perspective, too. Is there enough contrast between the text and background to make it easy to read? What about your font choice? Space between lines? The more fatigued a visitor feels reading your website, the more their attention will lag and they’ll be tempted to leave.
Most visitors aren’t ready to buy when they first come to your site. Many of them need to be convinced, and all the information in the world will only go so far. You can reduce buyer hesitation in a few ways:
I’m amazed by how often I will leave a website because I’ve grown frustrated trying to buy the thing I came to them for. Reasons include things like:
The purpose of bringing visitors to your site is so that they can complete a purchase or fill out a contact form. Stop asking them to jump through hurdles for the privilege of giving you their money.
One of the best ways to improve the performance of your website is to take opinion out of it equation. You don’t need to guess which version of your site will draw in more traffic—you can know. A/B testing will give you the answer!
At build/create, we focus our web design on creating the most effective product for your business. A website which looks generic, cluttered, and unprofessional does a disservice to your business and your customers. You’re not giving your brand the attention it deserves, and your visitors leave dissatisfied and still in need of service. Similarly, there are many beautiful websites in the world that fail to convert, because visitors become confused and disoriented by the artistic design.
Our goal is to give you a design with purpose: a website which attracts the right leads and converts them into paying customers. If this is the website your business needs, contact us.