It’s not a secret that the web has changed our lives for the better.
We are now used to the fact that searching for information, sharing our thoughts and catching up with the latest news is now done in a matter of seconds.
But this powerful tool has its downsides, too: from privacy issues to intrusive marketing strategies and the dreaded spam emails.
While we were having a great time attending the Business Showcase Southwest that took place in Bristol on May 17th, we enjoyed a few good chats with business owners and passers-by that revealed the five things people find most annoying about websites:
1. Pop up adverts
They’re here. They’re there. They’re pretty much everywhere, and they always seem to find a way to escape from blocker’s reliable filters. Deal with it.
If you have ads or a lot of pop-up windows on your site (like a newsletter subscription form on your homepage), try at least to make them more bearable by designing a great user experience website.
2. Slow loading time
“Patience is a virtue,” they say, but you’d better not put your potential customer’s tolerance to the test and avoid up to 7% loss in conversions and 16% decrease in customer satisfaction.
You can easily check the loading speed of your website using simple tools like Google’s Pagespeed Insights and GTMetrix, but what should you do to solve this problem?
Here are a few tips:
- First of all, don’t forget to optimize images and scale them appropriately. Don’t ask your browser to load a ton of unnecessary information and keep it light and happy all the time.
- Minify your CSS, Html, and JavaScript and say goodbye to the superfluous code in your website.
- Enable compression by using tools like Gzip.
- Deactivate and delete unnecessary plugins from your website pages.
3. Not mobile responsive websites
According to Ofcom’s 2015 Communication Market Reports, the UK is now a smartphone society:
- 33% of users use their smartphone as the main device for going online
- Most people spend on average more than 2 hours online each day using a smartphone
- 55% users with 4G are shopping online
- 80% of local searches from mobile convert to a sale
That’s why the right mobile site configuration, an optimized local search, and a responsive web design should be your website’s priorities.
4. Unclear menu
Website architecture plays an important part in making the visitors feel at home.
And once they get that familiar and cozy feeling, they’re likely to spend more and more time on your website.
But if they have to face the hassle of browsing a confusing and untidy menu, you will see them running away from your business.
The further, the better.
So roll up your sleeve, do some late spring cleaning on your website menu and keep three simple things in mind:
- Avoid putting too many items on your navigation menu
- Always use text-based links instead of buttons –unless you are designing a 90’s revival party promotional website.
- Be predictable and proud of it: opt for a standard style with horizontal navigation across the top or vertical navigation down the left side.
If these simple hacks left you looking for more, find out how we can help you improve your site performance and be found in the places where your target market is searching for the products or services you supply.
