Just because your website looks great, doesn’t mean that your web design scheme is convincing visitors in Springfield, MA or elsewhere to take the desired action. There are design mistakes that could be discouraging potential customers from sticking around long enough to check out what you have to offer. The following are some of these costly web design mishaps.
Distracting Animation
No matter how cool animated intros may be, it can be a major distraction for a new visitor to your site. Even if you’re providing the option to skip the intro, too many animated features can slow page load time, make your site appear cluttered, or frustrate returning visitors who don’t want to sit through the animated presentation again.
‘Hidden’ Navigation
You literally have seconds to convince a visitor to your site to stick around and consider taking the desired action. Navigation features that are hidden by dark or exceedingly bright colors or located in a place where most visitors don’t usually click can result in unnecessary frustration.
An MIA CTA
The call-to-action is the key to conversions. The CTA should be prominently featured to clearly suggest what action you want site visitors to take. Common mistakes include burying the CTA in a paragraph with a lot of text and placing the CTA in a spot that’s hard to find.
Not Considering Load Times
According to one estimate, a one second delay in page load times can drop conversation rates by nearly 10 percent. Page load times can be slowed by an overabundance of video clips, too much animation, unnecessary scripts, or images that haven’t been properly proportioned.
Lack of Testing
Whether you’re launching a new website or making changes to an existing web design, regular testing can make you aware of technical or practical design flaws. Continual testing also allows you to determine what website features may be turning visitors away at a point when changes can be made without causing too much damage to your conversion rates.
It’s not always obvious that a drop in conversions is related to website design, necessitating a need for careful observation of metrics to better track traffic patterns. Consider consulting with a website design firm in Springfield such as Attract More Clients that is familiar with what elements work and which ones may be hindering conversions to get the most out of your site.
Sources:
Improve Your Website’s Conversion Rates with These 6 Design Tips, Entrepreneur.com
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design, ConversionChronicles.com