As consumer behaviour changes rapidly, the ways in which your business can be viewed and accessed must also adapt. Over the last year, we have seen something of a second digital revolution – the first being the rise of the internet and smart phones. Website functionality has reached the point that even the avid high-street, window-shopper is purchasing primarily online. The worldwide lockdown restrictions in recent times have forced a colossal number of brick-and-mortar businesses to close and, in turn, pushed consumers almost exclusively online. Data suggests that online engagement and spending has increased dramatically;
‘Online spending has surpassed 3.5 trillion US dollars’ (Statista)
Your business has a website so you’ll be fine, right? There is no doubt that there is a huge pie for you to get a slice of. And that there is enough business to go around. A consideration, however, is that, just like a high-street, doing business online just got a whole lot more competitive. Standing out from the crowd online is more difficult than ever.
Below, we look at 3 ways your website might be turning customers away:
1. Mobile Responsiveness
It is estimated that over 50% of all internet usage worldwide is via mobile devices (Statista). If your website is not mobile responsive, it will look terrible and be poor to use for more than half of your potential customers. People accustomed to engaging with businesses online expect websites to adapt to their mobile device and will typically leave a site which does not. We have reached a point where not having this in place makes your business appear unprofessional and unprepared to do hassle-free business online. A professional web developer will build your site ‘dynamically’ across the screen sizes; this means that you can adapt how content appears on desktop, tablet and mobile versions. For example, you may want less text on the mobile version of your home page as it’s a lot to scroll through on a smaller screen. Making your website look great on all devices is the first step in keeping your customers locked in and likely to buy from you.
2. Speed
This one really speaks for itself. People have limited time to browse. Google suggests that around 53% of visitors will leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load! Websites that load very slowly appear clunky and outdated. They give the impression that they might just freeze at a crucial moment like making a payment. Modern websites are lightning-fast and if you want your business to keep up, yours must be too. A fast website gets more sales. Consult a professional web designer on how you can speed things up.
3. Design
This is possibly the most overlooked aspect of why a website may be losing out on sales. It stands to reason that your site needs to be visually appealing to your target audience. If it looks dated, today’s consumer will go and find a business who take pride in their appearance. Your website is your shop front, your advert, your staff uniform, your display shelves, your window dressing, all rolled into one. It’s not just about looking pretty, however. A common mistake made by business owners who want their website to stand out is focusing too heavily on the glitz and glamour! Appearance is important. But it must serve a purpose. Your business website is a tool for making sales, whether that is through providing information, gaining subscribers or selling products and services. It must, therefore, be optimised to do exactly that. The entire layout and design of your site must be professionally structured to guide visitors to buy into your business; headers, imagery, colour schemes, calls to action, information sections – all of these elements need to be appropriately placed. Experienced web developers consider ‘buyer psychology’ when structuring your website. This could be the difference between your potential customer continuing to browse elsewhere or buying from you there and then.
There are numerous other considerations when building a website that really stands out online but these are 3 big ones. Your competitors are probably taking care of these aspects of these things and snapping up the customers your site may be turning away. Investing in a great website which engages visitors can accelerate business sales.
Webizzy is a Web Design agency which has been established for almost 10 years. To find out about improving your website, get in touch.
