Creating a website takes a lot of effort and once it is done, then you expect a flow of continuous visitors to it but when it does not happen, you may feel disheartened.
Do not be surprised, this happens with every new website. Most people do not get it right the first time hence go through your site to understand what is repelling your visitors.
We have listed here a few reasons why users are leaving your site.
1. Displaying advertisement in the centre of the page
Ok, let me get this straight, the reason you have a website in the first place is to generate revenue and displaying any ad at the centre of your page will gain maximum user attention but think from the perspective of the user. Who likes to come to a site which displays an ad at the centre of the page rather than focusing on the content?
Sites interrupted by ads have a high bounce rate as many users assume that the site is spam and they immediately leave it. Do use advertisements to earn revenues but always display ads in the sidebar or bottom of the page. This makes the site look trustworthy and the chances that they engage with the ad displayed increases.
2. Slow-loading website
It goes without a doubt that a slow site delivers a bad user experience hence I am not going to discuss this any further.
Choose a hosting which is fast and make sure not to go for shared hosting as it may slow down your site.
3. A complex website which is difficult to navigate
Keep in mind that only technical people do not use your site but people who are not so computer friendly may also visit your site hence adding too many complex components is only going to confuse them.
Being creative with your website is great but do not change the primary site layout and stick to the basics as people who visit your site are more interested in the information and would not want to spend time understanding how to navigate within your site.
4. Auto-playing videos
Have you been to a site recently where suddenly you hear a video playing somewhere on the page? My first reaction is to just exit the page immediately as I do not want to watch a video which I did not choose to play.
Most users have the same mindset hence do not force a video to play when a user lands on a page rather let them choose if they would like to see it or not.
5. Using stock photos
Stock photos have become too generic as every other site is using it and speaks nothing new about your business.
Images are a very important part of your website and if you use stock photos, there is nothing unique about it hence hire a photographer for a day or two and get a personalised photo shoot done for the website for it to look more professional.
6. Ad copy doesn’t match the landing page
If your ad on SERP (Search Engine Results Page) says that first-time customers will be offered free product and when they visit the landing page, the offer changes to free shipping for a first-time order, your visitors may get annoyed and leave the site immediately.
Do not try to clickbait visitors as they will not trust such websites. The ad copy should match with the landing page or else the bounce rate will go up.
7. Forcing to fill-in information
To improve email marketing, websites aim to get the users to subscribe to the site and many use tactics such as offering freebies so that people sign-up but there are also sites which pre-check the sign-up option so that the users get subscribed to the email listing while opting to get the freebie.
Also Read: 5 features to enhance user experience of your online marketplace
As per the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), users get to choose how they wish their data to be handled hence tricking them into giving your personal data is a big no-no. Data Privacy experts at Siteimprove suggest that let the users choose if they trust you enough to share their information and if they do, then make sure that your data privacy and security is up to the mark.
8. What you do is not clear
You are clear in your head what you do but your visitors do not, hence as soon as they land on your site; you need to display this information clearly. The best way is to put in maximum information about what you do above the fold.
If the users need to scroll down too much to understand your business, they may leave your site soon.
9. Annoying pop-ups
Pop-ups are annoying, be it for getting more subscriptions or displaying ads. People use pop-up blockers as they do not want any interruptions while they are on a site hence why annoy your potential customers?
Just avoid using any pop-up on the page and even if you do, change the setting such that it appears only when the user reaches the bottom of the page.
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This article was first published on October 4, 2019
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