5 Website Fails That Can Make Your Prospects Click Away

For B2B companies, having a website has long been an obvious requirement. But simply having a website is now no longer enough. The visitor experience is critical, as are the site’s design and quality of content. In fact, 75 percent of people base a company’s credibility at least in part on how the website looks and responds to the user.

Clearly, you want your website to be “sticky.” This means that you want it to keep your prospects there longer so they can interact with your company and learn about your product or service. After all, what’s the point of finding ways (or spending cash) to drive traffic to your website if prospects only click away seconds later?

Is your website guilty of any of the following? Here are five things that can cause your valued site visitors to say goodbye:

1. Slow website load speed. Page loading speed is important, since 39 percent of people will stop engaging if a website takes too long to load. While there are lots of reasons for slow speeds—from too many images and plug-ins to poor web hosting services—if your pages are taking more than a few seconds to load, you’re likely to lose prospects.

2. Bad mobile design. Sites are also judged in terms of the mobile experience, which means not only load speed but whether or not the pages are easily viewable and look normal on a mobile device. Other considerations are how easy it is for the user to enter data into fields—say, for registering to receive a white paper download or subscribe to your business’s newsletter. The bottom line: Don’t overlook optimizing your site for mobile, since 51 percent of the time spent online in the United States is on mobile devices, and 40 percent of people search only on smartphones.

3. Your website appears outdated. If your website hasn’t changed much in the last decade or so, or if it has an archaic design, it’s likely to turn off prospects. Sites that still use Flash openings or sliders, for instance, or blogs that haven’t been updated in months or years, can make your business seem stagnant and send prospects surfing over to competitors’ more professional-looking sites. Remember that these days, prospects do most of their research online before ever interacting with a salesperson. If your website loses visitors at hello, you may never get the chance to sell to them.

4. Your website copy is too long or is unengaging. In our current hectic times, people want to get to the point. Time and patience are limited, so website content needs to be condensed into something that can be absorbed quickly. The best copy is brief without sacrificing clarity. Also, make sure that your copy has a prominent call to action. Even if your content is relevant and engaging, prospects often won’t progress to the next step if it’s not clearly laid out for them.

5. You have popup ads. Let’s face it, popup ads may have their place but they’re also intrusive, so use them sparingly. Who hasn’t been browsing a website only to be frustrated by a popup ad that interrupts your viewing? When optimizing your website for mobile, ditch the popups completely as they just don’t work well and are difficult to close on smaller screens.

Oftentimes, your website is your prospects’ first interaction with your business, so make a good impression with a professional, engaging site that offers a smooth user experience. Eighty-six percent of people who come to your website are looking for information about your product or service, so doing what you can to make things painless for them helps to ensure your success.

If you need assistance in getting your website in top-notch condition, we’re happy to talk. Our team includes professional website designers, graphic designers, SEO specialists, and copywriters who can make your website shine.