Your website turning people away?
You’re not alone-here’s why it happens.
You spent time (and possibly money) making your website. You got your cousin to make it for you, paid someone some years back, or made it yourself on a Saturday afternoon. It works. Looks alright when you check it out real quick on your phone.
And still… no phone calls. Not a single fill out of the form. “Yeah, I saw your website…” people tell you but they never follow through and make an appointment, order something, or email you.
This is the truth: most website issues don’t have anything to do with your offer, pricing, or your marketing stuff. People are turning away before they even see what you have to say. And if you’re thinking about creating a website but haven’t done it yet, that means you won’t need to fix those issues – you will get it done right.
So let’s get to know the five biggest website killers, shall we?
Your Website Loads Too Slowly
Imagine that the last time you clicked on a web link, the web page did not load for 10 seconds. That is not how it usually happens, is it? You most likely gave up after 2-3 seconds and returned to Google where you clicked the next option, probably that of a competitor.
Reasons for slow website loading include:
Over-sized unoptimized images
Use of too many plugins/scripts
Poor choice of hosting provider
In most cases, the problem can be solved by using optimized images, deleting unnecessary plugins and picking a decent hosting. Sometimes, you just need to make sure that the technical side of your website is fine – otherwise, your visitors will simply stop looking.
If you are planning to create a new website: the following issue is easy to avoid at an early stage of development.
Visitors Do Not Know What to Look For and Where to Click
Open your own website and try to answer the question sincerely: if I were a visitor, having no idea about your business, would I know what to do in five seconds?
Many websites lack clarity and purpose, and are more like brochures packed with tons of information but no direction. Confusing menus, no obvious link to click, information all over the page but no clear instruction like “Click to call” or “Press to book”.
Confused visitors do not explore the website; they simply leave.
Good navigation includes:
Not-too-long menu (ideally, up to 5 items)
An obvious action that can be performed immediately (button, phone number, etc)
Well-designed layout that leads visitors’ eyes around the page
No Clear Call-To-Action
Similar to the previous point, this problem often goes hand in hand with it but warrants its own attention as it’s rather common. A call-to-action is simply a clear command telling visitors to “Book a Free Consultation,” “Message on WhatsApp,” “Get a Quote,” “Call Now.”
Many websites don’t even have one or hide it in the footer of a long page that visitors won’t scroll all the way to. Visitors will not search for ways to contact you; if they are not obvious, visitors assume that you’re either not important enough to warrant any calls or not open for business at all.
Every single page on your website needs to answer the question of what visitors should do after arriving here and then make the action clear and obvious.
Your Website Is Not Mobile-Friendly
Consider this statistic: in this day and age, most website visits occur on a smartphone, not a computer. If your website was made several years ago or if it was created solely with desktops in mind, it’s more than likely that your website looks cramped, cut off, or plain wrong on mobile.
Common mobile problems include:
Text being too small to be readable
Buttons being too close to one another
Broken images which are not optimized for mobile
Menus which do not open properly on touch screens
If the person who visits your website from their phone (and they probably will visit you from their phone) sees that your website is even slightly broken, it becomes an instant trust issue. Your actual business might be great, but the look of your website says otherwise.
Vague Headlines are Proof of a Website Turning People Away
The first sentence of your website’s homepage might very well make or break their visit. Unfortunately, it appears that many sites start with a line like this:
“Welcome to [Business Name] — Quality You Can Trust”
It would work for literally any other business out there, but doesn’t give anything about yours specifically. What do you do? Who are you for? What should they care within the first five seconds of seeing this sentence?
A more specific one could be:
“Affordable Wedding Photography in Kochi — Make Your Reservations Before They Are Taken”
This headline specifies what your service is, who you are for, and why they need to act fast.
What Next?
If even a couple (or all of those examples above) look familiar – then don’t worry too much since it’s one of the most widespread patterns among small businesses. However, the great thing about all of the mentioned problems is that they can all be fixed. You can increase your website’s speed, simplify the navigation, add CTAs, fix the mobile compatibility and write more relevant headlines.
On the other hand, if you’re still thinking “I don’t even have a website yet” — that’s actually the best-case scenario. In such a case, you won’t have to untangle all the problems mentioned above in the future.
However, whatever your case is, your goal is still the same – having an online presence that actually attracts customers.
Wondering where does your website stand regarding those five things? I offer my free-of-charge website audit. I’ll take a look at your website (or help you create one from scratch) and show what does work and what makes your customers go away.