Cluttered
The most common cause of a high bounce rate is a cluttered website. A cluttered website looks haphazard and it gives the impression that your business is disorganized and unfocused. Clutter can also overwhelm visitors, causing them feeling frenetic and confusing them into leaving. Calls-to-action can get lost in the clutter, which means that visitors may not be able to navigate your site properly to find the areas that interest them.
Reduce clutter by:
- Leaving whitespace
- Limiting calls-to-action
- Reducing the number of buttons, images, and rich media elements (like video)
- Limiting the number of fonts and colors used
Sloppy
Sloppy websites that appear to have been thrown together quickly give the impression that your business is unprofessional. Your website should include complete information across all areas. Before you take your website live or publish regular changes, ensure that all pages have thorough information to engage visitors. If some of your pages are in progress, hide them until they’re finished. Keep in mind that all your content (text, images, links, resources, etc.) should be polished and well-organized.
Reduce sloppiness by:
- Using high-quality images
- Hiring a professional copywriter to create your written content
- Editing all text to remove typos and grammatical mistakes
- Updating seasonal and time-specific information regularly
- Maintaining a complete FAQ
- Listening to consumer feedback
Uninspiring
Some business websites are complete and they look fine, but there’s just nothing special about them. If your website is underwhelming, people will leave – simple as that! Don’t make your website seem like an after-though or an obligation that you had to fulfill. Let your brand breathe life into your website in a way that makes consumers fall in love with who you are and what you’re offering. Inspire consumers to encourage them give you their business and keep coming back.
Inspire visitors by:
- Telling your story
- Conveying your value proposition
- Using captivating images
Boastful
On the other end of the spectrum are business websites that only talk about themselves in a way that comes off as arrogant and offensive. Sure, you want to tout your awards and your passion, but you don’t want to take it too far. If your business website is more about how great your owner/founder is than the business itself, it’s going to seem boastful and obnoxious. Tone down your own horn tooting and focus on what you can do for your customers to keep them interested – solve their problems, make their dreams come true, turn them into the best versions of themselves, and so on.
Reduce boastfulness by:
- Featuring the team behind the business, not just the boss
- Only displaying your most recent (or most high profile) awards
- Focusing on what you can do for the consumer
Remember, a well-designed and professionally written website engages new visitors and gives returning visitors the warm fuzzies. On the other hand, a poor website can scare people off in droves permanently!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Business Blogging and Web Copywriting. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and son and enjoys cooking, watching sports, and spending time together as a family. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about current marketing trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!