10 Ways Your Website is Driving Customers Away

Your website is the most powerful money-making tool in your online business arsenal. It pulls in customers, showcases your products, and allows the sale to go through. But if it isn’t working for you, it could be working against you. Here are 10 ways your website can drive customers away – avoid them at all costs!
 

1.  A complicated URL
    If your URL is not straightforward, you could end up with customers failing to reach your website in the first place. It should be the name of your business – nothing more, nothing less. Also research whether there is another brand using the alternative spelling or ending of your URL – for example, the .com to your .co.uk. Customers hitting the wrong site will be confused and turned off.
2.  An unclear landing
   Does your website make it clear what you sell? Can customers click on to your home page and know your products right away? If they come to your page and don’t know what you are all about, they might leave without finding out. Showcase best sellers, new releases, and current deals right there on the landing page to make it clear.
3.  Poor navigation
   A customer should be able to see exactly where to click to find the pages they want. Use simple terms in an easy-to-read menu. Headings like ‘shop’, ‘basket’, ‘about’, ‘blog’, ‘sale’, and so on are best. While you might add character with quirky page names, it ultimately won’t help customers find and buy your products.
4.  No search
   How do your customers find the product they are looking for? If they have to trawl through tens or hundreds of pages themselves, they will probably go to a rival company. Make sure that you allow them to search. They should refine by product category, price, and whether an item is on sale or not. Think of other relevant search functions for your particular business as well.
5.  Poor images
   Do your images showcase your product fully, at high resolution? Can customers see different angles and get an idea of size? If not, they might not want to take the risk of making a purchase. Hire a professional photographer and make sure everything looks great. If you sell services, high quality is still a focus, and the images should illustrate what customers will receive.
6.   No responsive layout
   Have you tried going to your website on a smartphone or tablet? If it looks the same as it does on your computer, you may have a problem. A responsive layout is easier to use and allows the customer to browse in a more satisfactory way. Small buttons and small text as well as images might make a customer close the window.
7.  Unedited pages
   It’s normal for an ecommerce site to use a template. But where you can make a huge mistake is by not filling in all of the fields on all of the pages. Placeholder text is ugly and shows a lack of care for the overall website.
8.  Contrasting colours
   If your website is hard to look at – for example, white text on a black background – then customers are likely to head elsewhere rather than continue browsing.
9.  Outdated style
   If your site was designed more than 5 years ago, it’s time for a change. Otherwise, you just look old-fashioned and out of touch, which doesn’t inspire consumer confidence!
10.  No reviews
    Finally, consider adding reviews from customers to your pages. Customers who can’t see any guarantee of quality are less likely to buy.

With these issues, your website will drive customers away. Fix them, and you will be pulling them in instead!

Kate Thora is a Senior Content Specialist for Uphours, an online resource with information about businesses worldwide. Her artistic soul manifests itself also in her love for singing and dancing, especially to traditional Indian music.