#24: 17 Website Design Mistakes That’ll Ruin Your Conversion Rates

17 Website Design Mistakes That’ll Ruin Your Conversion Rates

There are some web design mistakes that may or may not have impact on a website’s success, but there are others that act as conversion killers.

They spell death knell for web traffic and make sure your website and its prospects go downhill unless something is done to get rid of these mistakes.

Many people think that conversion rate optimisation is mostly depended on content.

The above statement might be true but at the same time you cannot afford to overlook the significance of design as the wrong web design elements can hold your site back from accomplishing great success.

You have less than a second to persuade a visitor to stay on your page.

In online businesses, creating trust is much harder than in real life as people can’t see your face. All that they can judge you by in that first second how well your website design is.

So, there is no doubt about that the design of your website has a huge impact in your conversion rate.

There are many website design mistakes that can hurt your conversion rates. In this episode I will walk you through some of the most common mistakes people make while designing their website.

Website Design Mistake #1: An Obsolete Website Design

If your website is designed five years back, then it’s the time to upgrade the web design with the new design elements.

There is always some emerging technology that allows the designers to upgrade the design.

For example, you have thousands of visitors and if you are unable to keep them on your page then it’s all for nothing.

Trust me, nobody likes a page that seems like has not been updated in five years.

Believe it or not, there are so many old websites still live but they are no longer in operation.

When your visitors come to an old looking websites, most of them will click away as quickly as possible and moving on to your competitors.

Therefore, having a modern website is essential to keep your website conversion alive.

You have used a cheap, template website that looks dodgy. failing to instill trust in the consumer or a potential lead is a real concern if your website is sending out the wrong message. Make sure your website has the following attributes that will instill more trust, loyalty and therefore sales.

• above all make sure the website looks attractive. Nothing worse than going to an ugly website. You know the ones I am talking about. hard to use, terrible graphics, incredibly slow, totally outdated. Need I go on?
• Include client testimonial for proof that you are a worthwhile agency.
• Any associations or organisations you belong to that add credibility should be added to the site.
• You have to have a physical address and phone number. Nothing looks more suspect than having no direct numbers and only a PO Box.

Make sure your branding is consistent. Keep colours the same site wide. Too many different colours will just dilute your brand. Also, avoid the use of too many stock images. Yes they are easy to get BUT people are so so over them.

Website Design Mistake #2: No Prominent Call to Action Button

Your website definitely has a goal. Whether you want your visitors to sign-up for a mailing list, make a purchase, request a quote, or simply call you, there has to be an objective and you have to make it clear to your visitors what your goal is.

In many cases, low conversion rates are a direct outcome of a call to action getting lost in the web design.

You need to ensure that your call to action button stands out on the page and makes it easy for the visitors to take the desired action.

Website Design Mistake #3: Slow Loading Time

Slow page load time kills your website conversions. Nobody wants to wait for a page on a website to load

Web users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and they tend to abandon a site that isn’t loaded within 3 seconds.

A delay of even one second can reduce your conversions considerably.

There are many reasons that contribute to a slow loading time. Among them few common reasons are outlined below-

• Excessive use of Flash
• Images are too big
• Broken Links
• Too many plugins in use
• Bad Coding

You website loading speed should be as fast as Ferrari. Here are some tips to reduce your page load time-

• Optimise your images
• Minimise HTTP requests
• Utilise server side caching
• Limit 301 redirects

You have decided to go the cheap with your hosting company. What may seem like a great idea now is going to end up being a real pain in the ass. Nothing is worse than your web hosting either continuously going down or being ridiculously slow. Either way it’s a real conversion killer.

Spend the money on de...