This guide outlines the factors that result in a bad website design and why it can put people off. If you’re running a business, you probably have a website, right? Websites are fantastic tools for marketing your products and services and engaging with customers. Of course, that only holds true if your website is successful.
If you haven’t had the kind of interest you’d expect in your website, and if you’ve struggled to leverage sales from it, could it be that your website is putting clients off… actually losing you business rather than gaining it? If any of the following apply to your site, the answer is probably yes…
Bad website design: Things people hate
It’s slow
If there’s bad website design factor that is universally hated by users of the internet, it’s slow loading websites. If a page doesn’t load within a few seconds, most people will simply close the window and look elsewhere. So, if you do nothing else to improve your business’ website, at least do what you can to speed it up!
It doesn’t work well on mobile devices
Every SEO company out there will tell you that if your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, your website will not be favored by Google, and thus you will fall down the search engine’s ranks, making it difficult for people to find you. If they do manage to find you, your visitors will absolutely hate the fact that your bad website design forces them to scroll sideways just to read and they won’t be happy that they can’t pinch and zoom in on small text. This could cause them to abandon your site pretty fast.
It’s difficult to navigate
When a visitor lands on your website, they want to be able to know where to click next to get the information they need or make a particular purchase. If the layout of your bad website design makes it difficult for them to do this, they will probably give up in frustration and go to a website that has clearer copy.
It’s full of pop-ups
Most visitors won’t mind one or two pop-ups asking if they would like to join your newsletter or pointing out products you have on sale, but if they’re constantly being bombarded with things to the point that they can’t read that article or shop your products, they will more than likely leave.
It uses autoplay
If you have music or video on your website, you should never make them autoplay. A lot of people might be browsing your site on the down low at work, and the last thing they need is for your ads to start blasting out; other people might be relaxing in bed as they browse and the loud noise could make them jump out of their skin! You won’t win anyone over by using autoplay, so leave the decision whether or not to watch/listen up to the individual if you want to improve your bad website design .
It’s filled with bad stock photos
If you’re selling stuff, you should take your own pictures because potential customers want to see your products, not a close approximation to them! How well does your website perform? Is it making any of these bad website design mistakes? Fix them and see it take off!
Bad website design destroys trust
The researcher Elizabeth Sillence and her team conducted a study about trust and distrust on websites for the University of Northumbria ( Newcaslte – UK). The study is very simple. Elizabeth and her team put several people to visit various sites on the Internet and respond if they trust or not trust these sites and why.
The study showed that when people didn’t trust these sites, 94% of the time that distrust was related to bad website design. Yes, you read correctly. 94% are the chances that a new visitor doesn’t trust your site “only” for its bad website design. It doesn’t matter if your content is a masterpiece. For a new visitor, the most important thing is the first impression. And that impression is very fast. You only have 8 seconds for the visitor to trust your site or all will be lost.
It doesn’t matter if you have a blog, an agency, a members site or a sales page. Your website needs to convert. More traffic, more leads, more revenue. And to optimize this path you need your reader to trust you. The lack of trust in a website, as we have seen, is very much related to bad website design factors.
The first impression a visitor has of your website is very quick. You only have 8 seconds for the potential reader to trust your page or all will be lost. In a study by Dr. Sheena S. Iyengar it was proved that more options do not always represent more sales. While they may attract more people, fewer options tend to offer a higher conversion rate. Your site’s sidebar, navigation menu, and footer are places you should assess if they’re optimized enough to convert better.
Too many choices may be confusing
You visit a website and see the following items on the sidebar :
- Current date and time
- Post calendars
- Visitors around the world
- Millions of social networks
- Endless categories
- Tag clouds
- Recommended Blogs
These are just a few that are easily found in sidebars of various blogs with bad website design, especially beginners on digital marketing, who try to sell everything to everyone, occupying every pixel of your computer. But what they don’t know (or don’t understand) is that the more options you give your site visitor, the more confused they will be. Studies, such as the one by Dr. Sheena S. Iyengar for Columbia University, called “ When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing? ” proves this point.
Presenting two different situations to visitors in a candy store:
- A table with 24 flavors of sweets.
- A table with only 6 flavors of sweets.
The goals:
Identify which table receives the most visitors. Among the various options in the store, how many stopped to see the tables with sweets? Identify which situation sells the most candy. Before reading the results of the study, write down now which table you believe will attract the most people and which table will sell the most. If you answered that the table with 24 flavors attracted more people, you’re right!
The study shows that 60% of people stopped to try the 24 sweets on that table. The table with only 6 flavors received 40% of visits. These numbers indicate a preference for the table with more sweets (24), but the important question is: which table sold more?
Of the customers who sampled the 24 flavors, only 3% bought. However, at the table with only 6 flavors, 30% of customers bought. Putting it in absolute numbers, assuming 100 people in total, we would have:
- Table with 24 flavors: 60 people stopped, but less than 2 bought (1.8 to be exact).
- Table with only 6 flavors: 40 people stopped and 12 bought.
By offering too many options to your customers, you may even be able to attract more people. However, it will possibly sell less. On the other hand, if you offer few options, you’ll be able to sell more, while attracting fewer people. The key point is the conversion rate. For that reason, sometimes it’s better to work your conversion rate than get more traffic. This is because we make decisions quickly and often on instinct (remember the previous study ).
