10 Web Design mistakes harmful to your conversion

Nowadays, given the importance of digital in the process of buying products, it is common to feel the need to have an online presence to promote your products/services.

The online journey for both large companies and small and medium-sized businesses naturally begins with the creation of a website. A good website can provide credibility and authority to the brand, establish a closer relationship with customers and of course, generate conversions.

Creating a website, without a professional by your side, can be tricky. Creating a website involves know-how techniques that you may not master, especially knowledge about how to provide a pleasant user experience, rather than losing customers and reputation.

When entering the website creation process there are several mistakes regarding web design and difficulties in creating a website that is appealing and responsive and at the same time brings returns and registers an improvement in conversion.

  1. Not having a design centred on user experience

One of the first factors to consider is the experience of those who visit your website. It has been proven that the user forms their opinion in the first few seconds of the experience. It is based on this opinion that the user stays or leaves your website. Therefore, the user must perceive, a priori, that the purpose of the company and the interaction with it is simple, intuitive, fluid and efficient.

  1. Lack of relevant content that meets the user’s needs

When creating a website it is important to rely on a Content Marketing strategy. Besides being important to convey the values of your business, it is important to keep in mind the questions, needs and goals of the user to be able to produce content that meets these parameters.

Learn more about Content Marketing here

  1. Incorrect or poor use of CTA’s

Call-to-action or, commonly known as CTA’s, are authentic gateways to increase conversion rates. However, the lack of these types of elements or their improper use is a common mistake and can be harmful. Why? Because if used correctly, they lead the user to proceed to certain actions (“learn more”; “contact”; “buy”; “subscribe”; etc). It is crucial to use CTA’s associated with a good content strategy that supports the user’s decision.

  1. Non responsive design

The existence of a design that is not responsive makes the user quickly give up on his navigation. Investing in a design that is easily navigable on a variety of devices is a plus for your reputation and user experience. In 2019 Google announced that all new websites, previously unknown to Google search, are indexed first in the mobile version, so when creating a new website it is essential to take into account the optimization of the design for mobile.

  1. Slow Loading

The speed of a website should never be underestimated, quite the contrary. According to a study by Think with Google  A 10-second wait until the content loads in its entirety increase the abandonment rate by 123%. In this sense, it is imperative to take into account the loading speed of your website, using optimization techniques (for example, images) that allow the content to load within 3 seconds. This is the only way to prevent the “back” button from clicking and provide a good experience for your visitors.

  1. Lack of transparency regarding the GDPR

– Since the issue of GDPR has become part of our lives, it is critical to be transparent when it comes to consumer privacy. Having a privacy and usage policy page and cookies (https://osbsolutions.pt/o-que-sao-para-que-servem-os-cookies/) are key to giving consumers the confidence they need about your services.

  1. Contact pages and/or forms that are difficult to access

Not providing the consumer with an easy way to access your company’s contacts is a major web design mistake that should be avoided, at all costs. It is not the user who must make an effort to find the contact information to make a call or send an email. We must take into account that the goal of conversion through user navigation is entirely up to the Company. In other words, it is up to the Company to maximize its efforts to achieve this goal. Your Company’s contacts must be visible so that they can be found by users within a few seconds of entering your website.

  1. Absence of an SSL certificate

Not having a website that is considered “secure” both by its users and by search engines is something that should be avoided, because it will eventually damage its credibility. This parameter is mandatory regardless of the purpose of the website, however, in e-commerce websites, this parameter gains another importance. That is, in e-commerce websites where the goal is to make purchases, the lack of an SSL certificate makes the user not feel comfortable with the sharing of personal data required.

  1. Flawed SEO optimization

– As mentioned before, content is key to providing a positive user experience. Combining an intuitive and appealing design with the creation of optimized content through good SEO practices – (Search Engine Optimization) can make your website achieve better positioning results when it comes to search engines. It is important to know that the rules of SEO are changeable. In other words, there is no magic rule that lasts and guarantees this positioning forever, however, there are some factors that should be taken into account and that help search engine ranking – keywords, meta descriptions, titles, backlinks, among others.

  1. Not testing options

When we are too deeply involved in the realization of a project, it is common that we are not able to put enough distance between ourselves to make an unbiased analysis. So you must ask people outside the project what they think. Try to get opinions and suggestions from your regular clients. Ask them what they thought of the design, the textual content, and the navigation experience. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised by the opinions and/or suggestions that come up!

A website is the “face” of your business in the digital world. It is essential to convey all your values and commitments, aligned with what you apply in the offline world. To convert, retain customers and maximize sales, it is mandatory to present a website that is well structured and optimized.

In this sense, if you need Web Design services, from scratch or analysis and restructuring of websites, do not hesitate. Don’t postpone your digital success any longer. Get in touch with our experts.