Is content “king?”

Well, yes, but there’s a qualifier: visitors judge your website by its design, first and foremost. They won’t make it to your content if you turn them off.

Research shows that 88% of website visitors never return to a website after a bad experience. So, you have to nail it the first time.

Looking for examples of mistakes, so you don’t make the same ones yourself? Perfect!

Derek Halpern at Social Triggers cites a study by Dr. Elizabeth Sillence of Northumbria University in the UK. When she tasked study participants with finding hypertension websites they trusted/distrusted, 94% of participants based their trust on website design issues. Likewise, here are some top mistakes that turned them off:

1. Clever/Creative Website Names

Clever rarely works online. Visitors want to know they’re in a credible place…and the right place! Therefore, you’re much better off naming your site something like “The Hypertension Research Center” rather than “Hypertension World” or “Digital Hypertension.”

In any online communication, clarity trumps creativity. Why? While creativity may make sense to you, consumers may not understand what you mean. So, aim for clarity every time.

2. Cluttered, Busy Layouts

The more options you offer, the more visitors explore routes you don’t want them to take.

Please keep it simple. Even if you can only eliminate 1-2 clicks, that’s still a big deal. Every additional page or required action results in lost conversions.

3. Boring Web Designs

Yes. Visitors judge a book by its cover. Maybe they shouldn’t, but they do.

Hence, your website needs a lively, engaging design that isn’t off-the-wall or overly creative. That’s a tricky balance to negotiate, and why enlisting the help of an experienced professional makes sense.

4. Pop-Up Ads

Advertising adds revenue…but at what cost?

Typically, you need massive traffic following years of hard work building an audience before you can consider making substantial money off ad revenue.

For smaller sites, relying on pop-ups means shooting yourself in the foot.

5. A Corporate Feel

Nope. Today’s user is just not impressed by web design and content strategies that scream “corporate.”

The power of web-based sales lies in creating uniquely personal experiences targeted to niche audiences. Visitors want to feel like you made your site just for them!

While you may go after smaller niches, your conversion rate will skyrocket because you serve your audience so much better in a way that speaks to their unique needs.

6. Slow Load Times

Do you patiently wait out slow load times? Or do you start to feel frustrated, angry, and annoyed?

Everyone has a slightly different definition of “fast” and “slow.” However, what exactly should you aim for?

Maile Ohye, formerly of Google, is here to answer your question: “Two seconds is the threshold for eCommerce website acceptability. At Google, we aim for under a half second.”

Now you know what to strive for.

While page load speed is made up of many factors, having a fast website server is essential to page load speed.  At Red Coyote Services, we work hard to ensure our servers have dedicated resources, exceptional processing power, memory, and disk capacity.  Bandwidth is not an issue at RCS.  Let’s add your website to our hosting services.  You can do so by contacting us to start the website hosting program.