Although websites are a must for today’s businesses, the requirements don’t stop there. Every website should be usable and fast. That may sound simple, but the following points illustrate a few common ways websites repel customers and prevent profits.
How Does It Look on Mobile?
These days, plenty of users browse the web from a mobile device. This may be convenient for users, but it does take some extra effort on the web developer’s side to create a responsive website. Services like Domain Name Brokerage and website hosting providers can help customers see and interact with a website, but it’s important to focus on general best practices as well. In fact, it’s vital to rearrange content and style it differently for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.
If you’re concerned about your website, check it out on a smartphone, as well as a wide variety of browsers. For good examples of responsive layouts, navigate to your favorite social media or news website to understand how the layout changes from a laptop to a smartphone. Websites that are hard to read and navigate on mobile devices cause big problems for businesses.
Notifications
From push notifications to modal pop-ups, it’s important to strike the right balance. Too many notifications and requests for information can feel pushy, but it’s always important to encourage users to return to your website. Joanna Martin on UX Collective outlines some common types of notifications, and how to keep them from being annoying. Although subjective, it may be useful to ask friends and colleagues to look at your website to determine if you accidentally have too many pop-ups, modals, or annoying requests for data.
Page Loading Times
Another factor that can dramatically impact customer satisfaction is page load time. While it may not seem significant, a slow page will quickly repel customers. Some factors that influence page load times include image size, web hosting, and the developer’s use of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It may not be possible to achieve the perfect load time depending on the complexity of the page, but optimization and adherence to best practices will dramatically improve the user’s experience on a page.
Overall, it’s not hard to prevent turning away customers from your website. By analyzing page load times, preventing notification overload, and creating a responsive website, it’s possible to provide the best user experience and stand out from the competition.
Emma is a freelance writer based out of Boston, MA. She writes most often on health and education. When not writing, she enjoys reading and watching film noir. Say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2
