Why users are abandoning your website and how to fix it

When planning websites, we find that many people forget one key stakeholder: the website visitor. It is easy to design a website that makes sense to you, the owner of the business. But where does that leave your website visitors, your potential clients?

The people who use your website are who the website should be designed for. The 'user experience' will shape the way people view your company, and it cannot be ignored.

A phenomenal article from OneExtraPixel showcases user experience (UX) and what it means for your business. The key takeaway is that when building your sitemap and navigation, you want to get inside the mind of the user. Why are they visiting your site? What did they come there to see? By asking these types of questions, you can organize your content in a way that will keep users on your site.

A related statistic is the 'bouce rate' of a website. This ratio measures the number of people who visit your site, and then 'bouce' away from your site without viewing any sub pages. Basically, they walk in the front door, take a peek at the merchandise, and they walk right out. If your bounce rate is over 60%, then your website traffic is either coming from unqualified or mis-represented sources, or your content is just plain boring. Either way you have a problem.

The easiest way to lower the bounce rate is to put your most interesting content right out in front, make it eye catching, and make leave the user wanting more. A user will decide whether or not to bounce from your site in seconds, meaning you have very little time to grab their attention. Don't make the user work for it.

Whatever website visitor tracking software you use on your website, make sure you check the bounce rate regularly. Keep it low and you will see a greater ROI on your website investment.

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