Unsure whether your web design and development are working? After being called numerous times to fix our clients’ websites, we’ve identified common patterns in dysfunctional sites. They aren’t showing up in search results, their bounce rate is high, and they’re not generating any conversions, among other issues. If you’re experiencing any of these issues, it may be time to reconsider your web design.
Let’s dive deeper into what these website issues really mean for your business below.
1. Your Website Doesn’t Show up on Search Results
This is obvious and an easy check; search for keywords that your business should rank for. If customers can’t find you online, all the time and resources you’ve spent on your website are wasted.
While this is a major problem, you may find that you did nothing wrong. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a key factor in your search results position. For instance:
- Being listed on the 100th page might be acceptable if your site was launched recently.
- However, if your website has been around for decades and is still on the 100th search page, there’s something else going on.
Note that your SEO efforts take roughly 3 to 6 months to propagate across search engines. A third outcome could be a timing issue.
If you’re unsure what the problem could be, we can help! Schedule a free consultation to identify the root cause of why your website isn’t appearing in search results.
2. Your Bounce Rate is High / Your Average Engagement Time is Low
Google defines bounce rate as the number of visitors who leave your website within the first 5 seconds. It’s a legacy metric, but a high bounce rate indicates that your website doesn’t resonate with searchers. This could be due to:
- Your website does not match search intent (ie, dog food shows up for cat food)
- Your website is confusing (ie, dog food does not have copy or images that match)
Guess what a high bounce rate does to your search ranking? It drops! Similarly, a low average engagement time (the time your website was in focus by a customer) will have the same effect.
To combat high bounce rates / low engagement times, you must create a compelling headline that customers see first. You may also need to rework your web design to improve the customer experience. If you’re in a tech-lagging industry, don’t forget to add the next generation of decision-makers to your marketing mix: the young digital buyers.
3. Your Website Traffic is Healthy, but You Face Conversion Issues
If you have decent web traffic, your next problematic area might be website conversions. Low conversion event counts, like form submissions or meeting bookings, may indicate poor web design. Your website must capture customer pain points through visuals, copywriting, calls to action, and the customer journey. Additionally, you may need to revise your marketing strategy to refine product offerings, pricing, and other workflows for optimal website conversions.
Unsure of where to start? Consult with an expert web development team to help diagnose conversion problems.
4. Your Website Experience Might Feel Underwhelming
We use “underwhelming” because customers have digital expectations. You can’t satisfy everyone, but you should do your best to satisfy their bare minimum for web design. Below are a few underwhelming issues that can turn off customers:
- A website that doesn’t actually solve their problem.
- A website that feels gimmicky.
- A website that offers something too good to be true, so what’s the catch?
- A website that requires a heavy commitment, such as a credit card, before anything else is done.
- A website that feels dated for your buyer’s segment.
The quickest way to determine whether your website is underwhelming is to ask your existing customers what they think. Better yet, reach out to customers who’ve said no and ask why they chose a competitor.
5. You Aren’t Capturing Website Data or Using it Correctly
Data is a competitive advantage, which is why poor web design overlooks it. Outside of surveys and focus groups, data analytics will tell you what’s working and what’s not on your website. This is essential information that shows when people leave your site immediately, which pages drive customer engagement, and which pages experience traffic declines. This knowledge will help you design a website experience that improves the buyer journey.
If you’re not already leveraging website analytics, like Google Analytics, have your web design team integrate it and pull insights ASAP.
6. Your Website Feels Unstable
Web design also includes designing and managing website infrastructure. An unstable infrastructure can sneak up on you because you may not even be aware of it. By the time you learn about it, potential customers may already have left due to the poor experience.
Perhaps you’re more versed in situations where an update or action in your CMS causes your web server to crash. When this happens, it sends a serious signal to customers and search engines, hurting your SEO. The only way to prevent unstable websites is to monitor them with tools such as UptimeRobot and server logs, and to resolve issues proactively and promptly. Therefore, you must ensure your web design team is proactive in maintaining your website’s infrastructure. A good website hosting provider can help!
The Bottom Line / TLDR
If your website is not ranking in search results, struggles to keep visitors engaged, or fails to convert traffic into leads, it’s likely due to bad web design. The good news is that most of these problems are fixable with the right data, strategy, and technical oversight. Taking a proactive approach to web design, SEO, and performance ensures your website supports growth and attracts customers, not turns them away.
Need help confirming the effectiveness of your web design? Contact Uplancer today! We can guide you through your existing website and identify areas for improvement.
