Do you also feel that your website is leaking? Do you also think that you are missing out on opportunities and that potential customers will leave your website?
Then quickly check the list below what you absolutely should not do within your website because these are 15 of the most common conversion killers.
Not having company information
Would you order something from a company that does not have a physical address on the website or no telephone number? Or worse, that both are missing?
Not me in any case. Contact information creates trust, which gives potential customers the feeling that they can approach you directly and easily and that you are there for them.
So it works both ways. Not having business information creates mistrust, and having business information creates trust.
Pro tip: make sure that the company information is in your footer and on your contact page.
Long loading time
There is little in the online world that is more annoying than a long loading time. Nobody wants to wait 20 seconds for a website or a specific page within that website to load.
Let alone that someone wants to spend several minutes to place a simple order in your webshop.
We live in a world that is going faster and faster, and that includes a fast website. So make sure your website is up as fast as possible!
No use of buttons
People are naturally very lazy. This applies online and offline. When people visit your website, you have to take them to send them to the right place in the right way.
During this process, you have to make the visitor enjoy your product or service. Show what the benefits are for the visitor, show who you work for, show what you can do well.
These people are forwarded using action buttons. For example, people enter on page X, then have to go to page Y and eventually to page Z.
And if you don't use action buttons, that won't happen. Buttons are clearly clickable - and people like to click on them.
Pro tip: don't put the 'Contact' action button everywhere. Send people to your services, to your cases, to the about us page and other important pages to the visitor.
Stock Photos
There is almost nothing you can do on your website that is more impersonal than using stock photos. People do business with people. So be sure to show photos of you and your team.
This conversion killer is, therefore, twofold. On the one hand, you do not use your own photos, but on the other hand, people also immediately see that it is a stock photo.
A double disappointment.
Pro tip: write/think out all conceivable scenarios and items of which you want photos. Then have a photographer come over and take pictures of everything.
Unclear menu structure
An unclear menu structure is initially bad for your organic findability. Google does not know which page is where and how to discover those pages.
But an unclear menu structure is also bad for your conversion. Replace Google in the previous sentence for Pete:
"Pietje does not know which page is where and how those pages can be found."
In other words: if your website is not clear enough and, for example, your contact page is hidden behind a dropdown called 'About us', this will harm your conversion.
The same also applies, for example, to hidden categories within your webshop, the about us page or, for example, your shopping cart.
Pro tip: draw your menu structure on paper and draw lines between pages connected. Make sure the structure is always as simple as possible.
Making mistakes with your form
This is also one that I often see: errors in a form. Think about:
- Contact forms
- Forms for requesting quotations
- Registration forms for your newsletter, for example
But what are the mistakes you can make? Well, for example, this one:
- A form with too many fields
- A form with too few fields
- Make fields mandatory that don't have to be mandatory
- A field that does not work for some reason
- A form that cannot be sent
Pro tip: test your form regularly and make sure you have around 3 to 5 fields perform.
Important content not immediately visible
People visit your website for a reason. They want to find what they are looking for.
So make sure that you also serve that content immediately. Don't put a banner, a big piece of text and 2 videos in between and, as you may have learned at school, save the most important content for the lock.
Start right with this!
Do people expect a phone number to be at the top when they google your search term? Put that on top! Do people expect a piece of information? Put that on top! Do people expect a form where they can register?
You guessed it ... Put that at the top.
Pro tip: Before you get started with a page, check carefully the searcher's intention. Ask yourself: what does this person want to achieve?
Not having HTTPS
“Your connection is not private. Cybercriminals may be trying to steal your information from [WEBSITE NAME] (for example, passwords, messages or credit card information). ”
That is exactly the message that Google Chrome gives when your website does not use an SSL certificate and therefore does not have HTTPS.
This is by far the biggest conversion killer on this list because it will not make people even visit your website.
Pro tip: Care. In front of. A. SSL. Certificate.
Not a good mobile design
Fortunately, websites without a mobile design are a dying breed! There are fewer and fewer non-mobile responsive websites where photos are skewed, buttons do not work, the text is out of view, and the menu does not work.
Terrible.
Pro tip: Build your website mobile-first when the share of mobile visitors is more than 70%.
Not using the principles of belief (from Cialdini)
Of course, you cannot write an article about conversion (killers) without mentioning Cialdini. Dr Robert Cialdini has described 7 influencing principles to convince the visitor of your knowledge, skills and products or services.
A real conversion killer is, very silly, the lack of those principles. For example, think of:
- Not using reviews
- Not using scarcity
- No use of authority (logos of suppliers, labels and partners)
- No use of free giveaways
Pro tip: make sure always to use Cialdini's principles.
Not able to pay as a guest
For me personally, this is by far the biggest conversion killer on this list. When I can't pay as a guest, it feels like a dagger in my back.
I find this so annoying that I no longer buy cinema tickets at Pathé for years. Years ago, I created an account there, but of course, I don't remember my password.
If we want to go to the cinema last minute, then you want to get tickets quickly. But then you find out that this is not possible with your email address because you have already created an account with it.
Terrible…
Pop-ups at the wrong times and places
When you use pop-ups in the right way, it can work well for you. But when you use pop-ups in the wrong way, it can also have a negative effect.
For example, I once came across a full-page pop-up in the payment process. And to make matters worse, I couldn't find a cross to close the popup.
So make sure that the pop-ups appear in the right place and at the right time. For example, when people want to leave your website or when they are reading your blog.
But not when you are in the middle of the payment process.
Pro tip: make sure that people can easily click away from your pop-up.
The lack of a search function
How fantastic is it that you can search for the topic you are looking for from any page and any time within a website? Isn't that super handy?
You do that with a search function. You give people the opportunity to go directly to the right place within your website. People don't have to rummage through your website to find the information, but they can easily find the content right away.
In other words, you ensure less friction with a search function. And the less friction, the happier your visitors will be.
Pro tip: test whether a search function that already completes the search result is pleasant for your target group.
Do not have a concrete goal within the website.
Do you know exactly what the purpose of your website is? Is that gathering email addresses?
Is that bringing in bubbles, or does it realize tough sales?
If you have that clear, you can set up your entire website on it—your text, images, pages, menu, etc. I regularly come across websites where this is not all in line.
People can buy something, request something, fill out a form or download something. Make sure that it is very concrete for your target group what they need to do.
Provide focus and do not give too many options because that leads to choice stress.
Pro tip: open pages within your website and squint. Do you (and your target audience) see what the purpose of your website is?
Bad texts (too much focus on SEO or not knowing your target audience)
Are you looking for Hotel Arnhem? We are the best Hotel Arnhem. We at Hotel Arnhem are the best of… 'Yes, these were really sentences that I once came across on a website.
Texts that are too focused on SEO will be mercilessly abolished by Google and will also convert poorly. Another common mistake in writing texts is not knowing your target audience.
Do you really know what your target audience's problem is? Do you really know what your target audience is facing? And do you really know who your target audience is?
If you don't know that, your lyrics will never be good. You cannot empathize, and you do not know what to focus on.
Pro tip: have a few people who fall within your target group read your text and ask them what they think.
