Design

7 Simple Reasons Why Your Website Is Underperforming

April 10, 2024
A woman looking at her laptop with a shocked expression
Daan van der Wiele
Written by

Daan van der Wiele

Head of Marketing and Product

Are you tired of seeing your website not getting the best results? Don't worry; we've got you covered. If you've noticed that people are leaving your website, there could be a ton of reasons why.

Running a successful website requires keeping an eye on all sorts of metrics and regularly performing audits to prevent issues from popping up. With the right tools and some detective work, you can figure out what's causing the problem and fix it in no time. Here are the seven reasons why we see people leaving websites and what you can do about it:

1. The design could be more intuitive

Your website's design is crucial, whether running a news site, an eCommerce platform, or a popular blog. Use analytics tools like HotJar and Google Analytics to identify any problematic pages or design elements that might be causing people to leave. You can do all of this once you are live but if you’re not live yet, or want to test without needing to go live, you can also test this with expoze.io . Make sure your design follows what people are familiar with, is easy to navigate and creates a smooth customer journey.

2. The site does not perform well

Nobody likes waiting for a website to load, especially in this day and age where so many other options exist. Use PageSpeed Insights to check your website's loading time and identify elements that slow it down. PageSpeed Insights also ensures you understand how you rank and how individual pages perform.

3. Too many pop-ups or videos

Pop-ups and videos can help but too many of them can be annoying and drive people away from your website. Consider removing some of them or making alternative options, like newsletters, registration forms, or a youtube channel and make them visible on your website. Oh, and another reason to avoid them: search engines don't like pop ups either.

4. Poor performance on mobile

With almost 60% of web traffic coming from mobile devices, it's crucial to ensure your website performs well on smartphones and tablets. Use tools like Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to check for any issues and make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Pro tip: to ensure your design works as expected, you can use the expoze.io Chrome plugin in combination with Chrome inspect tool to analyze mobile performance!

5. The content could be more engaging

Your website's content keeps people coming back for more. Make sure it's interesting, snappy, informative, and relevant to your audience. Use analytics tools to see which pages are performing well and which aren't. Consider updating or revamping those pages that do not perform.

6. The website is difficult to navigate

If people can't find what they're looking for on your website, they'll likely leave in frustration. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and has a clear information hierarchy. Check what paths people follow.

7. Have a clear call to action

If people don't know what you want them to do on your website, they'll likely leave without taking that action. Make sure you have clear calls to action that guide people towards the next steps you want them to take. And make it easy for them, don't make them think.

There you have it! These are seven common reasons why people might be leaving your website, and what you can do to fix it. By keeping an eye on your website's metrics and ensuring low website friction, you can ensure its running smoothly.

Finding out what keeps people engaged and what they are paying attention to might be an excellent first step to start. You can create a free account on expoze.io to find out what visitors on your website are paying attention to.

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