Can You Afford Not To Have a User-Friendly Website?
The World Wide Web is now 22 years old. As with anything old, it has developed and changed over the years. The way we use it, what we look for, and the quality of what we find are probably the biggest changes over that period. There is also a generation of people who have left university, who don’t even remember life without the internet. That’s just scary, isn’t it!
In 2017, at this current moment, there are approximately 1.2 billion websites on the internet. What does this mean for you? Well, put simply, you must stand out from the crowd and make your website memorable. In our eyes, being memorable also means being user-friendly. Let’s look at 3 reasons why your site should be user-friendly.
1. Google Will Feature it Further Down the Search Results
As we are an internet marketing agency, it would be silly for us not to mention what Google may think about your website. Although Google were only launched in 1998, 3 years after the birth of the internet, they have come to rule the roost. Some people may think that Google may be in decline, but they appear to be going from strength to strength. According to Internet Live Stats, Google processes around 40,000 searches EVERY SECOND. As you can see, they are very much alive. This means your website needs to please them at every possible opportunity.
Selling your product amongst 1.2 billion websites means entering the battle for top search engine rankings. You will never achieve this if you don’t have a user-friendly website, and it is therefore pleasing to Google. There are many strategies that you can use to please Google, and one of the best ways to do this is by making your website user-friendly. It’s now believed that an important ranking for your website is user friendliness. The search bosses want their top-ranking websites to deliver a fantastic user experience, so that they can find what they want, as quickly as possible, in as few clicks as possible. If your website is not doing that, then it’s time to get your act into gear and come into 2017.
2. Frustrated Users
I’m sure you’re used to seeing websites that frustrate you. I don’t want to name any names, but I have a personal list of sites that really do frustrate me. This is because their content is just far too difficult to find, especially if, on the very remote chance that I’m returning to see it again, like the majority of users, one bad experience is generally enough for me. You’ve probably thought it yourself about a few websites, but I bet you’ve never looked at your website from the same point of view. It’s time you did that now. Go ahead, open a new tab and look at your current website. Try to act like a stranger and look for something you want a user to do. If you’re selling something, providing information or just after-sales leads, is it easy to do? I’ll wait here while you do…..
Ok, you’re back now. Was it easy, or was there room for improvement? If you have any room for improvement, then read on; if not, then congratulations, you must be raking it in with your website.
So your website wasn’t easy to use. What did that do for you, and more importantly, what did it do for your visitor? I can tell you right now, they probably clicked the back button and looked for another website that is easier to use. After all, there are 1.2 billion websites to choose from, isn’t there? Improving your user friendliness can be very simple or very difficult, depending on your website. It could just be a case of structuring your content a little better on the page or moving the navigation around a little. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, then this can be a massive part of the problem and likely requires a full web design. Either way, if it’s difficult to use, then it’s time to do something about it.
3. Reduced or No Sales
This is the final point, and realistically, it’s more of a byproduct of not having a user-friendly website. If we were to summarise points 1 and 2, it would be this simple. When your website is not ranked in the top spots on Google, then you will lose out on sales. If you manage to get visitors to your site but then frustrate them, then they are also likely to leave and not part with their cash. Either way, it leads to little or no sales from your website.
We speak to numerous business owners who don’t feel their website is an integral part of operations. However, we have to quickly remind them that 40,000 searches per second means it has to be. There is no room for missing out on lost revenue if your business is to be successful.
Fixing Your Business
If your website isn’t user-friendly, then your business model is effectively broken. It’s time to sit up and contact one of our team here at Turtle Media & Marketing, who will be happy to give you a FREE WEBSITE REVIEW. Take that leap into becoming a successful business.
The only other thing we ask you to do is share this information. If you found it to be useful or eye-opening for you, then share it with fellow business owners. If you don’t want to contact us, or if you’re happy with your webmaster, still make sure that you take an objective look at your site and make your own user-friendly website. Click the social media links on the right (on a desktop) or on the bottom (on a mobile device) and share it to your social media.