Your website might be getting a lot of visitors but not all traffic converts to sale. So, why waste money on marketing, SEO and ads if you end up losing customers due to bad UX?
Such errors as; messy layout, slow page loads, ambiguous buttons and over-complex forms may subconsciously deter a user from taking an action. In this competitive digital environment, the online user expects an effortless, fast and problem-free experience.
The best part is, almost all UX errors can be corrected.
This article highlights some of the most common UX errors that can kill conversions and how you can correct them with data-driven tests and optimizations.
Why UX Is important for CRO
UX is the user experience that is generated by your website. If a user is easily able to get around your pages and can retrieve the needed information, as well as, finish tasks without any issues, then a conversion will more than likely occur.
UX that is done right helps:
- Increase user engagement
- Reduce bounce rates
- Build trust and credibility
- Improve customer satisfaction
- Boost sales, signups, and leads
With the help of correct UX testing, you will see how small UX improvements can achieve significant results in terms of conversions.
1. Slow Website Speed
Nothing kills your conversions faster than a sluggish website. People are basically expecting your pages to open up within a few seconds. If they take too long, your potential customers may leave without actually interacting with your content.
Common Causes:
- Large image files
- Weak hosting
- More scripts and plugins than needed
- Unoptimized coding
Countermeasures:
- Reduce image sizes
- Make use of caching
- Take out unnecessary scripts
- Get a good host
- Optimize mobile performance
When the website is faster, users experience less time stress and get kept longer.
2. Confusing Navigation
Visitors should never find it hard to get what they want. More levels in menus or vague directions only make the users angry and unsatisfied, and thus reduce your conversions.
Poor navigation clues:
- Lots of different menus/options
- Important pages are hidden
- Labels are vague
- Page layout is not uniform
Standard procedures:
- Keep things straightforward when designing navigation
- Create easy to understand menu labels
- Make important pages really stand out
- Add search feature
- Stay consistent with the design
Good navigation helps users move through your website naturally.
3. Weak/Ambiguous CTAs (Call-to-Actions)
This button tells users to do whatever it is that you want them to do. If it’s not clear, or if it’s out of place, and if it doesn’t entice users to click, then they won’t convert.
Common CTA Mistakes:
- Using generic text such as “Click Here”
- Not placing the button properly
- Using colors that do not really stand out
- Having too many CTAs on the same page
Better CTA Examples:
- Start Free Trial
- Book a Demo
- Get Started Today
- Download Free Guide
Effective CTAs are prominent, focus on the action, and are very clear.
4. Poor mobile experience
Most of your website’s visitors will now be using smartphones and/or tablets. If your website doesn’t run effectively on these devices, you are missing out on a great many of potential customers.
Common Mobile UX Issues:
- Text too small to read
- Buttons difficult to tap
- Slow mobile loading
- Broken layouts
- Popups covering content
How to Improve Mobile UX:
- Use responsive design
- Optimize page speed
- Keep layouts clean
- Use mobile-friendly buttons
- Test across devices
It is no longer a question if but when you will be optimizing your mobile site.
5. Too Many Form Fields
Detailed and difficult forms tend to turn off users from signing up, making inquiries, or purchasing. Each added form field is another hurdle. Abandoning the form due to the length is a possibility that users have.
How to Improve Forms:
- Request only necessary info
- Use autofill whenever it is applicable
- Make labels clear
- If the form is extensive, divide it into steps
- Display progress markers
On average, simple works better than complicated.
6. Lack of Trust Signals
Visitors will not become new customers if they do not feel safe and secure on your site. Building trust play a huge role especially for eCommerce, SaaS, and service-based firms.
Missing Trust Elements:
- Without customer reviews
- Testimonials are not available
- Contact information is not provided
- Security badges are missing
- Design quality is poor.
Ways to Build Trust:
- Use testimonials
- Show customer reviews
- Add HTTPS security
- Provide case studies
- Employ professional design
Signals of trust lessen doubt and raise assurance.
7. Cluttered Page Design
One of the mistakes that make any webpage unappealing is placing too much information on it. It only results in confusing users and making it hard for them to perform most important tasks if not impossible.
Things to watch out for in a cluttered design:
- Excessive and various colors
- More text than needed
- Multiple pop-ups
- Many competing elements
Guidelines to simplify design:
- Have a generous amount of whitespace
- Keep only one main objective
- Have a very clear and logical organization of the content
- Keep the visual hierarchy intact
- Clean designs significantly enhance readability and user focus.
8. Inconsistent Design Across Pages
If webpage appearance is so radically changing from one page to another, it is possible users will get the feeling of disconnection or confusion.
Some frequently encountered inconsistencies:
- Unmatching fonts
- Unmatching button styles
- Different layouts
- Different branding
Reasons why consistency is very important: A design that is consistent throughout the customer journey builds a sense of familiarity, enhances usability, and helps gaining the trust of customers.
9. Not Tracking User Behavior Data
In many companies UX decisions are based on assumptions instead of actual user behavior. Without data, you might optimize elements that are not in fact the conversion blockers.
What You Should Track:
- Heatmaps
- Users’ clicking behavior
- Bounce rates
- Scroll depth
- Session recordings
- Conversion funnels
Optimizing with data empowers you to bring about well-informed UX changes.
10. Not Running A/B Tests
Sometimes even seasoned marketers may fail in predicting exactly what users are going to like. That is the main reason why performing A/B tests is so vital to the improvement of both UX and conversion rates.
Example of things to test:
- Headlines
- Call-to-action buttons
- Layouts
- Colors
- Images
- Forms
- Pricing pages
Changes made after testing result in big gains and may not be big themselves in terms of efforts.
How CRO Forge Supports You in Enhancing UX and Turning Visits to Sales
CRO Forge aids companies in discovering their UX challenges, experimenting leads to better UX, and conversion performance improvement by using real data for. No matter if you have a personal website, SaaS platform, eCommerce store, or client campaign, CRO Forge makes A/B testing and conversion optimization simple and accessible.
With CRO Forge, you get the ability to:
- Execute A/B tests quickly and efficiently
- Understand visitor behavior
- Enhance effectiveness of landing pages
- Run conversion funnel optimizations
- Use data as a basis for decision making
- Achieve greater user engagement and sales
Rather than depending on assumptions, CRO Forge will guide you to optimize with certainty.
Summary
User experience has a direct influence on your conversions. If you’re delivering great product or service value but have poor user experience then your visitors won’t convert to a paying customer. Some of the most common errors that lead to low conversions include: slow page speed, poor navigation structure, weak CTAs, cluttered interface, bad mobile experience and a general lack of trust factors.
The best thing about all of these errors is they can all be rectified with continued testing, measurement and optimization. Improving user experience is an ongoing effort; user behavior changes over time and therefore a business needs to continually monitor its performance and test out new ideas. Businesses can increase user engagement and thus improve conversions by concentrating on better user experience, utilizing data driven tools such as CRO Forge.
