Reduce Bounce Rate Dramatically With a Consumer-Centric Web Design

How many times have you bounced off a website because the images are taking too long to load? If you’ve ever abandoned a page for this reason, you’re not alone. In fact, 39% of users across the world choose to leave a website if the images aren’t loading fast. 

You can blame it readily on the users’ notoriously short attention span. Or, you can go the more introspective route and revisit your content and overall website design. Other common reasons people leave a website include:

• Poor-quality content

• Misleading title tags and meta descriptions

• Error and blank pages

• Confusing layout

• Bad links from another website

• Page isn’t mobile-friendly

• No CTA

To the uninitiated, bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors that leave a page after a single visit, without taking any action. In this article, we’ll give tips on how to reduce bounce rate, with a focus on web design. You can apply all of these tips on your own or hire a web design agency Sydney to get the job done strategically and professionally for you.

Ways to Reduce Bounce Rate

Having a high bounce rate typically means visitors aren’t getting what they’re looking for in a landing page. Content sure has a lot to do with it, but the way your website is presented is also crucial. Here are a few ways you can address your rising bounce rate through web design:

Make It Visually Appealing

A website’s visual appeal can draw users in. Humans, after all, are a visual breed. There are many factors that affect a website’s visual impact, but for this section, we’ll focus on the design itself.

Is your website eye-catching? Make sure it is! With clear visual cues, you can highlight what makes your brand unique, what it has to offer and why it could be the best choice for them. Consider trying any or all of the following:

• Make sure the text is legible. Consider using large-enough text sizes and bold fonts when necessary. Go for fonts that are easier to read. If you’re thinking of using other fonts throughout the entire website, we say two or three different fonts are enough.

• Add videos if possible. Videos have been proven to drive engagement and are therefore a must-have if you intend to reduce your bounce rate. According to a study, pages with video content have an 11% lower bounce rate than those that don’t have any. But keep in mind that your video has to be high-quality and relevant.

• Make good use of white space. Cramming content and design elements like videos and images together can distract users. Consider using white space to give the page a more organised feel and give your visitors a clearer view of your content. It’s like giving all design elements room to breathe, making the entire page less overwhelming for users.

• Background and text colours need a good contrast. It makes the content readable and the entire page easy on the eyes. This also works great in making sure your CTA button is visible.

Ensure Interface and Navigation Are User-Friendly

One thing you should keep in mind when designing a website is the essence of simplicity. This should reflect not just in your website’s aesthetics but also in terms of navigation. If the interface is too complicated and inconvenient, visitors might lose interest and move away. As a rule of thumb, you want to make sure:

• Visitors can return to the homepage quickly and easily. A good practice is to link the logo in every page to your homepage.

• Each page has a navigation menu and footer. If you have a huge site, you may also consider adding a sitemap. All of these elements make navigation easier for users.

• All menus and submenus are organised and easily accessible.

• Your contact information is visible. Some visitors are out there to look for your phone numbers and other related info, so make sure not to give them a hard time looking for what they need.

Reduce Page Load Speed

Picking up from the previous section, you have to understand that a simple web design not only makes navigation easy but also helps reduce page load speed. According to a study, 40% of consumers will desert a page if it takes more than three seconds to load fully. To make sure it doesn’t happen to your website, take note of these tips:

• Compress large image files

• Avoid auto-playing videos and flash elements

• Remove unnecessary plugins 

• Remove unnecessary characters in your code

It goes without saying that a fast-loading page has a lower bounce rate than one that loads slow. Ensure your site is always on par by running a comprehensive page load speed test.

Make It Universally Responsive

Your page may be responsive on a web browser but mobile devices can tell a different story. It isn’t uncommon to encounter pages that work well on a standard desktop screen and go completely unresponsive when opened on a laptop or smartphone. As such, your web design Sydney team should focus their efforts on a range of screen solutions.

Note that as of February 2022, 57% of the world’s web traffic came from mobile phones. To check if your website is indeed mobile-friendly, you can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

Place Ads Wisely

Online ads are a way to earn money from your site but they can be intrusive. When designing a website and placing ads, be sure user experience isn’t compromised. Too much ads or having ads placed carelessly can not only annoy visitors but also make your brand look cheap and insensitive. Here are a few things to keep in mind when placing ads on your site:

• Don’t place ads too close to areas where users are likely to stay (e.g., navigation bar, content and search box).

• Spammy, poor-quality ads can negatively affect your SEO.

• Some ad networks may ban your site if you keep pushing for obstructive ads.

• People visit your site to find answers, not to get barraged with ads.

• Find a good web host.

Ultimately, web design impacts your brand’s reputation. According to a study, 75% of consumers judge your company’s credibility based on your website’s design. That could mean that even if your website offers a surplus of useful content, not everyone will stick around to read everything. Worse, they may not even give it a look.

Sydney web designers must design pages in a way that puts customer experience first. If you still have questions on how to go about it, it’s best to hire a website design agency Australia. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need a new website or a redesign. You can also check out some of our work.