Do you have a website that no longer seems to be pulling its weight? Have you noticed a plateau or even a decline in user engagement? The success of your website depends on how easy and enjoyable it is for your target audience to use. A slow, irritating website will undo your hard work putting together quality content for your visitors since an unpleasant user experience will drive them to one of your competitors. Here are four common barriers that get in the way of a website flourishing and how you can overcome them.
1. Slow Loading Speeds and Too Many Errors
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A significant point of friction for many website visitors is having to wait too long for pages to load. This also applies to trying to access parts of a website only to encounter error messages and a dead end. Since competitors can provide seamlessness and instant gratification in the form of better loading times, it’s imperative that you identify the cause of your lagging site and bring it up to speed.
If visitors to your site have to spend too long searching for the page they want, they are more likely to leave and visit a competitor. You can avoid this by redesigning your website’s navigation to make it smoother and easier to understand at a glance. Users shouldn’t have to second guess which links lead where.
3. Poor Accessibility
Some people are excluded from accessing certain websites due to disabilities. Thanks to modern devices and software, there is no excuse for hosting a website that makes it difficult for people with disabilities to use it. Reading this accessibility plugins review will teach you how you can enhance your website with accessibility features quickly and easily. Don’t drive visitors away because they can’t access your site. Make your part of the internet more inclusive.
4. Unsuitable Security Levels
No matter how big or how small your website may be, it is still under threat from cyber attackers. The security of your website protects you and your visitors from people who want to steal data for their own gain. To demonstrate to visitors that your site is secure, invest in SSL certificates to protect the privacy of your users by encrypting their data as it’s transmitted. Keep all software up-to-date and patched to avoid letting attackers in through outdated holes. Enforce password policies for signups that keep your users safe, for example by insisting that they create passwords with a variety of character types and cases for maximum security. These layers all serve to prove to your visitors that you care about security and privacy, making your site more trustworthy.
If you aren’t aware of the underlying reasons for your website’s poor performance, it is almost impossible to improve it. However, once you have identified the main issues, you can get to work solving them. Don’t let slow loading or a lack of full accessibility get in the way between you and a thriving website. Hopefully these four points will help you find the solutions you’re looking for to get your website back on its feet.