30 Tips To Improve Your Website Performance & Convert Visitors To Customers

Improve your website performance and convert casual visitors to paying customers – these tips will surely make a difference to your business.

When I look around, I see lot many entrepreneurs launching e-commerce websites with great zeal and enthusiasm.

But how many are actually making profits?

What can be done to make the websites convert traffic into customers?

To answer this question let’s understand the factors that influence a website’s performance:

I call it ‘DRC’, and it stands for Driving Traffic, Retaining Traffic and Converting Traffic.

You’ve probably cracked the code if you are doing the above three right.

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A lot has been written regarding driving quality traffic to one’s website, whether paid or organic.

So, in this article, I’ll focus on the other two aspects of retaining traffic and converting traffic.

To be a pro at the above, you need to understand what is going on in the customer’s mind.

Let’s see how to improve your website performance by following these logical steps!

A. Retaining Traffic

In order to retain a percentage of quality traffic to your website for some time, the best thing you can do is to reduce the bounce rate. For the unversed, a high bounce rate is when a large number of visitors leave your site without taking any action. It clearly signals to the search engines that they are simply not interested. The following tips discuss how to reduce bounce rate.

TIP #1  Clear Message in the Prime Real Estate

The offered products should be clearly mentioned in the Prime Real Estate.

• The first piece of content visible to you when you visit a website is its prime real estate.
• Very few visitors scroll past  this area, if they do not find anything of interest.
• “What your website offers,” should be conveyed loud and clear in this area.

TIP # 2  Keep an eye on your Website’s Loading Time

• Slow speed is the biggest contributor to  increase in bounce rate.
• Every Millisecond Counts.
• Mobile websites take more time to load and are accessed by more number of users. Remember a majority of them are accessing through unstable mobile data which further increases the loading time.

TIP # 3  Have a Responsive Website

• In a responsive website, text and data adjusts itself to the size of the device, whether it’s a desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile.
• A non-responsive website is inconvenient to browse and should be a total no-no in today’s time.

TIP # 4  Check if you are ranking for Wrong Keywords

Many a times, it has been noted that a website ranks for keywords similar but unrelated to its products. The traffic coming from these wrong keywords add to the bounce rate.

For Example, if a website is selling Kurtas, maybe a beneficial keyword is “Embroidered Kurtas.” But it might be ranking for the keyword “Embroidery Tutorials.”

Now, in the above case, the traffic coming through the wrong keyword is looking for something not available on the website.

Certain things on the website irritate the user and should be avoided at all costs.

TIP # 5  Avoid POP Ups

• Pop-Ups irritates the user.
• It hinders the users natural search process.

TIP # 6  Avoid lengthy Forms

• Nobody likes filling lengthy forms.
• Refrain from asking irrelevant personal info.
• It’s the reason for most drop-offs.

TIP # 7  Breathable CONTENT

• Don’t scare off your visitors with congested content.
• Give gaps after every 2-3 lines.
• Use Bullets.
• Make it scannable.
• Let your content breathe.
• White space is equally important.

TIP # 8  Downloads/Signups Are Working OK?

Check from time to time that the Sign Ups, Login and other such functionalities are working fine. At times, certain technical glitches can happen, which surely drives away a prospective customer.

TIP # 9  Check Multi-Browser Compatibility

Check whether your site is working fine in all browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer etc.

TIP # 10  Check Multi-Device Compatibility

Check whether your site is working fine in all devices and all models in case of mobiles.

TIP # 11  Place little Ads

• Too many ads disrupt the smooth reading process.
• Place them strategically

There can be one thing that you may be doing unknowingly wrong?

TIP # 12  Open External Links In New Tab

• Opening External Links in the Same Tab will lead to visitors leaving you site, so make sure you are doing that in a new tab.

How to Increase Time on Site?

TIP # 13  Good Content

An interesting headline compels the user to click and read the full content.

• Always start with a hook, so that the reader is compelled to read more.
• Use interesting Headings
• Provide complete details in your content, so that the visitor is satisfied by getting all information at one place.
• Images add interest and break the monotony of the text.
• Videos help increase time on site.

TIP # 14  Don’t just sell, educate them, start a blog

• Too much promotions turn off the customers.
• Inform and educate them. This helps establish a bond of trust between you and your customers. A very good way to do that is by starting a blog on your website.

TIP # 15  Include CTAs

Add Call to Action buttons like “Download Now” or “Subscribe” suggesting user to take further action.

TIP # 16 Inter-Link your Content

Interlink your content to other relevant pages on your website, so the reader spends more time on the site

How to get them interested?

TIP # 17 Provide Detailed Product Description

• Provide complete product details like size, color, weight, purity etc and all the relevant parameters.
• At least 2-3 high resolution images should be included.
• Clear returns policy and COD details should be provided.

TIP # 18 Competitive Price

• Research your competition and find out the industry average. Decide your product’s price accordingly.

TIP # 19 Offers & Discounts

• Offers and discounts help draw crowds and assist in clearing stocks.
• But don’t make it a regular feature otherwise customers don’t value the discounts.

Sounds good? Read on for more tips to improve your website performance! 

B. Converting Traffic

Why do customers leave just before making a payment?

TIP # 20 Simplify Check-Out

• Customers leave the purchase in-between if the process is complicated.
• Simplify the check-out and remove any unnecessary steps in between.

TIP # 21  No Hidden Costs

• No. 1 reason for cart abandonment are hidden charges.
•  These can be in the form of Shipping Charges, taxes etc.
•  Customers are not mentally prepared to pay that much.

TIP # 22  Install SSL Certificate

• If you are accepting payments through credit cards, having SSL on your website is important.
• SSL tells the visitors that your website is secure and increases their trust that you are a legitimate business.

TIP # 23 Multiple Payment Options

• Provide multiple payment options.
• Apart from credit cards, all popular wallets, NEFT options should also be provided.

TIP # 24 Have a FAQ Page

• A “Frequently Asked Questions” Page helps in clarifying any doubts the customer might have.

TIP # 25  Provide Contact Details

• Many websites refrain from providing their address on their contact page.
• But if you do so, customers feel they know you better and the place you operate from.

How do you win their trust?

TIP # 26  Transparency and Clarity

• Tell them what you do, how you do.
• Show them behind-the-scenes videos.
• Show them what all materials are being used in the products.
• This helps to build trust.

TIP # 27  Put Testimonials & Reviews

• Encourage your customers to post reviews on your Social Media Pages.
• You should also put customer testimonials on your website.

TIP # 28  Word of Mouth

• Contrary to popular belief, word of mouth does help in online purchases too.

TIP # 29  Personal Brand

• The biggest challenge SME’s face: Lack of trust from customers especially if you are a new business.
• Online Shopping is still seen with suspicion in India, especially if the transaction amount is big.
• Build your personal brand, do fb & insta lives, be approachable on SM Handles, be a public figure, get interviewed.

TIP # 30  Human Factor

• Even if all the required info is available on the website, still customers feel the need to talk to a human before making a purchase.
•  It’s a good practice to provide a customer support number on your website.

To conclude, I must remind you that the demand-supply theory works in the digital realm too.

A good website can help you sell a product or service that is needed by the consumers, one that solves their problems.

So, before launching your e-commerce website, make sure you have a good business model in place.

Good Luck!

Image credits Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash 

First published here.

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