11.6.2012 Staff
Hubspot says that one of the central tenets of inbound marketing is "Do Not Annoy". And yet, many websites contain elements that only generate complaints from visitors. Poor user experience can cause high page abandonment rates, low visitor-to-lead conversion rates, poor organic search listing positions, and a bad reputation. Here are Hubspot's 15 most annoying things on websites.
Pop-Up Ads
Convert site visitors into leads with good content, not an interruptive gimmick.
Automatically Playing Multimedia Content When a Page Loads
A visitor is more likely to close the page rather than looking for a "Stop" or "Mute" button.
Disorienting Animations
Users typically take 3 seconds to orient themselves on a given webpage before clicking "back" in their browser. Anything that detracts from a visitor's focus during those critical 3 seconds is a bad idea.
Generic Stock Photography
Show pictures of real customers, real employees, your product, and your location, instead.
A "Contact Us" Form Instead of Contact Information
A "Contact Us" module is vague and generic, and should never be the only means of communication between you and your customers. Let visitors get in touch with you via email, the phone, and social media.
Unintelligible "About Us" Page
Make sure you're writing in a language that non-experts and others outside your industry can understand. Avoid business babble.
SEO-Driven Copy
Don't write for website crawlers from the early 2000s; write for humans.
Not Including Social Sharing Buttons on Your Content
By making social sharing easier, your content will get more visibility.
You Don't Have a Blog
An "About Us" page isn't enough to tell a company's full story. A series of blog posts can give visitors a better understanding of who your are, who works at the company, and how you've grown.
Titles and Content Are Incongruous
Titles can capture a visitor's attention, but content isn't related to the title will disappoint the reader.
Your Call-to-Action Copy Doesn't Align With the Offer
Visitors should receive exactly what they were promised.
Your Internal Linking Isn't User-Friendly
Avoid pointing users to irrelevant pages, linking strange phrases within the copy, and overdoing it to the point of making content unreadable.
Sliders That Take too Long to Load
Use sliders that load images quickly and don't require a new page to load every time a user clicks.
Using Flash
Search engines can't read Flash, so your site won't get indexed.
The Worst: Visitors Don't Know What to Do
Visitors to your site should immediately be able to see what your website does, what the value of that is, and what they should do next.
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