5 mistakes that chase visitors away.

It's likely that we've all experienced this at some point. Data at hand, 53% of mobile users will abandon a website when it's not loading before the 3-second countdown expires (source: Think with Google).

Nobody likes an endless blank page, sluggish on mobile, or with broken photos. It's not only about the appearance or the content. Sure, those factors matter, but what about the total experience?

What are these 5 mistakes that chase visitors away, and how can you avoid them on your website?

If you operate a business, this is more than simply a blog post. It is an opportunity to learn how to optimize your website for maximum results.

Regardless of what floats your boat. Let’s see these 5 annoying mistakes that chase away website visitors and let’s make them disappear forever.

One of the most annoying things to do on the internet is waiting for a page to load. That's because people don't want to wait for content, especially when they're on their mobile device and every second counts.

The good news is that optimizing your website is possible if you know where to put your hands. There are many tools available to assist you in analyzing and making your website as quick as possible.

Let's take a look to the all parts that can be optimized.

Backend code optimization is an extremely broad (and controversial) topic. It completely depends on the technology you choose, and it's a job for experienced programmers. For example, a Node.js server and a PHP server have polar opposite ways of working, therefore you must know carefully what is under the hood in order to intervene effectively.

Bottlenecks can be improperly designed database accesses, poor software architecture, slow disk access, network issues, etc. There are software designed with the sole purpose of detecting performance issues, check this: APM (application performance monitoring).

You can reduce page latency also by optimizing the frontend code, that is loaded and executed in your browser.

Developing your website using modern web application bundlers, like webpack or Parcel, is highly recommended. These software come with smart code-splitting out of the box.

Prioritize the “atf” (above the fold) resources, moving the code necessary for the portion of the page visible before you scroll. On the other hand, try deferring the “btf” (below the fold) resources. For example, if there's an image below the fold, it is not necessary to load it immediately when someone visits your website. It's a good practice to load it once you scroll down enough, so that it becomes visible in the viewport (it's called “lazy loading”).

Keep tabs open on tools like Google PageSpeed, WebPageTest, GTmetrix. They will tell you what to fix and how.

When you go to someone's website, you usually do it for a reason. Probably you are looking for something: might be some product information, opening hours of a store, the food menu of a restaurant, etc. If you don't find what you need, then you won't stay there very long.

That's why it's important to predict what your visitors are interested in, and put it in the foreground. If possible, move those informations to the atf.

Navigation is fundamental: take the necessary time to design an effective menu, organized in a way that reflects how your users expect information. Also consider a search field, if appropriate on your site.

If a block of text is too long, it will discourage the average internet user from reading. What can you do?

It is not easy to sacrifice pieces of text that you have carefully thought out and written. But focus on the interests of your reader: if you keep the sentences short, the text will be easier to read. Even in writing, “less is more”.

Literally, divide the text into several paragraphs. Write so that each paragraph expresses only one concept, or at most two.

Also, add some well-chosen images between paragraphs to break up the monotony of a long text.

Being straightforward is the most important thing with forms. If you want your form to be filled, don't make it complicated. Keep your form short and clear, and make sure that you don't ask for unnecessary information (like an e-mail address if you don't really need it).

Let us put it straight — people DO judge a book by its cover. 

Think about it this way: when you see a very good-looking website, it communicates authority, and the user has the feeling that they know what they are talking about. Now think on the opposite: what does a poor design communicate? It screams ‘amateur’ and ‘unprofessional’!

You heard “content is king”. While this is absolutely true, presentation still plays a significant role. The emotional component in humans is very strong, and it's crucial in the process of making decisions. UX design can be one of your best allies to keep your visitors engaged.

There you have it — these little-known but super-common 5 mistakes that chase visitors away from your website (and how to fix them). Let’s be honest, we could go on all day about the big no-nos for websites.

But take heart! By avoiding these elements, you’ll do most of the heavy lifting needed to create a positively user-friendly experience.