Why Small Businesses Lose Customers Through Poor Website Design

Poor website design causes small businesses to lose customers because the website is usually where a potential customer decides if the business looks legitimate, professional, and worth contacting. Local business websites often serve as part of the sales process. BrightLocal found that consumers’ most common action after reading positive reviews is visiting the business website (54%). That means if the website looks bad, customers may bounce even if they were previously interested.

Bad design causes people to leave websites because we form visual impressions quickly. Researchers Lindgaard, Fernandes, Dudek, and Brown measured how long it takes users to determine a website’s visual appeal and found users could make that judgment in just under 50 milliseconds. This means when someone visits a business website for the first time, they may decide whether or not the site feels outdated, cheap, confusing, or trustworthy before they read the text on the homepage.