by DJ Miller

Any webmaster should be concerned about the site’s bounce rate because it is a direct measure of how well the site is performing. The longer people stay on the website, the more sales it will generate. There are many factors contributing to bounce rates, but the website design is one of the easiest to control.

Take a look at these five flaws you should avoid in your design to reduce your bounce rate.

Small or Hard to Read Typography

If people can’t read the content on your website very easily, they will quickly bounce. Therefore, you need to make sure your font is large enough and easy to read. You don’t have to use the standard Times New Roman or Arial fonts, but you should stick to the sans-serif options because they are the easiest to read.

Clashing Color Combinations

Pay attention to the font colors you choose. Color is a great way to enhance the design of your website, but it can be distracting to your readers. For instance, dark backgrounds and white text are notorious for headaches and high bounce rates. The same is true of bright background colors. A good rule of thumb is to stick with black font for the main portion of your content, but have fun with color on your headings and other font elements.

Slow Loading Speed

Some website elements take longer to load than others. For instance, if you use an image as your background or have a lot of custom elements, your load speed is not going to be very good. According to the Web Analysis blog, the average bounce rate is 40.58 percent and it’s higher for websites that take longer to load.

Of course, technology has improved enough that you can still use some large images and other elements in the design of your website without having a noticeably slower load time. However, you need to be aware that theses elements are still difficult to open on mobile devices. Keep this in mind when creating a responsive design or a custom mobile website.

Confusing or Crowded Layout

Readers will leave your website if they can’t quickly understand the navigation and layout. So, it’s best to avoid designs that feature several columns or a lot of crowded elements. Try to establish a good balance between content, images, ads, and any other elements you want to include.

Also, remember that whitespace is your friend. It helps readers know where to focus their ttention. Whitespace is empty space on your website that isn’t filled with content, images, or anything else. It doesn’t have to be “white” but it should give your readers a rest. Having some whitespace should improve your bounce rate.

Too Many Pop-Ups and Ads

People understand that websites make money from ads, but they don’t want to be bombarded by them. If you limit the amount of banners and ad spaces you have in the design of your website, it will improve your bounce rate. You also want to be careful of pop-up ads. Most readers get annoyed by them and will quickly click the “x,” so they hurt more than they help.

Flash Intros

It’s not the early 2000’s anymore. Flash intros can still be done effectively, but it’s best just to leave them off of the site altogether. Flash intros won’t work at all on mobile platforms, and on desktops, they can take a while to load. Since most consumers have Broadband or DSL, you should compare the site’s load time for both versus the load time for both when Flash isn’t used on the site. You’d be surprised at how long Flash can take to load, even on a high speed connection.

These are just a few website flaws you should avoid to improve your bounce rate, but there are many more. Do you have any other suggestions? Leave us a comment in the section below and let us know.

About the Author:

DJ is a graduate student at the University of Tampa. He is an avid gadget geek who spends most his time writing on anything tech related. He has also written for www.centurylinkbundles.com.

Sharing is caring