What is Bounce Rate?
First of all what exactly is bounce rate and why should it matter to you? Bounce rate is usually based on a percentage. The higher this number, the higher the bounce rate. A high bounce rate means users are quickly leaving your website or only view a page or two before not finding what they are looking for and leaving your website. Below we will explore a few simple ways to reduce the bounce rate on your website and retain users.
No Pop Ups Or Automatic Music
When you first visit a website and the first thing you are greeted by is an obnoxious pop up window that refuses to close or music that you cannot figure out how to turn off, users will most likely try to exit the website as soon as possible. Do yourself a favour and let users see your website before putting up a pop up. Also if they wanted to listen to music they would most likely have another application open for that purpose. The only time music would be appropriate on a website is if the website is for a musician or band and even then it should not play automatically but by the letting you users decide when they want to hear it. You can do this with a simple play button.
Your Website May Be Loading Too Slowly
If your website does not open quickly and to users to the content they want to see you are potentially turning away numerous users. There are several ways to reduce load times on websites such as loading fewer and smaller sized images, minimizing the number of HTTP requests, reducing external scripts and unused plugins.
Your Website Isn’t Responsive
Responsive websites are websites that work on mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones. If your website still isn’t responsive, it is likely you are losing numerous users viewing your website on mobile devices. Users may leave because they often cannot read and navigate your website from their mobile device. Not having a responsive website forces users to have to zoom in with their phone to perform basic functions. It is extremely annoying for users and many just give up and leave.