Rachel Sprung wrote an article on Hubspot called “17 Compelling Stats That Make the Case for Smarter Site Design” (link no longer active) all about statistics that should convince businesses to spend time and effort creating ‘smart web design.’ We noticed a handful of those stats were equally important in the non-profit and social good industry and so we thought we’d share a few of those gems.
1) 40% of people will abandon a web page if it takes more than three seconds to load.
As time becomes harder and harder to find, making sure your site loads quickly and is easy to navigate should be top priority.
2) 46% of mobile users report having difficulty interacting with a web page, and 44% complain that navigation was difficult.
Making sure your site works on mobile is a good start, but designing it specifically for a mobile device can really help with conversions.
3) A study of Fortune 500 websites showed that 63% have content above the fold, 50% feature a scrolling content window of some kind, 63% use high quality images that connect with their users, and the average loading time is 6.5 seconds.
Two things here. First, Imagery and sliders are still common practice and for a lot of large organizations but you need to keep in mind that a lot of content and imagery means a slower page load. So, try to shoot for balance. Second, don’t feel terrible if your pages don’t load in 3 seconds. Work to improve things but know that you are in good company if this is still something you are dealing with.
4) 48% of users say that if they arrive on a business site that isn’t working well on mobile, they take it as an indication of the business simply not caring.
Mobile matters. It’s an investment that is paying off more and more with every year. Trends are showing mobile to be the dominant browsing experience in no time.
5) 62% of companies that designed a website specifically for mobile had increased sales.
Again, mobile matters.
6) 69% of North American marketers say dynamic, personalized content is important for their website. Only 5% say it’s of low importance.
Personalized content refers to content unique to the end user. So, if your site is smart enough (technology wise), try to tailor your content and the user experience to the unique donor and supporter demographics that fit your business.
7) Only 55% of companies are currently conducting any online user experience testing.
With tools like Google Analytics, UserTesting.com and Silverback, it doesn’t take thousands of dollars to start testing what works and what doesn’t online. Give it a shot and you’ll be surprised what you find out about your users.
8) 90% of people use multiple screens sequentially.
Keep in mind that your users will probably engage in your site on their mobile device and online so try to make the two experiences as similar as possible.
