You have great ideas, an attractive site, and a marketing team that’s kicking digital ass, yet your conversion rates are in the gutter. Often we prioritiZe aesthetics or cool features over basic site efficiencies and, while it can all look very impressive, it’s not much use if visitors don’t get to see it or are distracted by poor site functionality.

Site functionality is the foundation of conversions. In this fast-paced digital age, the basics are often overlooked and underappreciated, much to the detriment of business owners. While rushing to be the first to have some flashy new feature, often site functionality is sacrificed – and this should never be the case.

The functionality issues losing you business

1. Poor page loading times

Studies show that 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, while 40% will abandon a website taking more than 3 seconds to load. Online retailers especially should take note that a mere 1 second delay in page response time result in a 7% reduction in conversions.

If tech isn’t your strong point, here are four quick fixes to boost page loading times today:

• Images: Resize images that are too large. They shouldn’t be much bigger than you actually need them to be when you upload them.
• Plugins: Uninstall any unnecessary plugins as these just add extra lines of code to your page that a browser needs to read before loading.
• Hosting service: If your site is simple and minimalist, the problem could be with your hosting service. Speak to a customer service rep about load speeds and if it can’t be fixed, consider jumping ship.

2. Complicated checkout process

The buying process can be fragile, with the slightest thing capable of sending a customer running. One issue that can really put a visitor off is a weak checkout process – keep it simple and smooth.

Here are a few tips to keep the checkout process simple and easy to use.

• Easy changes: Make it easy for customers to alter items in their basket, whether it’s removing or increasing the number of certain products. Include ‘remove’ options, as well as changeable quantity counters.
• Back button: Everyone makes mistakes, so allow customers to hit the back button during the checkout process without derailing all their hard work. Hitting the back button should bring customers to the previous page without error messages and all data they’ve entered should be saved.
• Information: All main product information, including pictures, should be visible in their basket so they can see exactly what products are in there.

3. Long registration process

If you’re playing the long game when it comes to conversions and understand the benefits of cart recovery, or simply keeping visitors up to date on your products, then you better make sure your registration process is simple. Have a prompt window appear as they leave your site – a simple design without delays in loading time – and allow them register with a simple email/password combo or through a ‘Sign Up With Facebook’ function. Voila – you have the chance to reel them back in.

4. Poor site architecture

As well as being able to move between pages on your site quickly, customers need your online store to be user friendly. This means that sections should easy to locate and your site navigation in top shape. Products should be easy to search and to filter without slow load times or the page crashing.

• Homepage: The should always be easy to reach, whether it’s by clicking on your logo or a ‘Home’ tab.
• Highlight promotions: Customers are always interested in sales or special offers, so make sure there’s a ready-to-click tab waiting to take visitors to your best bargains.
• Recently viewed: This is a must if your site has a large inventory. Customers will often browse through tens of items, forgetting most of them along the way. Have them visible at the bottom of product pages to remind customers what they looked at and compare them to newer products.

5. Weak mobile site

Reports show consumers are spending 15+ hours a week researching on their smartphone, proving that mobile store browsing is a huge sales asset and something that should be facilitated. If your site is not yet mobile responsive or it has poor functionality, you’re likely to lose out on quite a bit of revenue.  Here are simple tips to give your mobile site a smooth functionality.

• Navigation bar: Make sure your main navigation bar is fixed so mobile users always have access to the most important parts of your site.
• Minimize text: Screen space is sacred on mobile, so limit text on product pages, keeping it to the essentials and letting your image do the talking.
• ‘Add’ button: Make sure each product has a simple ‘add’ button that’s always visible (consider a fixed or ‘sticky’ button), so users can quickly add products to their basket. And speaking of baskets…

So there you have it. Improving your site’s functionality doesn’t have to be a big project, but it can make a big difference.

About the Author

Roy Rosinnes is the co-Founder & CEO of Shoppimon – the first online service for Magento-driven ecommerce sites that helps owners find issues with their stores before shoppers do. Roy is a seasoned tech executive with prior experience at global companies including Alvarion and BMC software. Roy earned a BSc in Computer Science and Philosophy from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In his spare time, he is a dive master, tennis player and connoisseur of fine food.

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