There was a time that the home page slider was new, revolutionary, and added some pizzazz to a website. It drove traffic to the website and suggested some thought went into the page. These sliders even gave you the chance to advertise more and to leave a lasting impression.
But those days are gone. In fact, online marketers are discovering that aside from the first slide that pops up, most of the additional frames aren?t even being clicked. In fact, the ineffectiveness of the carousal design are reflected on in countless studies. Between a small fraction of clicking on the slider, to most people generally ignoring them according to Nielsen, these items are just taking valuable real estate on your homepage.
Your Sliders Are Not Converting Customers
This is the first reason to remove the home page slider. Why put something up that isn?t going to deliver results? Your homepage should help to convert people to make a sale. Instead, use this extra space for a call to action and draw your target audience in, so that you end up with real results.
The more slides you have, the less likely it is that someone will eventually click on any of these slides. The truth is that if someone is going to click on the slider, they will do so on the first item that comes up. Most people won?t sit there and watch each of the slides as they crawl across the screen. That means a website with 5, 10, or even 20 slides is ultimately a waste.
Not All Platforms Can Handle the Sliders
Mobile devices which most people use today, struggle to use the code that is in place for sliders. If someone is using an accessibility feature, they will experience more headaches as they attempt to use these devices. Since these sliders are becoming more problematic as time goes on, it makes little sense to keep them as a major part of your website. Instead, they should be replaced with elements that allow all users to full benefit from your website, and ensure that they have the ability to make full use of it.
Sliders Often Confuse Your Visitors
When a person goes onto your website, they take away from the message and the theme of the website. Most people find that they aren?t sure if they are supposed to be concerned with the first, or the last slide. After all, many sliders vary in importance, especially when they are scrolling through the posts you are making on your website. When the different items are promoting healthcare products, the best chocolate online, and a new e-book you wrote, it will further confuse the people visiting as they don?t tie together well.
With numerous messages to consider, it can overwhelm the visitor, who might be looking to simplify the purchase they are making. Others might simply want to look for something very specific, that a search or menu feature would connect them with in a more effective manner. Just remember, home pages are designed to be clean and concise, so too much clutter can also deter from the online shopper.
As you can see, these are just some of the reasons why you need to remove the slider from your website. While a home page slider had a place there in the past, newer dynamic designs allow you to use the area they once sat more effectively. This will translate to better sales, extended visitor times on your website, and ensures that you don?t have a page that is ultimately ineffective for all of your needs.
