Key takeaways
- Not keeping website info current harms the bottom line
- High load time is the main reason visitors leave websites
- Canadians should choose web hosting more carefully
- Slow internet due to unsupportive regulators, geographical issues, and slow adoption of technologies
Neglecting the website
Lack of attention from website administrators or owners is an almost universal mistake, including for Canadian websites. The website is often a business’s first impression on existing and potential customers. More than 70% of consumers trust the information published on business websites, so if it’s neglected, it can harm the bottom line apart from making the business owners look unprofessional.
Poor user experience
A website’s design should be clean and intuitive, with valuable content that provides useful information and easy navigation. Sites should be optimized for computers, mobile phones, and tablets. Some WordPress themes are optimized for mobile and automatically adjust the site to fit a mobile phone screen. Delivering a poor user experience is the easiest way to lose visitors, even if the site otherwise has potential.
According to the results of a survey published by GoodFirms in 2024, high load time was the main reason to leave a site. An impressive 88% of respondents cited it as the reason they would lose interest. 73% said they would navigate away from a non-responsive site, and bad navigation did it for 61.5%.
Web hosting plays a critical role in visitors’ experience with a website. Faster web hosting providers have more server resources. If your website supports large files or has a high traffic volume, your hosting provider must be capable of handling it. Choose one carefully unless you don’t mind dealing with a slow website and disappointed visitors. Canadian hosting companies like GreenGeeks will offer the scalability a growing website needs.
Slow internet
In July 2024, Canada ranked 35th globally for mobile internet speeds and 18th for fixed broadband speeds. This is low for a developed country. The reasons include a lack of competition, an unsupportive regulatory environment, geographical issues, and slow adoption of 5G wireless and fiber-to-the-home technologies.
A limited number of large providers dominate the Canadian telecom and internet market. As a result, there are few incentives to keep low prices and improve services.
According to some insiders, Canadian regulators discourage innovation from internet providers and investments. Regulations around competitive entry, pricing, and sharing infrastructure are not as favorable as in other countries.
Canada’s low population density outside big cities and vast territory make building high-speed cable and fiber networks more expensive. Smaller, densely populated countries don’t have these problems.
Canada has fallen behind in adopting 5G wireless and other modern technologies, which speed up the internet dramatically.
Finally, investment in Canadian internet infrastructure has been historically low. The legacy of not receiving the same public and private investment as Japan, South Korea, and some European countries hasn’t been overcome.
Not enough time, money, or expertise
Building a successful website requires money, time, and expertise. 21% of small business owners think websites are a waste of time, and 26% lack sufficient funding to create quality websites.
Any site is better than no site
Finally, more than 40% of Canadian small businesses don’t have a website at all. The lack of a website puts a brand at risk. Given all of the hard work, time, and money you’ve invested in your small business, you can’t risk people not finding out about it. Low-cost website services are available, and some registrars offer affordable website builder tools and templates.
Recap
- Neglecting the website
- Poor user experience
- Slow internet
- Not enough time, money, or expertise
- Any site is better than no site
