Online User Experience Troubleshooting

Ever tried to check out on a website… and just gave up? The absolute worst. Instant deal-breaker. Your customers shouldn’t need a PhD in navigation to find the checkout button. Here’s how we fixed a broken e-commerce experience ➝ The case of Starfire Direct, an online retailer specializing in outdoor living products. Their website had a few key issues that were hurting both user experience and sales: 🔸 A broken cart icon: Shoppers couldn’t even check out properly. 🔸 Misaligned homepage elements: Images and text weren’t displaying right. 🔸 A messy menu & footer: Making navigation more confusing than it should be. The fix: Our team at EcomExperts jumped in to clean things up. We did a full audit, pinpointed the weak spots, and tackled them head-on: ✔ Restored the cart icon across all devices. ✔ Fixed misaligned images and sections for a cleaner look. ✔ Optimized the menu and footer for easy navigation. ✔ Updated site templates for a more consistent experience. ✔ Added a Sticky Add to Cart button to help boost conversions. The results… A smoother shopping experience, higher customer satisfaction, and a major drop in cart abandonment. More people were able to find what they needed, and ACTUALLY fully complete their purchases. Great UX isn’t just about looking good. It’s about removing friction so customers don’t have to think twice about buying. And when you get that right? The sales follow. If your e-commerce store has frustrating quirks that could be hurting conversions, it’s worth fixing now, before it costs you even more.

👩💻 A customer submits a ticket. 🛑 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦.” The agent runs a quick test in their environment. Everything works fine. So they reply: "𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥." The agent moves on. The customer pushes back. At this point, the issue isn’t just a bug. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞. And trust issues 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐱. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 “𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞” Most agents don’t realize: ✔️ The customer is in a completely different environment. ✔️ They might be using a browser you never tested. ✔️ A hidden plugin or ad-blocker could be interfering. ✔️ Their internet may have briefly dropped mid-upload. But here’s the real kicker: 👉 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 “𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧,” 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭. Real customers don’t live in a pristine test lab. They live in 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲, 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬—and that’s where the issue actually exists. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐱 𝐈𝐭: 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 1️⃣ Never stop at “It works for me.” If a customer says there’s an issue, trust them. Instead of closing the case, start investigating. 2️⃣ Ask better questions upfront. ❌ “It’s working on my end.” ✅ “I see it’s working here, but let’s dig deeper—what browser are you using?” ✅ “Any extensions running?” ✅ “Would you mind sharing a quick screen recording so I can see what’s happening?” 3️⃣ Capture their environment before guessing. - Console Logs. - Network activity. - Device and browser metadata Because 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. 📌 This is exactly what we’re solving at Birdie. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬.

How to find (and fix) what’s killing your website conversions — in 3 steps: Ranking high on Google? That’s Only Half the Battle. But if your traffic isn’t converting, what’s the point? Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Many websites that rank still don’t make sales. You’ve nailed PPC or social, got solid visibility… but leads are flat, and sales? Sporadic at best. It’s like owning a prime high street shop… but no one’s walking in—or worse—they walk straight back out. Here’s how to find (and fix) what’s killing your conversions First, ditch the guesswork. This is where most marketers go wrong. They assume it’s a headline, a button colour, or "just one of those things." It’s not! It’s usually a user experience issue, hiding in plain sight. Here’s how to start pulling the curtain back: ➝ Step 1: Check your bounce & exit rates Inside Google Analytics, dig into your top landing pages. High bounce rate? High exits? That's your first red flag. ✅ Look at behaviour flows ✅ Segment by marketing channel ❌ Don’t just focus on total traffic, go deeper! ➝ Step 2: Fire up Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar These tools show you exactly what users are doing. Where they pause. Where they rage-click. Where they scroll... and where they don’t. ✅ Watch session recordings (especially from mobile) ✅ Scan heatmaps on key landing pages ❌ Don’t assume your nav is intuitive—watch and learn. ➝ Step 3: Marry data with insight If visitors are landing and leaving without action, you’ve likely got one of three problems: > Weak offers > Confusing user journey > A mismatch between traffic source and page content, so people arent being served what they expected. It’s your job to pinpoint which. 🟢 Keep what’s working 🔴 Cut what’s distracting 🟢 make changes based on evidence, not hunches! The fix? Usually, it's not more traffic. It's a cleaner, more persuasive relevant journey. The result? Same spend. More leads. Higher ROAS, Business growth! Your move: Is your site converting like it should—or leaking leads like a dodgy tap in a student flat? Share with a marketer who could do with these simple tips

Our client had just redesigned their website but had major conversion issues. They weren’t sure why. That’s when Enavi stepped in. Step 1: Diagnosis We analyzed their intra-site funnel using data from Q1 2023, just before we began working with them in Q2 2023. Here’s the issues we found: Checkout → Purchase:  Slightly below expectations. But likely due to the high price point of their products. Landing → Product View:  This was the major issue.  It was significantly underperforming, so we focused our resources here. Step 2: Key Findings We uncovered several trends that helped scope our efforts: 1. Direct traffic was not viewing products: Direct traffic is usually high-intent. If they're not advancing down the funnel, something is in their way. 2. Key homepage elements were not being clicked: Navigation menus, the hero section, and initial sub-hero sections had unusually low product views. 3. Collection pages users were not advancing into product pages: PLP visitors were frequently abandoning without viewing a product, especially on mobile devices. Diagnosing and understanding these issues through our intra-site funnel approach is incredibly effective. It allows us to pinpoint exactly: - WHERE users drop off - and WHY. Not bad for just the diagnosis phase. (We haven’t even shown you the results yet). P.S. By tackling these key issues, you’re not just improving metrics — you’re enhancing the overall customer experience.

When Your Website Feels Like a Maze (And Why Users Just Give Up) I just read about a SaaS founder who lost $50K in potential ARR because users kept bouncing from their site. It wasn't just one thing - it was a combination of small frustrations that added up. People would land, get confused about the product, struggle to find pricing, get lost in navigation, then leave. The whole experience felt disconnected. ➡️ The Stuff That Actually Keeps People Around 🔘 Clear first impressions You get about 3 seconds before someone decides if your site is worth their time. Clear headline, obvious next step. 🔘 Simple navigation If someone has to think about where to click next, you've lost them. 🔘 Fast loading pages Slow sites lose users. Every extra second directly impacts conversion. 🔘 Mobile that works Most people browse on phones. If your site doesn't work on mobile, you're losing significant traffic. 🔘 Usable forms Long forms or confusing errors drive people away. 🔘 Clear next steps Make it obvious what people should do next - sign up, buy, or learn more. ➡️ The Numbers That Matter Sites that nail the basics see: ◽ 40-60% better conversion rates** ◽50% less bounce rate** ◽2x more time on site** ➡️ The Reality Good UX isn't about fancy animations. It's about removing friction. Every confusing moment is potential revenue walking away. Your website represents your business 24/7. If it's frustrating, it's costing you customers. What challenges are you seeing with your website experience? #UXDesign #WebsiteOptimization #UserExperience #StartupGrowth

Stop chasing vanity metrics like views. They don’t matter. Focus on the real metrics that do matter. Clicks and conversions. Then build a user experience that maximizes them. First impressions are everything. Your site has to hit the UX out of the park to get engagement, clicks, and conversions. Here are a few things to consider when optimizing UX : 1) Know User Behavior How do users interact with your site? Do they spend a lot of time on product pages but bail at checkout? Do they ditch their shopping carts? Can they find your content on best-selling strains but get lost when they try to buy them? Tracking their journey gives a clear picture of user behavior and how your site needs to adapt to that behavior to maximize time on-site, clicks, and conversions. 2) Identify and Address Where You Lose Customers Pinpointing where and why potential customers leave your site is crucial. Maybe it's a complicated checkout process, poor site speed with product images that load slowly, or a hard-to-find "Shop" button. Make these weaknesses strengths to improve conversions. Simplify checkout. Improve site speed. Make the "Shop" button a can’t-miss. Some of our partners have seen a 10% increase in click-through to the menu by simply moving the "Shop Now" button above the fold. 3) Create an engaging User Experience Every step from the moment a user lands on your site to completing a purchase must feel intuitive and flow smoothly if you want your users to engage. This could mean streamlined navigation, clear, concise product descriptions, or improving the mobile browsing experience (which is crucial for customers who shop on their phones, and most customers shop on phones.) The bottom line is that more engagement = More Clicks and More Clicks = More Conversions.

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬? 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐱 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭. 🚨 Did you know that 88% 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆? Poor design isn’t just frustrating it’s expensive. Here are 4 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 holding digital platforms back and 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒙 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎: 1. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 Clutter confuses. Users won’t stick around to figure things out. 𝑭𝒊𝒙: ↳ Simplify workflows. ↳ Focus on clean layouts and intuitive navigation. 2. 𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 If users feel lost, they’ll leave. 𝑭𝒊𝒙: ↳ Map out user flows. ↳ Add clear CTAs to guide them naturally. 3. 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 Slow load times = lost opportunities. 𝑭𝒊𝒙: ↳ Optimize for faster performance. ↳ Use lightweight design strategies. 4. 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 Design isn’t “set it and forget it.” Iteration is key. 𝑭𝒊𝒙: ↳ Gather real user insights. ↳ Continuously refine based on data. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: ↳ Increased engagement ↳ Reduced churn ↳ Happier, loyal users At Exitstack, we focus on transforming platforms with user-first designs that drive real results. 📩 𝑳𝒆𝒕’𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 2024 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔. What’s one design mistake you’ve seen that drives users away? Drop your thoughts below! 👇

Had someone reach out to me on LinkedIn today about issues with form conversions. They recently redid the website and since it was relaunched, they have had no leads coming in. Here are some simple steps I took to figure out what was going on. 1️⃣ Quick traffic check with SEO Utils- found a small fall, but nothing catastrophic. 2️⃣ Checked into analytics, to look at the funnels and paths. Only to find out analytics was not installed on the relaunched website. 🤦 Client saw data - but that data was not for that website which could be seen by the pages that were showing traffic - long story there. 3️⃣ Ran a Screaming Frog crawl - where I discovered the site was showing for www and NON www versions. When I tried to submit a form on the NON www version - I got an error. BINGO - there is the issue. Some internal links point to www pages - others point to non www pages. So both have visibility and the user can be going back and forth and not even know it. THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR. Troubleshooting is my jam. 😍 Fingers crossed their developers can address the issue and those leads will funneling in soon. But this should be reminder that if you are undergoing a website redesign - to either make sure you know what to look for or pay someone to take a look to make sure everything is A-OK!! Losing leads for weeks is something no business should deal with!