Often, the first interaction a potential customer has with your brand is on your website, but some dealership website design elements can leave customers feeling lost—or even allow them to wander to a competitor for a better customer experience. In fact, our recent data discovered that just 60% of vehicle buyers found the dealership’s website very easy to navigate, down 11% from last year. That’s a significant decrease!
It’s crucial for your sales (and service as well) to avoid the common dealership website pitfalls that can frustrate customers by implementing website best practices to create a website that not only attracts but converts visitors into satisfied customers.
Improve Customer Experience with Proper Dealership Website Optimization
Dealership Website Faux Pas: 8 Frustrating Features
A poor website can hinder sales and service and damage a dealership’s reputation—both online with Google, as well as with your customer base. Here are eight website features that can frustrate customers, leading to abandonment and defection to other retailers.
- Slow Loading Times: Customers expect fast websites. A slow website can lead to frustration and abandonment.
- Complex Navigation: If your website is structured like a labyrinth, it will be difficult for customers to find what they need.
- Insufficient Vehicle Information: Not providing detailed specifications, photos, or pricing can deter potential buyers.
- Mandatory Lead Forms: Requiring customers to fill out a form before accessing basic information can be a major turn-off.
- Outdated Inventory Listings: Displaying vehicles that are no longer available wastes customers’ time and builds distrust.
- Mobile-Unfriendly Design: A website that isn’t optimized for mobile devices can alienate a significant portion of the audience.
- Lack of Clear Calls to Action: Customers should always know their next steps. Ambiguous CTAs lead to confusion.
- Generic, Unengaging Content: Bland and impersonal content fails to connect with customers and build relationships.
Essential Website Strategies to Streamline the Experience
A well-structured and user-friendly dealership website can significantly impact your sales and customer satisfaction. Here are some strategies to enhance navigation, improve your site, and create a customer experience that captures their business.
Simplify the Structure
Use clear and descriptive labels for menu items, and organize information in a logical manner, making it easy for shoppers to find what they need. By implementing breadcrumb trails, site visitors will be able to track their location within your website. Keep the navigation structure consistent for a simpler, streamlined experience.
Optimize for Mobile
Try your website out on various devices to ensure it adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes. Make buttons and links easy to tap on mobile devices, and reduce the number of menu items on mobile to avoid clutter and confusion. Using responsive images that adapt to various devices can help increase mobile functionality.
Enhance Search Functionality
Ensure your search bar is easily visible and accessible, and optimize search functionality to deliver accurate and relevant results. Providing auto-suggestions as car shoppers type or chatbots can help them find what they’re looking for, and including filter options will allow customers to refine search results based on specific criteria.
Guide with Visual Cues
Use prominent and visually appealing calls to action, along with an intuitive website design that employs design elements to guide users through the website. Don’t be afraid of white space, either—this helps direct focus to important information. You can also engage viewers with video content to explain complex topics.
Increase Load Speed
Optimize image sizes via compression to reduce loading times, and prioritize above-the-fold content. Choose a reliable hosting provider and minimize HTTP requests by combining files and reducing the number of external resources. You can also improve website performance by leveraging browser caching.
Design Your Dealership Website for Success
As a critical touchpoint for your prospective customers, your dealership website must be designed, tested, and optimized using website best practices. By implementing these website optimization strategies, your dealership can create a more intuitive and engaging website experience, leading to increased customer satisfaction and higher conversion rates.
From search engine optimization and online scheduling tools to dealership blogs and AI, the team at Affinitiv has the technology and the expertise to help increase your dealership’s effectiveness online. If you’d like to find out more about our data-driven solutions, contact us today.
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