It’s no secret that startup competition is on the rise. On the back of a widespread e-commerce boom, there have never been so many startup sites competing for consumer attention.

Whether you’re a B2B seller or speaking directly to your customers, the key to startup success is mastering an online strategy like no other. We’re talking about your site to your social media platform, all aspects of the online customer experience must be optimized if you’re shooting for global success.

Stick with us as we jump into the startup struggles online entrepreneurs are facing in 2022 and read on as we discuss why your site could be your ticket to engagement victory.

Startup site struggles

Did you know that over 90% of startups fail? According to experts at Embroker, only 10% of entrepreneurs turn a profit on their startup, while a whopping 1 in 5 files for administration in just the first year of operation.

Alongside cash flow issues and a poor market outlook, poor site accessibility remains one of the key causes of startup failure in 2022. With more than half of the population now accessing products and services using a digital device, the online customer experience must be polished and personalized.

In order to compete against new competition highs, startups must know their demographic inside and out. From their values to customizable demands, startups must create a site and social experience that is adaptable for a diverse range of users.

From Ux accessibility to mobile optimization, let’s have a closer look at some of the key site strategies changing the game for SMEs.

How to improve your startup site

Improving your startup site is not an overnight process. It takes dedication, patience, and a lot of research.

Before jumping into the tweaks and tactics that aim to optimize your site experience, it’s time to jump back to the basics first.

Your research stage is quite possibly the most important part of a site strategy. In fact, 65% of startup leaders claim that research demands have increased since the onset of the digital shift. Consumers now demand more from the services they interact with. From hyper-personalized content to deals and offers geared specifically to their taste, it’s important to provide your consumer with an unmatchable experience.

The key here is to know everything you can about your targets. Start segmenting them on the grounds of age, behavioral actions, and core values.

Using a number of analytic tools, it’s easy to quickly track the types of consumer browsing your site. Better still, using analytic tools such as heatmaps, you can go one step further and identify what site pages and products are receiving the most clicks.

With all this information in mind, the next step is to start making some changes.

Prioritize an accessible UX design

One of the key factors to play a role in site success is UX design. Also known as user experience design, creating a site that prioritizes user accessibility has become essential in the race to reach the top of the search string.

In 2022, a website’s UX design should be sleek in nature, easy to navigate, and most importantly, fast loading. With the average user now bouncing off of a landing page in just a few seconds, it’s imperative that your site design captures a user’s attention in just a few clicks.

In fact, 88% of consumers are unlikely to return to a site that has bad UX. As a startup, consumer loyalty and retention mean everything, so losing potential leads at the first hurdle is just not an option.

Experts at Amazon Web Services state that small businesses lose up to 35%  of all sales due to a bad UX. As a trillion-dollar issue for the e-commerce industry, how can you make sure your startup isn’t a victim of UX failure?

The key here is to optimize your accessibility. If a consumer can access all points of your site with ease, you’ll score points.

Make sure your navigation flow is simple and easy to follow, and your content quickly provides a call-to-action for the consumer.

Better still, make sure your site isn’t overcrowded. There’s nothing worse than an overwhelmed consumer. Make sure your users can quickly identify where they want to go next, and give them lots of chances to get there.

Optimize your site content

Once you’ve worked on your site structure, it’s time to jump into content optimization.

We’re talking about anything from website copywriting to images and animation. All aspects of site content should be optimized for a seamless user experience.

Let’s talk about your copywriting strategy first. This should be fresh, funky, and, most importantly, tell your consumer what your site is all about. Your site copy should be full of calls to action and, of course, those pesky keywords that’ll see your SEO shooting up.

When it comes to images, videos, and animation, compression is your new best friend. While high-quality visuals look fantastic, they can quickly slow down your site. If image and video files are too large, your loading speed will pay.

Instead, compress your content files so that they still look beautiful, while loading on time for a seamless user experience.

Don’t forget your mobile consumers

Last but not least, it’s time to start prioritizing your mobile consumers.

With over half of all internet traffic now attributed to a mobile device, you must make sure your startup site appeals to both traditional browsers and smartphone users.

If you want your startup to be multi-device accessible, take a closer look at how your site structure functions. Could a mobile user access your landing page with ease? Would a smartphone-centred consumer be able to read your copy and interact with your animations?

If you’re answering no to any of these questions, it could indicate that your site needs some work.

The key here is to design a second version of your website aimed at mobile users. This version would be less text-heavy and jump straight into a call to action. Mobile users tend to have less patience than a traditional browser, so make sure your content is quick to the point.

Another feature to remember is your haptic/feedback design. Mobile users love gratification. Letting them know that they have completed a task or clicked a box correctly is a great way to boost your UX success.

Could 2023 bring any new site trends?

Looking forward, it’s clear that startup competition will not die down any time soon.

In order to tackle online competitors head-on, it’s important to stay on top of both design and demographic trends if you want to keep your conversions climbing.

2023 is set to bring more site optimization must-haves to the table. From a new focus on voice search to entering the metaverse, startups must think out of the box when creating content in the new year.

Site design should be device-centred and, most importantly, adaptable. The online world is constantly changing, and startups must be ready to jump ahead of the curve if they are to compete against industry giants.