35 Website Statistics Every Business Should Know

A beautiful website means nothing if your audience doesn’t come to see it. The answer to this common problem is multifaceted, including proper optimization, good design, and an excellent user experience. If your website is underperforming, here are the most essential website statistics you need to know to turn your site into a lead-generating powerhouse that converts.

Take note of these key website stats and insights to build a site that will establish and grow your brand presence online.

General Website Statistics

Establishing your brand’s web presence may seem daunting. However, you can always start with your website to introduce your business to potential customers. If you haven’t built one, these basic stats on websites may convince you to do so.

1. Approximately 71% of small businesses have a website

This website stat is a big improvement from 2018, when only 50% of small businesses had a site. If you’re one of the 29% that still don’t have a web presence, take this as a sign to build one soon. Having a website is not only crucial for your business name and brand recognition, but as the website statistics that follow demonstrate, it can also help in lead generation and conversion.

2. About 70% of traffic is directed through Google

Part of search engine optimization (SEO) is knowing which search engine you’re optimizing for. For example, if your business is conducted primarily on Amazon, you’ll also want to optimize your listings for Amazon’s search engine. Almost 70% of the world’s web traffic goes through Google, so small businesses should optimize their websites to align with best practices for Google’s search engine algorithm.

3. One in 5 businesses say their main website issue is low traffic

It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is if no one is around to discover it, as evidenced by 20% of small businesses. More than just venturing in site design and page loading speeds, invest in the rest of search engine optimization (SEO). Learn the basics of search engine marketing and lead your target audience to your site, or hire an affordable SEO consultant through Fiverr for as little as $5.

4. The average click-through rate of a call to action is 4.23%

A 4.23% click-through rate might not sound good, but it’s significantly higher than the 3.17% click-through rate (CTR) for Google ads—and much cheaper too. Spend time developing effective calls to action (CTAs), whether it’s by researching buttons (e.g., shape and color), changing your site’s copy, or fixing other aspects of your site’s design.

5. Google searches for “small business website” is up 25.68%

Over the past five years, the number of Google searches for “small business website” skyrocketed to an all time high. The number of searches has gone up by 25.68% over the last year alone, showcasing the interest of entrepreneurs wanting to build an effective website to get their brands online.

Web Design Statistics

Now that you know the general website basics that matter when building a site, the key to creating a successful one is to incorporate great design. Here are some website design statistics to keep in mind.

6. 38% of people will stop interacting with a poorly designed site

People are spoilt for choice. Instead of trying to navigate a bad website, 38% will leave and head to the hundreds (if not thousands) of other sites out there that offer the same things—minus the headache. Don’t waste the opportunity to convert your viewers by having them bounce off the page before they’ve even begun; see what makes a good website as far as design goes.

7. 38.5% of users judge a business by how their website looks at first glance

Nearly 39% of professional web developers think poor design drives users away. Forget about optimization for a second, and just think about how your site looks aesthetically. Is it sleek enough? Does it have high-quality images? Designing a site from the ground up isn’t the most difficult thing to do. However, if you’re having trouble, consider hiring an expert web designer affordably through sites like Fiverr.

87. 70% of our time is focused on the left side of the webpage

Did you ever wonder why many websites (like Amazon) keep their menu bars on the left side? Most people read from left to right, so the majority of our attention is directed on the left side of the page. Studies show that 70% of the time spent by users on a webpage is solely focused on the left. So, always place your most important information nearer to the left side of webpage (and high up on the page) for a better response.

9. 39% of users focus on a website’s colors

More than any other element—like quality images or typography—a website’s color scheme seems to be what attracts consumers the most when it comes to website design. In fact, nearly 40% of users focus on color when looking at a website, with 46% of consumers stating they prefer the color blue to show on a site’s design.

Not sure how to leverage color on your website? Get inspiration in our list of the best color palettes for websites.

10. Consistent branding can increase website conversions by 33%

Consistency in branding across all of your digital marketing influences purchase decisions in a major way, and is essential for brand recognition. Keep your imagery, language, and colors aligned, as consistent branding can increase conversions (and with that revenue) by as much as 33%.

11. 73% of businesses invest in unique design

With the amount of competition in the market, your products, services, and company website need to stand out. Seventy-three percent of businesses achieve this by investing heavily in design.

As a startup or small company, you might not have the funds to compete with larger companies, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build a website that does. Top drag and drop website builders like Squarespace and Wix make it easy to create a custom, visually impactful website to set your brand apart.

12. 57% of users won’t recommend a company with poor mobile web design

Above all, don’t forget to ensure your site looks good on any type of device. Fifty-seven percent of consumers say they wouldn’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile website. Being mobile-friendly also impacts your ranking on Google–learn more about what Google wants for mobile-first indexing.

User Experience Website Stats

Excellent design is one thing, but building a website with the site visitor’s user experience (UX) in mind is what will truly leave a great impression. Ensure your customers come back time and time again by taking these user experience-driven website statistics into account.

13. Nearly 40% of people will stop engaging with a slow website

High-quality images are essential for good design. Still, they can slow your site down, so optimizing your site visitors’ UX means ensuring those images load fast. In fact, many users expect a maximum of two seconds of loading time for each webpage (and that’s on the slower end). While having a visually impactful website is always great, if your audience doesn’t wait around to see it, it can’t do its job.

14. Conversions drop up to 20% per second of site load time

When we say make sure your site loads fast, website load time statistics show it to be a matter of milliseconds. Each second spent loading means a significant number of missed opportunities to convert. This is more evident in mobile users too. A study from Google shows that when page load speeds go from one to 10 seconds, the probability that mobile users will bounce increases to 123%.

15. Optimal visual intensity can increase positive response to 5.03%

Although a 5.03% positive response to a website doesn’t seem like a high number, it represents a 117.75% increase in positive responses to the basic visual intensity of website elements like photos, buttons, header bar, and thumbnails. The research the numbers were based on used an empirical method to track the number of positive reactions to different website experiences. This shows that making your website visually dynamic and engaging will yield a positive return. 

Get ideas on how to make your site’s visual elements stand out from our list of the best small business website examples.

16. Poor UX drives almost 50% of users to go with competitors instead

A poorly designed and optimized website does more than frustrate users. Website statistics prove that it actively drives 50% of potential customers straight into your competitors’ arms. That’s quite a bit of revenue, considering each shopper spends around $3.39 per visit on average.

Don’t think user experience is a one-time thing either. Consistently improve your site’s UX—as around 80% of a business’ profits come from 20% of existing customers.

17. 80% of consumers will leave a brand after three bad experiences

More than just web design, users expect excellent customer service as well. Four out of five users are willing to leave a brand they are loyal to after three (or even fewer) bad experiences in customer service. This means more than optimizing for fast load times and easy navigation. Engage website visitors with chatbots or live chat features so their queries get answered instantly. Additionally, provide web forms that prospects and customers can use to request information.

18. The ROI of spending on UX is 9,900%

Research shows that for every $1 spent on UX, a brand gets $100 in return. That’s an amazing return on investment (ROI), and just goes to show how important it is to optimize your website with your audience in mind.

19. 43% of small businesses plan to invest in web performance

Website speed statistics show that only 43% of small companies know just how important loading speeds are. The average page loading speed is 10.3 seconds for desktops and 27.3 seconds for mobile. That’s an insane amount of time, especially in this fast-paced world.

If your site takes more than 2 seconds to load, compress large file sizes, optimize your code, and find where any bottlenecks are (then fix them). To avoid site speed problems, use a content management system (CMS) like Squarespace, known for fast loading speeds, or Wix, which automatically compresses files to keep your site load times fast.

Website Content Statistics

Now that you’ve built your website, it’s time to fill it with engaging information to attract site visitors and bring them back. These content-related website statistics will help you create the right content that drives traffic to your website, keeps your customers engaged, and gets prospects moving through to the end of the sales funnel.

20. Users spend 88% more time on web pages with video content

If you’re having a hard time lowering your bounce rate, include videos in your content. Studies show that users spend 88% more time on pages with videos. Not only are videos generally more engaging, but users usually prefer watching videos to reading long blocks of text.

21. 81% of marketers have increased sales because of video content

In addition to increasing time on site and engagement, having video content can also generate a huge amount of traffic and sales. Eighty-one percent of marketers have improved their sales specifically because of video content. On the consumer side, a whopping 88% of customers said that they’ve been convinced to make a purchase from a company’s video.

22. Businesses that blog get 67% more leads per month

Now that you’ve made a small business website that provides a great UX, website stats show that the next step is to create a blog. Blogs can generate more leads—nearly 70% more, in fact.

Blogging is a fantastic way to humanize your brand by imparting your brand values to your readers. Plus, it can also help boost search engine optimization (SEO) by showing search crawlers that your website is authoritative for your business type industry. It’s also essential for content marketing, especially for sites with few pages, like one page websites.

23. 61% of U.S. consumers made a purchase because of a blog

Research shows that 61% of online consumers based in the U.S. made a purchase based on a blog recommendation. In addition to businesses looking for lead generation for direct sales, this is also great news for those who want to start a blog that makes money via affiliate marketing or sponsored content.

24. 94% of readers want a reading time under 6 minutes

Though having a ton of blog posts may be beneficial, try to keep each post to roughly around 1,600 words. This is the sweet spot that lets you optimize your blog content and impart useful information to readers, while still keeping the reading time under six minutes. An overwhelming number of readers (around 94%) are more likely to read to the end of your post if you stay under the six-minute mark.

Ecommerce Website Statistics

Are you planning to sell online? Whether you’re a small local ecommerce business or a dropshipper, these statistics about websites in the ecommerce industry can help you build a successful brand.

25. There are over 26 million ecommerce websites

The popularity of brick-and-mortar stores has been in steady decline, and the pandemic only hastened it. More and more people are shopping online, with over 26 million ecommerce websites worldwide—of which 9.5 million are located in the United States alone.

26. The biggest ecommerce platform has 13 million live websites

WooCommerce is the largest ecommerce platform as of 2022, with over 13 million live ecommerce websites. This makes up almost half of the total ecommerce sites there are worldwide. It is followed by Shopify with just over 3.8 million live websites as of September 2022.

27. On average, U.S. ecommerce sales grow by 17.9% each year

Despite facing massive competition, website statistics show that it’s still a worthwhile investment to set up an ecommerce website. Studies show that U.S. ecommerce sales grow by an average of 17.9% every year. Worldwide, a quarter of the world’s population (or roughly 2 billion people) purchased a product or service online in 2021—needless to say, ecommerce is here to stay.

28. Over half of ecommerce revenue is generated on mobile

More reason to have a beautifully designed site on mobile as well as on desktop—54% of Americans shop on their mobile phones. While you’re at it, make sure to integrate your social media profiles and marketplaces with your website. Think Facebook, Amazon, Etsy, Instagram, and Shopify—make it easy for your customers to hit that “Check Out” button.

29. 81% of mobile shoppers abandon carts

Research shows that smaller screens lead to higher abandonment rates. Tablet shoppers, for example, abandon carts 80.74% of the time, and desktop shoppers abandon carts 73.07% on average. This is especially troublesome because most shoppers now use their mobile phones to shop.

To combat this, ensure that your store is optimized for mobile, not only in images but in copy as well. In addition, don’t forget to use website exit pop-ups and email marketing to avoid cart abandonment. Many stores don’t optimize these, leading to a loss in revenue.

30. Sites that only accept PayPal are considered less trustworthy

Only offering PayPal as a payment option on your website makes your site look dated or less reputable, which can be a huge mistake when trying to get customers to convert. While PayPal might be the default payment gateway for many businesses, explore other options like Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Stripe, and Skrill.

You can also eliminate the headache of integrating payment processors by building your website on Weebly. You’ll get access to its reputable payment processing features in every plan, even the free one. This is thanks to integrated payment options through its parent company, Square.

31. Digital wallets like PayPal are preferred by 42% of Europeans

Although having PayPal as your only payment option may be a mistake, it might be different if your small business is located in the EU. Studies show that digital wallets like PayPal and Alipay are the preferred payment methods for 42% of Europeans, with PayPal being the most popular in Germany and the U.K.

Local SEO Statistics

A website and a fleshed-out web presence can help you build a successful storefront. Wondering why it matters? These local optimization website stats show the link between information found online and the physical foot traffic your store can get.

32. Nearly half of Google searches are for local businesses

Even if you’re not planning to expand your small business globally, local SEO is still extremely important. Forty-six percent of searches look for local businesses, and these are also catalysts for in-person visits.

At least 72% of these searchers visited a local store afterward. Don’t miss out on the web and foot traffic. Build a beautiful site and work on your SEO, even if you’re one of the 35% of small business owners who don’t think you’re large enough to need a web presence.

33. 97% of potential clients learn about a business online

If the website statistics above still don’t convince you to build a site, maybe this will: 97% of customers (basically everyone) use the internet to learn about a business. Of course, this also involves social media marketing, but all your online marketing efforts can be compounded by creating a website to showcase your brand’s presence online.

34. 86% of customers search Google Maps before visiting a business

Eighty-six percent of potential customers scope out a business on Google Maps before heading over. So after you’ve built your website, create a Google Business Profile and add business listings to other directories, like Yelp and the Better Business Bureau. If you don’t have the time to create and manage online listings, you can always hire listings management services through companies like Hibu.

35. 62% of customers will ignore a business without a web presence

Finally, one more reason to build a site is that a majority of potential customers will completely disregard your business if it doesn’t have a web presence. In fact, websites have become so ubiquitous that not having one is seen as distrustful. Plus, when building one, include important information, like your products and services, physical address (if available), and contact information. All these build trust among your customers.

Bottom Line

Building a small business website that is search friendly and professional looking should be a top priority for any business that isn’t online yet. Not only does it increase brand credibility and recognition, but a website is at the hub of digital marketing success. Use these website stats and build a site that not only exemplifies your brand, but also generates leads and conversions through increased user experience.

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