A recent usability study showed that less than 1% of users click on images that rotate with sliders, which is sad for the sliders and your business. As a result of sliding blindness, unwillingness to click sliders can reduce your conversion rate by blinding visitors to positions, not in the first slot and reducing the click rate (CTR) by up to 2%.
Sliders also reduce accessibility for visitors with physical or motor problems, as users do not click on the information they want most to see. It takes a long time to connect the slider images when using a data plan, which means that mobile visitors have to click after loading to search for the page. For these reasons, there is a good chance that your website visitors will not stay on your site long enough to take action, whether you wanted them to buy something or make an appointment.
Let the visitor decide which sort of imagery they want to see first and before presenting your display. I mentioned before that sliders put an unnecessary burden on the user experience. If the image on your slider looks like a banner advertisement, it will cause your visitors to ignore it and move on to something else.
UX expert Jakob Nielsen conducted an experiment that showed that many users could not see the information presented in the slider carousel. Often because the viewer had become blind to the merry-go-round which directly affects a site’s CTR as it often contains the crucial information you are looking to showcase to your visitors. He also pointed out that the international users and users with low literacy levels are discouraged and frustrated by the slide show because they can’t read the offers when images are not translated well or at all.
Carousel sliders don’t get traction or click interactions just because people think they do. When you place an automatically rotating slider on your homepage, you take control out of the hands of your users. Many companies, such as Hilton, use sliders that move a bit more slowly with controls that give the user the opportunity to see the slide they prefer.
In fact, one of the easiest ways to increase page conversion rates is to remove the slider and replace it with a static image. Some industry experts recommend using static images on the homepage or at least a carousel with a slider that does not automatically rotate.
When it comes to sliders on the home page (also known as carousels, slideshows, rotating offers, and faders – call them what you like and ask online marketers to share their opinion on them), you are sure to get a passionate response. I’m sure you can create dozens, if not hundreds, of images with a carousel slider called Rotating Offers. Flash pop-up ads have also become a very popular feature.
So while sliders, also known as carousels, may appear to be a cool way to highlight and present content on your homepage or landing page, you should reconsider this assessment. Rotating website banners have gained popularity because they allow websites to present multiple marketing messages and ideas in a room and they may seem to be the logical solution to a front-line marketing problem.
Rotating banners or carousels or sliders, as you call them, can be found on any web page. A carousel slider is a large website banner that runs 3-7 different slides each with a background image, a headline, and a different type of CTA (call to action). Unfortunately, the sliders also offer no value for SEO.
Austin-based consulting firm Conversion Science has found that unoptimized sliders affect conversion rates more than optimized sliders. Websites that have sliders above the crease on their homepage are less valuable than sites that contain user conversion calls on large images which render them invisible to users who ignore them, scroll down, or, worse, leave the site altogether.
Erik Runyon conducted a study at the University of Notre Dame on a page test that measured the number of clicks made by sliders compared to visits to homepages. The study found that only 1% of visitors clicked on those functions.
Sliders do allow you to include more information, more images, and more content on a single area of the page for the user. It has been shown that using a slider to show things from different angles, product photos, or specific contexts (such as product details) on a page can be more engaging than a slider on the homepage that merely displays offers. Everyone who checks this has a different opinion and philosophy about the use of sliders, but I have presented here those who back up their claims with real testing data which, unfortunately, reflects a decrease in sales on those sites featuring home page sliders.
