When we think about websites, we may believe that if we create one, customers will just come.

While that holds some truth—there's no guarantee that they'll stick around. If your website is a bit dated—or if you didn't create it with excellent customer experience in mind, then your customers will likely leave in a heartbeat.

If you look at a study done by Microsoft in 2015, it all starts to make sense. In 2000, Humans had a 12-second attention span. In 2013, it shortened further to 8 seconds. In comparison, a goldfish has a 9-second attention span. We can all collectively give our heads a shake here.

Now that it's 2019, you can probably assume that our attention spans are even shorter. It should be no surprise. Instant gratification is a click or button away on most mobile devices.

But why is this important?

Customers can't be bothered. A few seconds is all they'll give your website. At best, they may pester you with questions, which will take up your valuable time to answer.

Both are easily avoidable with a well-designed website that's mobile-optimised and built for your customers in mind.

So what are some concrete reasons they'll leave your website? Let's take a look.