Web design & Internet Marketing

Web design, Internet Marketing & SO Discussion

Website Design - Top Web design Mistakes

Top Web Design mistakes have been covered in many articles on the internet. Concepts in Web Design as well as issues that impact the web design industry have changed with time. Many of the ‘Top web design mistakes’ that were relevant a few years ago may not be relevant today. This is a new list that addresses some of the most common web design mistakes that apply to websites today.

1. Poor Content

Content is the reason why users visit a website and is the most important asset for a website. It is important to writing content for a website is different to printed matter.

• The content should be free from any grammatical or spelling errors and should be proofread thoroughly.
• It should be well researched and provide information that users find valuable.
• It should be scannable and to the point.
• It should be easy to understand and not confusing.
• Combine various forms of media to make the content interesting for users.
• Lengthy content.

2. Poor design

The design of a website is always important. Although the long term success of the website will depend largely on quality of information and usability of your website, design is equally important. First impressions count and a modern, clean-cut design is important for any website to succeed.

• Ensure Fonts are not illegible
• Modern, clean-cut design instead of outdated design
• Use of white-space
• Consistent design across individual pages
• Easy to use navigation

3. Missing ‘call to action’ on the website

Call to action refers to statements or features on websites that expect a user to perform an action. It is a must for any website or blog.

A call to action offers the following benefits

• Provides focus to your website
• Encourages users to perform a task
• Increase conversion rate

Call to action statements are known to increase conversion rated manifold and also provide a way to measure the success of the site.

Some examples of effective call to action usage on websites are

• Buy Now
• Register Here
• Leave a Message

4. Non-Standard Links

Links are vital navigational elements on a website and it is best not to violate usability standards. Visitors associate link colours with what they mean. By default active links that have not been visited are blue, visited links are purple or red. As far as possible it is better to stick with similar shades.

Following are some issues to consider

• Use standard colours to display visited links
• Clear differentiation between visited and not-visited links
• Do not open links in new windows or pop-ups
• Use descriptive anchor text as links as opposed to using click here or other non-descriptive phrase
• Do not confuse visitors by underlining any words that are not links

5. The purpose of the website should become evident within seconds

I am surprised to see how many websites do not make it clear what the company or website does. The main purpose of the website or the company that it represents should become clear within the first few seconds of visiting the website. This is one of the fundamental objectives when designing a website.

Attention span of users is limited. What the website does is an important message that should be conveyed on the homepage instantly.

6. Make the content scannable

How we read information on a website is different to how we process information from a printed material. Users tend to scan information on the website. Instead of reading all the words from top to bottom, users tend to scan the information quickly, focusing on the main sections of the page only.

The use of correct headers, sub-headings, Bullet points and lists make the content easy to scan. They assist a user in filtering the information they are interested in.

7. No Contact Information or Other Company Info

The contact information on a website should be clearly visible. In addition to telephone, fax or email address it is equally important to display the physical mailing address of the company on the website. At the least, every website should have a contact page where all information clearly listed. Contact information on website is vital for establishing credibility among customers. Research indicates that customers do not feel confident of dealing with a company that does not have its address listed on its website. The company registration number should also be listed either in the footer, about us or contact page.

8. Lack of interactive Web 2.0 features

Importance of content is increasing. How we access content has also changed with time. With the popularity of blogs and social networking websites, sharing and syndicating content has become a norm. It is also common to access content using RSS feed or subscribe to content using feed reader applications. In order to gain the maximum leverage for your website today, it is important to provide the right tools on your website. Today, it is important for websites to provide RSS feeds, ability to subscribe content or newsletters and the ability to share your content on popular social networks.

9. Too much Flash

Although flash has improved with time and a lot of its limitations such search ability have been somewhat addresses, it is still advised to use it very sparingly on websites. Whilst it is acceptable to use some flash objects or graphics on a website, the total page or site should never be designed completely in flash. In fact its use should be as limited as possible.

There are instances where flash can be useful for developing interfaces for back-end applications e.g. ticket booking interface on many successful travel websites. However it should never be used for no purpose.
It is not advised to use flash for navigation or menu on a website. In fact it is considered a bad web design practice.

10. Long download times

The average browsing speed has increased across the world due to faster connections. However in spite of this, slower connection speeds still exist. Business travellers often connect from slower connections from hotels or other remote places. At times even broadband connections are slow due to congestion and boosts in traffic. Although it safer for websites to utilise more bandwidth than a few years ago, it is better to accommodate for all situations. Many users also access internet on the move via handheld devices. As compared to traditional wired broadband, speeds can be sometimes slower for many wireless networks.

Related Posts

• January 25, 2010 -- Web Design Tip 1– Top 6 ways to improve Website Navigation
• December 2, 2009 -- Web Design – Top 10 Interactive Features for Your Website
• January 26, 2010 -- Web Design – Top 10 Template Websites
• October 12, 2009 -- Joomla Web Design - Top reasons to Upgrade to Joomla 1.5

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