Over the years, certain web design standards have become common. Yet, we can still bump into some of the basic web design mistakes.
There are websites that still fail to adopt standards and have core pitfalls in the fields of navigation, calls to action, content, color & contrast, and clutter.
For example, one of the most common problems that small businesses incur is that with effective SEO (and healthy visitor stats) it is sometimes possible to take for granted that getting users to your site represents a job well done.
Perhaps more accurate would be to say that it is only half a job well done. If users are getting bored and leaving the site soon after (without having interacted in any way) then there’s certainly some room for improvement.
Let’s see how you can avoid some common web design mistakes or fall into the trap of making it.
#1 Ineffective navigation
Many small businesses fail to make navigation a priority and this is a common web design mistake. We all saw at least one example. Many create websites, but without considering proper navigation.
The trouble is, when users visit a website and miss to find the information they want and fast, they will leave never to comeback.
A good navigation is there to lead the users, to keep them longer on the website. In other words, that means potentially more readers, subscribers, sales or leads — whichever is your primary objective.
Website navigation affects both usability and accessibility, so it’s important to make it a primary concern.
#2 Dull and unstructured content
People visit your website for its content. The way how it’s structured is a huge factor in whether would they stay or leave. You need to think how content is presented. People prefer to scan through the content quickly until they find what is the point of their interest.
So, website without clear and interesting content hierarchy will drow away your users. It is important to establish a strong visual content hierarchy so users can quickly scan your site and sifting through relevant information.
Plus, such content formating also acts as a guide through each page and creates a more enjoyable user experience.
Unclear Calls to action
Calls to action are not the only thing that can be relevant to this problem – but the lack of them is often one major contributing factor. This is also one of the common web design mistakes.
We’ve all seen bland small business brochure websites with nothing but endless descriptive paragraphs. Your CTAs have to suggest users to commit an action. To buy a product, contact you or subscribe, for example. Otherwise, you will lose them.
#3 Blend colors or missed contrast
Color and contrast aren’t usually high up on the list of priorities for a small business owner when it comes to creating a website. The thing is, colors matters.
Without properly choosed colors your users will have difficulties reading your contnet. Think of people who have poor vision or color blindness.
Moreover, besides the readability, the role of color and contrast is to create visual interest and direct the attention of the user.
Unnecessary clutter
We all know at least one small business website that doesn’t filter the content properly. From images to unnecessary content there it’s not hard to create clutter. The end result is a busy and unreadable page.
It’s simple, the more items are on a web page, the more unprofessional it looks. That will drow away your users.
What you need to do is to prioritize your content. If you find that dificult, start asking yourself with these questions:
“Does it really need to be there? Does it serve a specific purpose? Can I live without it?”
What you need to do is to research your key/selling words and to find out which information are the ones your users want to know. Make sure to differentiate between areas of content, advertisements and promotions.
We can all make web design mistakes
This process is a bit like a musician developing his/her ear to recognise in one simple sound a specific element of theory at work – and the likely effects it creates. Likewise, you only get a better business website if you develop your eye to more accurately interpret the background functions of each and every component of a/your site!
