Creating a unique and compelling website is more important than ever. Building an effective site will not only help your business grow, but also ensure that you are capturing the right customers with both their attention span as well as dollars out of pocket.
Web design is an art that combines form and function in order to give viewers memorable experiences. To do this, there are certain rules web designers must follow such as making the website enjoyable or usable with user-friendly navigation.
It’s not always easy for people who work on websites because sometimes they go against the grain from what you would expect from the website. Let your design do the talking to your viewers while still displaying your product, service and establishing unique credibility within your market.
Be careful however, do not fall into the easily avoidable mistakes a lot of websites make that make their users want to pull their hair out.
Here are 5 common website design mistakes to avoid
1. Difficult Website Navigation & User Accessibility
Ask yourself these questions when designing your website:
What are the top 5 websites you visit most often?
Which of these sites do you find difficult to navigate?
Why do you think they are hard to use and/or navigate?
What can be done to make them easier for people who don't know how to travel through the website pages?
How would this change your experience on that website if it were made more user-friendly?
What will your website look like when you have answered all of these questions? You can bet that it'll be a simple and easy-to use site. Users want to get their desired goal in under two minutes, not spend hours browsing around on complicated pages!
Your homepage needs to be clean and simple for the most technologically illiterate person to understand. A recent poll done by uxcam.com regarding website user frustrations explained how easily bad reviews can spread regarding your websites usability.
Avoid frustrated users sharing their bad experiences and simplify your website navigation already!
2. Website is limited on mobile & tablet
You know what they say; "There's no such thing as a small screen." Google announced that they will now be including a ranking factor for mobile-friendly websites in their search algorithm. This is an important development as it means more people are using smartphones and tablets, so Google wants its results to match what those users see too! By making sure your site has good user experience on these devices you can rank higher with Google by optimizing and formatting content.
Google likes mobile friendly webpages because most of us browse online via our smartphones or tablet computers nowadays - but if we want them ranked highly when shown alongside other sites then there's one thing standing between us: perfecting how well our websites are displayed.
3. Cluttered Website Design & Content
First, that's right JCPenny.com, I am coming for you. This website is extremely cluttered and as viewer, I cannot tell which way is up. It is almost like it is screaming at me that is is selling literally every single type of clothing known to man. Now, there are good takeaways from this, I did say it is screaming so the message conveying itself very loudly. The issue is the message is cluttered and ineffective. Check out the example below on what it could look like.
A website like True Linkswear conveys instantly to the viewer who they are. It is a clean and simple message that does not shout or overwhelm. We call this, letting your design "breath." Seriously, check out that website, it is amazing.
4. No Call to Action Focus
What is a call to action anyway?
Do you have a problem with your website? Your call to actions are placed in the wrong places! You need more CTA points, not just on one page. To increase its effectiveness and maximize user satisfaction we recommend placing our well positioned CTA's across all pages of YOUR Website.
5. Lack of Contact Information
Your website should be everybody's business!
The best websites are designed with the customer in mind. That means that you need to make sure they can find your contact information easily and quickly, regardless of how many pages there may be on your site or what type of device it is accessed from ( desktop vs mobile ). One easy tip for web designers: put a clear call-to-action at the top so people know where exactly if interested in getting more info about your organization - whether through phone, email, chat message, etc.
If you still have concerns...
Hiring a professional will give your website the best chance possible. Even the biggest businesses can get it wrong sometimes, so collaborating with an experienced designer is all you need to keep up appearances and make sure no-one mistakes who runs things in your market!
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