Top 7 Web Design Mistakes

Posted by: All Web Design

I know there are several lists out there for what not to do in your web design or top design mistakes but I think these seven happen the most and dont get taken seriously.  Websites are created for the visitors not for the company.  Keep these tips in mind during your next web design.

1. The user must know what the site is about in seconds: keeping a visitors attention is the most valuable factor of a website. If a visitor cannot figure what your site is about in a couple of seconds, they will probably move onto the next site and find what they are looking for. Your site must be obvious what your site is about and should have various conversion techniques on the home page.

2. Make the content scannable: this is the Internet, not a book, so forget large blocks of text. A lot of people are visiting sites while at work so they do not have time to read your content.  Not to mention people's willingness to read is decreasing daily.  Bullet points, headers, subheaders, lists. Anything that will help the reader filter what he is looking for will help with the conversion of your site and keeping the visitor on the page.

3. Do not use fancy fonts that are unreadable: sure there are some fonts that will give a sophisticated look to your website. But are they readable? If your main objective is to deliver a message and get the visitors reading your stuff, then you should make the process comfortable for them. Most people use the round fonts like Courier, Helvetica and Verdana.

4. Do not overuse Flash: apart from increasing the load time of your website, excessive usage of Flash might also annoy the visitors. Use it only if you must offer features that are not supported by static pages.

5. Do not play music: on the early years of the Internet web developers always tried to successfully integrate music into websites. Guess what, they failed miserably. Do not use music automatically.  If you have a


6. Do not require a registration unless it is necessary: lets put this straight, when I browse around the Internet I want to get information, not the other way around. Do not force me to register up and leave my email address and other details unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. unless what you offer is so good that I will bear with the registration).

7. Make forms easily found: if you are trying to get a lead or information from your visitors make sure you offer the form on various pages.  I have also found that a different form on different pages has grabbed attention of the visitors better than having the same form throughout the site.

If you are thinking about redesigning your website, make sure to do your research.  Look at websites you like and pay attention to what they are doing.  When working with a Denver web design company bring up these tips and make sure the development goes as planned.  The best way to assure your web development goes smoothly is getting involved in the process!