Ten Common Web Design Mistakes
By Nadine Gilden; Curiouslight.com,
Tinaciousgifts.com
Many small business owners design and build their own websites, or
have a relative or friend do it. Inevitably, mistakes get made that
can cause them to lose customers, and prompt poor word of mouth. Here
are 10 common mistakes and some ways to fix them.
1. Mixed Messages
Why do you have a website? Is it to sell something? If yes, then that
should be the focus of your home page. Show potential customers a
sample of what you have to offer. Make them want to look further.
Very large logos and too much text detract from that purpose.
2. Unclear Navigation
Is your navigation too small? Does it stand out enough from the background?
Are the most important areas of the site given the places of most
importance? Navigation is your tool to get users to view your site.
If you make it difficult, they won't bother.
3. Too Many Clicks
How many clicks does it take the user before he or she can actually
order a product? Their patience may run out before they get there.
4. Poor Graphic/Image Quality
Are your product images pixilated, too dark, and blurry? Poor image/graphic
quality will reflect on the quality of your product. Also, include
the width and height of your images in your image tags - this allows
the browser to account for the dimensions of the image and load the
page as intended.
5. Too Much Text
Most users don't read web pages, they scan. Having too much text overwhelms
them. If you must have more than a paragraph, make sure that the text
contains links so that words get highlighted and the text is interactive.
Of course, sites that are informational only are expected to have
lots of text. Just try to break it up as stated above.
6. Never Updating Your Site
Users will feel reassured if they see you have changed content - especially
on the home page. They will run for the hills if you still have events
listed from 1999.
7. Spelling/Grammar Mistakes
We are all guilty of this. Spelling and Grammar mistakes cause your
site to look unprofessional. Have someone else proof your site. Hopefully,
you know an English teacher.
8. Using the Wrong Fonts
If the font you have specified for your text is not installed on the
user's computer, they won't see it. That is why it is necessary to
specify a font that is available on both Windows and Mac.
They are:
Arial
Comic Sans
Courier New
Georgia
Times New Roman
Trebuchet
Verdana
Georgia, Verdana, Trebuchet were specifically
designed for the screen.
When you create graphics, you can use
any font you think looks good because it doesn't need to be on the
user's computer. Sometimes, especially with navigation buttons, you
need to use small text. There are also fonts specifically designed
to work at small sizes - Mini7 is a very popular one.
9. No Privacy Policy
Do you collect email addresses for a newsletter or for ordering? Assure
your customers that you will not share their addresses with anyone.
People are leery of their email addresses being sold.
10. Didn't Test Site/Don't Know
Stats
Did you check to see what your site looked like in multiple browsers?
What looks good on your computer in one browser can look like a mess
in another browser; eg. text overlapping images, alignment out of
whack, things breaking out of their designated areas. Familiarize
yourself with the current web statistics for browsers. Ex. 1024x768
is about 50% for screen size, but 800x600 is still about 30% - You
don't want to make your site too large for 30% of your potential customers.
Bonus Mistake
11. Using Bells And Whistles Only As Bells And Whistles
Flash is fantastic, but are you only using it to say you have a cool,
hip site that uses Flash? If it doesn't add any benefit to the user,
what's the point? If you are really attached to your Flash Intro,
make sure you offer the user a way to skip it. They don't need to
see it on their 10th trip to your site. If your site is purely for
showing off your designs, and not to sell, Flash is a great way to
go! See #1; know the purpose of your site.