Whether you are designing your own website using the tools that your website host has provided you or you hired a web designer, there are a few common things you have to check to avoid the common mistakes people make in website design. Sometimes, even the professional web designers with years of experience make these mistakes which impact the website in the sort to long term. The following is the list of top 7 typical mistakes people making in web design that you need to avoid.
- Non-Responsive Design –
Most of the people fail to make the design of the website responsive. By responsive design, it means that the website should come perfectly on devices of different sizes as well as when the web browser window is resized. While 70% of the websites are responsive, an overwhelming 30% are not. Google has started penalizing websites with the non-responsive design.
- Clueless Navigation –
While designing a website, you have to think like a user. The navigation of a website must be consistent, predictable and intuitive. When a user lands on your website, he/she must be able to navigate around your website quickly without wasting any time in search for options. There must be a clearly defined and directed path for easy navigation. Add a search bar and make the best use of the header and footer for better navigation. Most of the designer’s design website as per their liking without considering the navigation system for the users’ convenience.
- Color Overload –
There must be only a few colors used in designing a website. The colors should go with the brand color. It is better to opt for 2-3 colors. But anything beyond that would be distracting and at times, ugly. Moreover, there must be consistency in colors throughout all the web pages for the sake of good viewing and branding. Moreover, choosing the colors is a tough job as awkward colors can ruin the image of the brand. Most of the inexperienced web designers bombard users with a color spectrum of their choice. Talking about color, too many colors can also make readability bad. Therefore, it is better to get some of the users on board to check your website before making it live.
- Poor Layout –
The layout is directly related to navigation and the overall impression that a user takes when he/she first lands on your website. Any website that is not well-structured and not well-organized will repel the users. Always use a proper grid while designing and get a balanced layout before you start designing. If you do not want to be creative and mess things up, then you can follow the 2/3 rule and the golden ratio of web designing.
After getting the layout clean and clear, make proper use of the headers, footers, and sidebars. This is the most common website designing mistake most people make. Use the areas wisely to improve navigation. Try to use less of ads all around the web page especially the landing page and give more what the users are looking for. Moreover, there must be enough free space for a clean look and highlighting all the areas better.
- Unwise Use Of Images –
The images are extremely important to make the website look stunning and appealing. However, just like colors, unwise use of images will ruin the overall look and impress of a website. The images must have a similar color scheme as the color of the website or brand. Contrasting color will make your website look pale. Similarly, make optimal use of images so that the website’s loading speed is not hampered. Every image must fulfill a goal like product illustration, triggering an emotional response, creative advertisement and likewise. Using images just because they are appealing make no sense in web designing.
- Missing Call-To-Action –
If your design does not dictate the action of the users, it is poorly designed. In fact, lack of call-to-action is also negative from an SEO perspective. Call-to-action options do not always mean showing advertisements to make users click and purchase products or services. It can be as simple as subscribing for newsletters, signing up, following on social media channels, taking part in giveaways and contests and likewise. Your website should tell the users how to interact with the site using call-to-action options.
- Lack Of Quality Content –
The biggest mistake is to consider that content of the website is not a part of its design. The content has to be as good as the design because it is the content that the users will go through after checking the design. Quality content makes a strong impression and therefore, hire a quality content writer if you have to in order to get the job done perfectly. Moreover, make the core information available readily at spots where they are easy to find.