Online consumers rely on a good website to help them make shopping decisions. This means your web design will either make or break your business success.
Internet-savvy customers will use your web page to understand your brand and decide whether to support your business or not. If you haven’t put much effort into the usability of your website, it might be time for a redesign.
Web design is a crucial part of making a positive first impression on new customers. If you want your site to be a success, make sure to steer clear from these damaging web design mistakes.
Top 12 Web Design Mistakes to Avoid
Designing your new website can be fun, but you want to make sure that you’re following the best format. Web designs are always changing, so pay attention to what popular sites are doing today.
Good website design will follow consumer behavior so that visitors enjoy spending time on a web page. When your design is enjoyed, you’ll gain more traffic and build a following. As you begin your web design process, take a look at these top twelve web design mistakes you need to avoid.
1. Unresponsive Design
There are nearly 300 million smartphone users in the US alone. This means a large portion of potential customers will access your website on their smartphones or tablets.
If your website isn’t designed to be responsive to the user’s device, it will appear choppy and confusing. When this happens, a user will most likely exit the page.
2. Website Takes More Than Three Seconds to Load
Consumerism may be up, but attention span is down. Research shows that you only have up to seven seconds to convince a customer to stay on your webpage. This means you need to make sure that your web page is showing up as quickly as possible. If your site takes seven seconds to load, most users will give up and go somewhere else.
3. Font Size Is Hard to Read
It’s fun to play around with different fonts, but if you get too crazy you’ll make your website hard to read. Try to choose fonts that are clean and simple, and make sure your words aren’t clustered together.
If you’re determined to use a particularly swirly font, only use it for large headings so that users can still read it. When you put valuable time into writing great SEO content for your site, you’ll want everyone to be able to read it.
4. The Design Relies Heavily on Links
If your web page is link-heavy, then your online customer will get lost in a sea of pages. This can become confusing, overwhelming, and it will slow computers down. It can get especially bad if each one of your links opens up a new browser page.
Instead of relying on multiple pages on your site, try to condense important information onto your home page. Then add no more than 2-3 tabs for a Contact page or About Me section. Make sure each new link only opens up a new tab instead of a new browser window.
5. Poor Graphics
Today’s consumers rely more on graphics and visuals than paragraphs of information. It’s easier to skim and soak up information, and it’s also more fun to look at.
Make sure your website design doesn’t use bad stock photos or confusing graphics. Use responsive image sizing and make sure your photos are optimized for speed so that they don’t slow your site down.
6. Social Media Icons Are at the Top of Your Website
Social media icons are a great way to give your visitor more information about your company. But add them to the side or bottom of your site instead of directly at the top. This will ensure your visitor spends more time reading your page instead of leaving right away to visit your Twitter page.
7. Buttons Aren’t Clickable
Online visitors don’t have the time or the patience to spend five minutes trying to click in the exact spot. If your buttons aren’t easily clickable, you’ll lose your visitor.
8. No H1 Headings or H2 Subheads
The first thing a consumer will do is scan your web page for important information. If your design doesn’t use H1 Headings or H2 Subheads, then it will be too difficult to scan. Your visitor won’t know where to look first, and they’ll become overwhelmed.
9. Invisible Contact Information
Even if your visitor loves your site, nothing will happen if they can’t contact you. Add a Contact tab at the top of your page that’s easy to locate. You can also add your basic contact information to your footer.
10. Poor Use of White Space
The best-designed websites will be pleasing to look at and use balanced visuals. Websites that use excessive and cluttered images will be confusing to decipher.
When you add images to your site, use plenty of white space to balance things out. Too much white space will make the page look empty, but not enough will scare your visitor away. Following this simple design tip will wow your viewers and help you gain more hits.
11. Unclear Navigation Menus
Having a navigation menu can help streamline your website. It also provides information in an easy-to-understand way.
If your navigation menu doesn’t clearly tell your visitor where each button will take them, they’ll never click. It makes your site look suspicious and your visitor might feel wary about trusting your business.
12. No Legal Policies
It’s important to have a clear Privacy Policy listed on your site so that visitors know what’s happening to their information. You want potential customers to trust you from the beginning.
Don’t forget to include return or exchange policies, and any important legal information that your customers need to know. Having this easily available will save you headaches down the road.
Rethink Your Design
You don’t want to invest valuable time and money into a bad website design that hurts your business. When you rethink your site’s design, you’ll gain followers, connect with visitors, and boost revenue.
Avoiding the biggest web design mistakes will ensure that your site runs smoothly and attracts customers. The best way to get a successful website is to hire a team of web design professionals who can build a fluid, secure site for your brand.
Are you ready for a website design that will lead your business to success? Get in touch with our designers to revamp your website today.
