People often make decisions based on website layout when determining whether or not to visit it.No matter if you are starting from scratch or revamping an existing website, being mindful of common web design mistakes will help build trust with clients and build brand recognition for your business.always consider affordable web design and development company for attractive website
This article will highlight 10 web design errors you should avoid and how you can fix each of them, along with examples to serve as guidance and provide inspiration.
1. Slow Loading Speed:
A slow website loading speed can create an unpleasant user experience and increase bounce rates as people abandon your website before it fully loads.
Factors contributing to slow loading times include file sizes, obsolete code, and too many plug-ins.
To avoid this error, consider improving the quality of your multimedia files by compressing videos and images as well as lazily loading techniques which only load content when required.
Reduce flash and script content that may impede page rendering.
Integrate web speed tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Pingdom into your site management strategies in order to assess how quickly its pages load.
Google PageSpeed Insights Score ranges between 0 and 100; higher numbers indicate greater performance.
Scores may be broken down into various categories. Below is an outline:
Digital Silk stands as an outstanding example of a website with lightning fast load times and top accessibility and SEO practices, and ranks highly when compared with similar sites.
2. Non-Responsive Web Design:
Non-responsive designs refer to website layouts which do not adapt or adjust according to various screen sizes and resolutions.
An effective non-responsive design ensures that elements, such as navigation and images, remain the same size and location regardless of which device is being used to view it.
This design flaw may result in an uncomfortable user experience as users may need to scroll horizontally or pinch and zoom pages on smaller devices like phones in order to view pages properly.
Avoid making this error by adopting a responsive design approach for your website, ensuring it can be easily navigated, understood, and read across any device.
3. Call-To-Action (CTAs):
A CTA is an expression that encourages viewers to take an action; for example “Click Here to Subscribe”.
Website designs lacking clarity often utilize CTAs with vague messages such as: “Learn more” or “View more”. To address this, consider writing clear CTAs using keywords like: “Learn more” or “View more”.
Confusion among visitors may lead to decreased conversions as they don’t fully grasp why they click a specific link.
Customized and tailored CTAs have proven 202% more successful than standard ones.
Avoid this misstep by crafting clear and actionable calls-to-action (CTAs), outlining customer expectations and informing them why they’re about to click the link they are about to click.
CTAs that feature clear messages or use simple language are effective at helping identify users’ needs and guide them towards an action that best meets those needs – this could include signing up for your newsletter, buying something, or filling out your contact form.
If your goal is to lead visitors towards purchasing your product or service, place an “Shop Now” button. Similarly, for support pages use a “Contact Us” or similar button as appropriate.
4. Vague Messaging:
Any product or service messaging that fails to convey its unique value could fall short in its objective of representing itself accurately.
Customers might become curious to understand more about what services and offerings you provide and whether there are any special discounts for newcomers.
Your visitors may quickly leave your site if they do not understand or value what’s being presented to them.
Avoid making this error by providing an easily digestible message above the fold that informs customers what sets your company apart from competitors.
Building trust with users and encouraging more interaction on your website are vital in increasing engagement – which ultimately boosts conversions.
5. Cluttered Interface:
A chaotic interface can be described as any interface which appears visually overwhelming, busy and disorganized.
Error pages occur when too much information is condensed into one page, making it hard for readers to focus on what’s essential.
Avoid this mistake by including white space to ensure an organized and efficient layout.
White space can help make content easier to consume by breaking it up into digestible chunks and drawing attention to key elements like content and calls-to-actions (CTAs).
The minimalist design enhances readability and user friendliness for easier interaction with the platform.
6. Illegible Font Sizes: mes In cases where it is difficult for readers to comprehend a font size on smaller screens, reading may become challenging or unintelligible and reading becomes impossible or unintelligible.
Content that is large may require readers to zoom out in order to read all of it.
To avoid such errors, test and optimize font sizes so they aren’t too small and difficult to read.
Font sizes for mobile screens should fall between 16 pixels, 15-19 points/pixel on tablets and 16-20 pixels for computers.
7. Clumping Of Text:
A website design that contains too much text may make it hard for visitors to navigate and understand, particularly those searching for information tailored specifically to themselves.
Text that is too long may also be daunting for readers, causing them to leave without engaging fully with it.
To avoid making this error, divide text into smaller paragraphs of around three lines each and add bullet points for improved accessibility and user experience.
Sample paragraph with three lines per paragraph.
8. An Uncertain Target Audience:
Failing to clearly define your target customers can make creating an online presence that fulfills their desires and needs a challenge.
Without understanding your target audience, designing for them can result in features which don’t resonate or appeal, leading to reduced engagement and conversions overall.
Example: it might be tempting to include animated website graphics and complex navigation options that appeal to young people, when your target group includes people over 50 years of age who prefer more straightforward experiences.
For this error to be avoided, it is vital that you clearly define your target market by researching competitors, conducting market research and surveys, as well as gathering information about needs, preferences and behaviors of your intended customer base.
Utilise this data to develop user personas – profiles of your target customers who enable you to make design decisions that align with what your audience requires and expects – which will assist with making design decisions in accordance with customer desires.
As part of our senior care business case study below, we created an adult-child persona as adult children are often involved in making decisions regarding care for their elderly parents.
9. Hidden Navigation:
When discussing web design features that employ “hidden navigation”, we refer to those which do not immediately become apparent or accessible by visitors, such as menu selections or elements of navigation that remain out-of-sight for them.
An unpleasant user experience may result when users cannot locate information or features they are searching for.
To protect yourself and ensure a positive user experience, ensure all navigational elements are clearly marked and easily accessible from every page using a sticky menu navigation. Avoid missteps by making sure they can be found using this method of search.
10. Templated 404 Page Design:
Generic 404 pages serve as landing pages when visitors attempt to access pages which do not reside within your servers.
To avoid this error, create an eye-catching design for your 404 page to enhance user experience when people arrive at an incorrect or broken page on your site. This can make navigating it more pleasant for visitors who arrive there by mistake or due to bugs on other pages on your website.
Error pages that include the number 404 provide an opportunity to maintain brand image consistency and ensure brand continuity.
Utilize humor or creativity to transform an issue that could otherwise cause frustration into something positive and beneficial for all parties involved.
