Every business needs a good website to reach customers and potential clients who are online. You need to make sure your website is not only attractive but also user-friendly. You also want to avoid designing a website that is cluttered, is not easy to navigate or understand, or looks out of date. Sometimes a simpler design is best.
The point of a website is to connect with your client base, but it is also there to attract new customers, and to keep all of these people coming back regularly to see what your business is up to. Here are some Web Design Faux Pas that can prevent you from having an effective website that generates you more business.
Web Design Faux Pas to Avoid
- Keep in mind who your audience is when you design your site and choose your images. Certain cultures may not accept the same ideals that your culture does, and if you are trying to market to them, you want to avoid losing out on potential customers because you chose an image that would be offensive to that culture. Do your research before marketing to your potential client base. Figure out what they like to see and what they expect from you, and then design your website around those expectations.
- Avoid long pages that people need to scroll down. Keep your information concise and of a reasonable length. Do not fill one page with a lot of documents that will cause it to get too long. Instead, separate the documents onto separate pages that are all linked to from the original page.
- Remember that visitors to a website determine if they will stay on that site or move on from it within a few seconds of landing on the page. You need to make your website clean and simple looking, with everything the visitor needs to find in an easily accessible format. For example, you can provide a menu with links to all of the most important aspects of your business, such as an “About Us” section, a “Contact Us” link, and a “Services” option. In this way, people will know exactly where to go to get what they are looking for and it will take them no time at all to find these links.
- Pick your colours wisely. Avoid bright, neon colours that are harsh and do not appear at all professional. Make sure that it is easy to read the text on your site as well, so do not mix background and text colours that are harsh on the eyes. People will not want to spend time reading your website content if it is uncomfortable. Choose colours that fit your company’s overall colour scheme, thereby tying in your website with your organisation’s image.
- Avoid the use of Flash animation and distracting music. These may not work properly on all devices, and they can be quite annoying to a busy user who simply wants to get to the information they need on your site and move on.
