Since there are millions of different websites out there, it is easy to think that actually creating one is a simple task. There are, however, many pitfalls that the average site owner can fall into, all of which limit and detract from the overall user experience. If you wish to make web pages that people actually enjoy visiting, you’ll make sure to avoid the following horrendous, yet all-too-common web design mistakes.
Using PDFs with No Other Alternatives
While the PDF format can be useful, it is certainly not appropriate when embedded within a webpage. Loading these bulky documents takes time, they aren’t easily searched, and they often don’t fit on a user’s computer screen. Yet it is an all too common experience to go to a restaurant’s webpage and find a PDF menu that detracts from the overall browsing experience. Instead, simply take the text and images and embed them directly into your website. This will maintain the flow as the user navigates around by ensuring that everything remains the same regardless of what page they’re on. This is one of the most common web design mistakes done my most of us.
Visited Links Remain the Same Color
One of the keys to a successful website is that it can be navigated in an easy manner. Why is it then that so many web owners make it impossible for users to see which pages they have already visited? By failing to change the color of previously visited links, you are setting yourself up for:
- People spending more time than necessary to find the information they need within your webpage
- A frustrated user base who simply gives up on your website after visiting the same page repeatedly
You can avoid this web design mistakes with a simple change of code, you can show people where they have already been on your webpage, improving the intuitiveness of your online layout.
Using Walls of Text That Cannot Be Scanned
When people go over a webpage, they seldom read every single word. A great many web pages fail to accommodate this by simply creating reams and reams of text that end up looking like a wall of characters. Instead, use a website builder to create content which can be easily scanned. This will let people browse your site in a rapid manner, improving their satisfaction levels. You can create user-friendly text with bullet points, short paragraphs, highlighted keywords, sub-headings and much more. A little formatting will make your web pages a pleasure to read through.
Placing Obvious Advertising on the Page
When creating a webpage, many people forget to study marketing tactics, especially what not to do online. These days, users are automatically put off by:
- Images shaped like banners
- Any onsite animations
- popup windows
This applies even if what you are displaying isn’t advertising at all. A user will automatically ignore banners and animations and will close popup windows before they even read anything there. This is the most vital web design mistakes to correct. Thus, you waste resources creating items that just serve to annoy your users. In the end, it is best to avoid these altogether.
Forcing Users to Open New Browser Windows
Lastly, one common web design mistakes are to send anyone who clicks on your links to a new browser window. People already have cluttered desktops as it is, so they do not want anything more forcibly pushing its way on there. The main reason behind this added feature is because it seems easy to close the window and go back to the original webpage. This is fairly redundant though, especially since most browsers feature a back button anyway. A savvy web designer will simply open the new page in the same window, allowing the user to select the back button if they wish to return to where they came from later on.
Hope you will correct all the above common web design mistakes and make the visitors to enjoy all your web pages.
