Do you know that there are over 1.6 billion websites in the world? Netcraft survey revealed a decrease in the number of websites compared to 1.8 billion in January this year. With this number, why do you think users visit various sites more than the others? Why are people unaware of the majority of these sites? Well, it all boils down to a great web design. Creators commit common web design mistakes that affect its overall search rankings and engagement.
Web design takes a big part in the success of your site. It’s the first thing visitors always notice. It also leaves a great impression that influence their buying decision. If you want your site to rank and your goods to sell, you must avoid different web design mistakes, according to CIIT Philippines—a web design college.
Why is Good Web Design Important?
Web design is a form of art. A great one gives users a fun, usable, and navigable experience. Well, people have different views on what makes up a good web design. The perfect formula of an effective web design, which balances beauty and functionality, lies on the business nature. That said—why is it essential for creators to give users a great web experience?
To give a positive first impression. Users decide quickly whether to stay on your site. They can know the site’s nature in a snap. Otherwise, their negative impression leads to a high bounce rate, which affects the search rankings. There‘s no second chance to create a great first impression. Once they formed an unfavorable opinion, they are less likely to return to your site.
To provide guidance. Users visit your website because they want something from it. It may be to learn about or buy your products or render your services. A quality web design will bring users to their desired destination. An awful web design, however, will leave them clueless.
To build trust. Your website reflects your business. If visitors think your website is credible, they will trust your business. The trust you build ensures more engagement and more loyal customers.
Top 10 Web Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
1. Accessibility Issues
One of the most common web design mistakes is not having a mobile-friendly site. Nowadays, most people use mobile phones for browsing instead of desktops. Your website must be accessible on and responsive to various devices and browsers. Adding disabled-friendly features such as font-size changing is great. Zoom features should be enabled, too! Tip: A mobile-friendly site is Google-approved for SEO!
2. Missing Contact Information
Contact info turns your prospects into customers—that’s why it’s important! According to Blue Corona, 64% of the visitors want to see the company’s contact info. Also, 44% of the visitors will leave the site if there are no contact details. Telephone number, email, and mailing addresses with map should always be complete and visible. Have a “Contact Us” page where you can put such info; and a section on it through which visitors can inquire about your products and services.
3. Poor Navigation
To shun one of the biggest web design mistakes: opt for a simple and user-friendly navigation structure. The goal is to navigate the users anywhere on the site with three clicks or fewer. In addition, place a sitemap at the footer or in the main section to give visitors a chance to navigate every page well. Limit your menu on the top page to seven or eight. Each label should only have one level drop-down menu.
4. Too Much Graphics
Graphics are a vital part of web design. They give life to the texts on your website. However, there are web designers who insert irrelevant graphics with large file size. Too many graphics can overwhelm visitors and slow down page loading—which most users hate. Optimize the site’s graphics for various devices and add more only when needed. Remember, slow page response increase page abandonment.
5. Not Search-Engine Friendly
Can you imagine, people make an average of 6,586,013,574 searches a day worldwide! So, it’s vital to make your site search-engine friendly because most people just skim the emphasized text to decide if it’s your content they are looking for. Thus, have a short but concise page title, h1 headings and h2 subheads, meta keywords, meta description, and URL to rank and keep visitors to read the site’s contents.
6. Outdated Information and Broken Links
People hate reading “Page Not Found” on a website. An outdated data or a 404-message found on your site is a major turnoff—a silent traffic killer. Check if you have a site conflict or a broken plugin. Don’t take the risk of losing possible conversions in your business. Always keep your contents up-to-date and remove any dead link before users can even encounter them.
7. No Social Media Links
Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, are a good way to foster relationships with customers. Earn from the power of social media and drive huge traffic to the site. These sites will strengthen your brand identity, too! To discourage distractions from them, put the icons anywhere but the top. Connect your website to various social media platforms and dodge more web design mistakes.
8. Too Much Clutter
In web design, less is more. Hubspot states that 76% of users value usability over fancy design. Most visitors want to gather information in the quickest way possible; therefore, make sure the site’s contents are concise and scannable yet pleasing to the eyes. So, keep your design simple and clean. Leave a lot of white space!
9. Unclear Call-To-Action
A call-to-action (CTA) is the entry to your business. You must align your CTA with the goal of your business. It must be visible and clear enough so users will know whether you want them to buy your products, view more details, or inquire about your services. Don’t make your visitors guess; make it easy for them to understand and say yes!
10. Not Secured (https)
A secured connection is important to users now. In fact, 84% of users would abandon a purchase if they realized a site is unsecured, according to GlobalSign. This is a red flag both for your potential clients and search engines. Do you think visitors will give personal info to an unsecured website? Absolutely not! Worse, Google will lower your online visibility. Convert http to https now!
Learn How to Make the Best Web Design in 2019
Now, practice avoiding these 10 web design mistakes. There is no better time to master your web design skills than today. To improve your expertise, check out CIIT programs for web design:
Corporate Program – Web Design & Development
Short Course (Specialist Program) – Web Design Specialist
- (CIIT Quezon City & CIIT Alabang Campus)
Finally, are you guilty of committing any of these web design mistakes on your own website? Keep yourself updated with the latest industry trends and tools on web designing. Enroll at CIIT Philippines, a web design college, to hone your skills!
Sources: uxplanet.org | torquemag.io | neilpatel.com | bluecorona.com | freshsparks.com | hongkiat.com | upwork.com | godaddy.com/ | bluecompass.com | globalsign.com |
Photo Source: Unsplash
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