Top Ten Mistakes In Web Design
Top Ten Mistakes In Web Design
Bad Search
Search engines are continually adapting to handle typos, plurals, hyphens and other variants of the query terms to make searching easier for Internet users.
Search engines tend to prioritise results purely on the basis of how many query terms they contain rather than on the documents importance.
If you have a search section on your website, make sure that it is simple and links back to all of your web pages that include the relevant keywords a person types. People don’t want reams of information when searching for a document so make sure you keep it to the point and they are more likely to visit your site again.
PDF Files for Online Reading
Users hate PDF Files- FACT. This is because it breaks their flow when searching on the web. Simple tasks like printing or saving documents before they can read is a pain as some standard browsers don’t support the files sending the visitor elsewhere.
If they do open them layouts are often optimised for a sheet of paper which rarely matches the size of the user’s browser window. Bye Bye smooth searching, hello tiny fonts and magnifying glasses.
PDF’s are best left for distributing manuals and other big documents for printing purposes.
Not changing the colour of visited links
Helping a visitor locate their journey on a website will encourage them to stay on longer. Knowing your past and present locations on a web page makes it easier to decide where to go next and links are a key factor in this navigation process.
It is important to let users know which pages they have visited and the best way to do this is by changing the colour of visited links. That way they will not keep visiting the same pages over and over again, know which pages they found useful and visit pages they haven’t already seen.
Non-scannable text
A wall of text is a killer for an interactive experience. Boring, intimidating and an eye sore to any visitor.
Make sure that when you are writing the content for your website that you write for online and not for print. Draw users in with:
- sub headings
- bulleted lists
- highlighted keywords
- concise paragraphs
- simple writing style
Fixed Font Size
CSS style sheets unfortunately give websites the power to disable a Web browser’s ‘change font size’ button and specify a fixed font size. 95 per cent of the time the fixed size is tiny, reducing readability significantly for most people over the age of 40.
If possible let the user resize the text. And try to keep the font consistent throughout the web pages.
Page titles with low search engine visibility
Search is the most important way users discover websites. The page title is the main tool to attract new visitors from search listings and to help existing users to locate the specific pages that they need.
Search engines typically show the first 66 characters or so of the HTML title tag so keep it clear and concise.
Anything that looks like an advertisement
Selective attention is very powerful and web users have learned to stop paying attention to any ads that get in their way of their search engine mission.
Users are also clocking on to legitimate design elements that look like prevalent forms of advertising.
Avoid any designs that look like advertisements such as banners, animation avoidance and pop-up purges.
Violating design conventions
Consistency is the most powerful method when it comes to corporate web design. If the website looks similar on every page and users won’t have to worry about what will happen when they click on a page then you are on your way to a good site.
If the customers’ expectations prove right then they will feel more in control of the system and the more they will come back to the site.
Opening new browser windows
Opening
up a new browser windows is like a soap detergent sales person starting their sale by pouring food and drink all down your top. Don’t pollute my screen with anymore windows please.
Taking over a person’s screen just really annoys them as opening a new window disables the back button which is the general way people return to previous sites.
Users don’t often know that a new window has opened and become confused by a greyed out back button.
A link should be simple and replace the current page with new content. People hate unwarranted popup windows.
Not answering users’ questions
Users are highly goal-driven on the Web. They visit sites because there is something they want to accomplish so the ultimate failure is not providing the information users are looking for.
If you haven’t provided all the information it is more than likely you will lose a sale. Don’t use bland slogans and boring sales talk, make it interesting yet informative, else it may as well not be there.
The worst example is not listing the prices of products and services.
For more information about website design we recommend that you try out Sizzle Media a web design Manchester based company that know how it all works when it comes to creating and developing a website.
No job is too big or small and the team are on hand to take your call today on 0808 14 333 00
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