Website Design – Top 5 Website Design Mistakes to Avoid
No matter whether you are using a free website design template and builder or a custom made solution, you are not protected from making mistakes during the customization process. Here are the most common ones you should avoid at all costs.
Having bright pastel background colors is a serious web design mistake that can cost you a significant reduction in conversion rates. These colors make the pages look attractive, but they can be quite annoying to look at. Such colors make reading as well as looking at the screen harder and unpleasant. Here, you should never use them. Rely on paler colors that make the text easy to read.
A text that is hard to read is perhaps the most serious mistake you can make. Even though a picture can say a thousand words, most people prefer to verify this with something written. It is best to have black text on a white background. Do not use strange artistic fonts. Make sure the font size is large enough to be convenient to users. Even if you are running an online store, try to make the written content on ever page at least 250 words.
Having an unclear layout is another serious mistake. No matter whether you are using a free website design template or a custom made design, you have to make sure that all sections are arranged in the appropriate way for your visitors to use. In general, a page layout of a restaurant website is very different from the one of a sports site, for instance. That is why you have to try to see the big picture from the perspective of your site's visitors to determine the best positions of all elements.
Having poor, unclear and / or confusing navigation can also ruin your site. It is best to have a menu, sometimes a drop down menu, if you want to save space, on the right or left hand side of every page. It is also a good idea to interlink the pages of your site. This aids users as well as search engine optimization. If your users need to follow a special path, you have to make it absolutely clear to them. Provide straightforward instructions, if necessary.
Having external links that take your visitor to another site in the same window is a huge mistake. Even if you are an affiliate marketer, it is best to have all external links opening new windows. It is also important for you to mark these links in a different way, so that the user knows they are taken to a different site.
Now you know how to avoid these website design mistakes.
