Web design is a constantly changing profession, and with it comes typical website design blunders. Your website’s design has an impact on user searchability and exposure, as well as its ability to attract consumers. Customers will have a miserable buying experience if your website is badly built and designed.
One that is designed to be user-friendly and simple to browse, on the other hand, may be a welcoming factor as well as a competitive advantage for your company. Here are some frequent website design blunders to watch out for:
Do not keep visitors waiting.
Most computer users and site visitors have the attention span of a child, which is a terrible fact. A toddler, to be precise. If you don’t succeed in capturing their attention, they will lose interest and go on to the next object in their toy chest, just like any other 2-year-old.
The classic adage that attention span is directly proportionate to age is surely familiar to you: Two-year-olds have a two-second attention span. The attention span of a 50-year-old is 50 seconds. You get my drift. Perhaps it isn’t nearly as horrible as it appears. According to Tony Haile of Chartbeat, in a recent survey, 55 percent of internet visitors spend less than 15 seconds engaged on a page.
Don’t shift the focus of the visitors
The focus and flow of the visitor’s attention are naturally directed by good website design. User’s dislike seeing a webpage in a sequential order. New visitors to your website are unlikely to take the time to read and absorb every word on the page.
It is your obligation as the website designer to attract their interest. Because you only have a few seconds before your visitors lose interest, you must direct them to the most important page components, such as the product or services being provided, price for those offers, and the benefits or strengths of your products compared to competitors.
Offering your products or services in stages is a smart strategy. When you look at sites like Groupon, for example, you’ll see that they provide discounts to clients but only after they’ve finished the three-step registration procedure.
The visual components are arranged such that the user’s gaze is drawn to a single rectangular box that receives user input. This is a good approach to retain a visitor’s attention and keep them intrigued long enough for them to commit to signing up or registering.
Don’t make things too complicated.
A prevalent misunderstanding is that sophistication equals success. In terms of good site design, nothing could be further from the truth. Keep things basic, clear, and noticeable instead. If your website possesses these three characteristics, it has a better chance of attracting more people. Complicating your website’s design will provide you with very little benefit.
KISS stands for Keep It Simple and Stupid.
Keep the KISS concept in mind while designing your website. KISS stands for “Keep it simple, stupid.” Too much color in your website design might strain the visitor’s eyes, and too many widgets, functions, and menu options can be overwhelming.
Make sure there aren’t too many ads in the background.
Too many advertisements and promos on a web page might overwhelm the real material you want visitors to read in the few seconds they’re there. Visitors also avoid information that appears to be an advertising. According to Nielsen Norman Group, an evidence-based user experience research, training, and consulting firm, this is a highly prevalent occurrence known as “Banner Blindness.”
When creating and dividing the webpage, keep this in mind. Furthermore, it has been proven that most internet users that scroll through your website do not want to see your adverts.
Each piece should have a distinct theme, and no one element should appear to be noticeably different from the others. Visitors will assume a headline is an advertisement if it stands out too much from the rest of the items on the page.
Don’t Take Over Control
In order to make their website stand out, some experts set it up such that particular keys, such as the scrollbar, are controlled by the page and act differently. Some websites, for example, alter the animation effects of a webpage, while others totally revamp the key.
When creating web pages or user interfaces, you want to provide future users complete control over their surfing experience by simply allowing them to modify the appearance of keys or templates.
Don’t use auto play content
This is the most effective approach to encourage your website visitors to “B-Line” for the exit! I despise it when I arrive at a website that I believe would satisfy my interests or requirements, only for it to begin playing music or a cheesy video. When you go to a website with videos, they normally don’t start playing right away. They shouldn’t, at least. However, if you keep a website containing videos open for a while, you may discover that the videos begin to play without your clicking on them. Users may find this irritating, especially if they are viewing your website in a public place or have multiple tabs open in their browser.
When developing HTML code, avoid using the “auto” property on audio or video elements. This should prevent anything from being played unless the user specifically requests it.
Make sure that aesthetical features don’t compromise functionality
Although the appearance of your web pages is crucial in attracting visitors, it should not take precedence over their functioning. A terrible web design that prioritizes aesthetics over utility would have crowded backgrounds behind the text and a dominating color palette that makes information difficult to see.
Color schemes and backdrop themes should be basic, with gentle color combinations and motion that does not cover or overlay the information.
Final words
It takes talent and hours of trial and error to create a website that best expresses your professional brand or business vision and objective. Even for novices who have yet to construct their first website, designing a user-friendly and intuitive interface that is both appealing and functional does not require a specific skill set or a large budget.