Web Design Software: Web Design Mistakes
started by Eimpressive Webmaster on May 28, 2010 — RSS Feed
Posts: 1
A successful web design is the one that goes ahead of visual visual perspective and works as an successful marketing tool in the virtual world. There are a range of aspects of a web design that supply to the success of the website. However, there are very few common mistakes that most web designers make though creating their website.
While designing a website, it is significant keep it simple and organized. This idea should be practical while selecting the fonts for the web content. It is necessary to provide to human visitors while creating the website. The fonts must be easy, uniform and simple to understand. Therefore, one must pass up using fancy, flashing and little fonts on the website.
Visitors get simply bored of extended paragraphs which may seem like dissertations. Therefore, the content must be fundamentally broken down into bite sized pieces to grasp the concentration of the reader. The content can be efficiently broken down into bullets or numbered lists.
The first few seconds that a visitor spends on the website are very critical in retaining the prospective customer. Therefore, the web design should be clever to converse to the visitor what the website is about. In other words, a first look at the web design should offer a clear understanding of the website.
It is sensible to pass up long and fancy introductions which are time consuming. Visitors have a small attention span, and so it is best to get to the point, and let the visitor simply find the way to the result they are looking for. The small number of steps between landing on the site and what they are looking for is the best choice here.
A good web design is easy organized and straightforward. Therefore, too many flash, images, badges, association labels may confound the visitor. So, one must try to stay focused on the objective of the website and make a clear communication with the visitor.
Posts: 11
List of web design errors:
Some of the points are common sense, others are quite polemic. Most of them apply to any website though, whether we talk about a business entity or a blog. Enjoy!
1. The user must know what the site is about in seconds: attention is one the most valuable currencies on the Internet. If a visitor can not figure what your site is about in a couple of seconds, he will probably just go somewhere else. Your site must communicate why I should spend my time there, and FAST!
2. Make the content scannable: this is the Internet, not a book, so forget large blocks of text. Probably I will be visiting your site while I work on other stuff so make sure that I can scan through the entire content. Bullet points, headers, subheaders, lists. Anything that will help the reader filter what he is looking for.
3. Do not use fancy fonts that are unreadable: sure there are some fonts that will give a sophisticated look to your website. But are they readable? If your main objective is to deliver a message and get the visitors reading your stuff, then you should make the process comfortable for them.
4. Do not use tiny fonts: the previous point applies here, you want to make sure that readers are comfortable reading your content. My Firefox does have a zooming feature, but if I need to use on your website it will probably be the last time I visit it.
5. Do not open new browser windows: I used to do that on my first websites. The logic was simple, if I open new browser windows for external links the user will never leave my site. WRONG! Let the user control where he wants the links to open. There is a reason why browsers have a huge “Back” button. Do not worry about sending the visitor to another website, he will get back if he wants to (even porn sites are starting to get conscious regarding this point lately…).
6. Do not resize the user’s browser windows: the user should be in control of his browser. If you resize it you will risk to mess things up on his side, and what is worse you might lose your credibility in front of him.
7. Do not require a registration unless it is necessary: lets put this straight, when I browse around the Internet I want to get information, not the other way around. Do not force me to register up and leave my email address and other details unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. unless what you offer is so good that I will bear with the registration).
8. Never subscribe the visitor for something without his consent: do not automatically subscribe a visitor to newsletters when he registers up on your site. Sending unsolicited emails around is not the best way to make friends.
9. Do not overuse Flash: apart from increasing the load time of your website, excessive usage of Flash might also annoy the visitors. Use it only if you must offer features that are not supported by static pages.
10. Do not play music: on the early years of the Internet web developers always tried to successfully integrate music into websites. Guess what, they failed miserably. Do not use music, period.
11. If you MUST play an audio file let the user start it: some situations might require an audio file. You might need to deliver a speech to the user or your guided tour might have an audio component. That is fine. Just make sure that the user is in control, let him push the “Play” button as opposed to jamming the music on his face right after he enters the website.
12. Do not clutter your website with badges: first of all, badges of networks and communities make a site look very unprofessional. Even if we are talking about awards and recognition badges you should place them on the “About Us” page.
13. Do not use a homepage that just launches the “real” website: the smaller the number of steps required for the user to access your content, the better.
14. Make sure to include contact details: there is nothing worse than a website that has no contact details. This is not bad only for the visitors, but also for yourself. You might lose important feedback along the way.
15. Do not break the “Back” button: this is a very basic principle of usability. Do not break the “Back” button under any circumstance. Opening new browser windows will break it, for instance, and some Javascript links might also break them.
16. Do not use blinking text: unless your visitors are coming straight from 1996, that is.
17. Avoid complex URL structures: a simple, keyword-based URL structure will not only improve your search engine rankings, but it will also make it easier for the reader to identify the content of your pages before visiting them.
18. Use CSS over HTML tables: HTML tables were used to create page layouts. With the advent of CSS, however, there is no reason to stick to them. CSS is faster, more reliable and it offers many more features.
19. Make sure users can search the whole website: there is a reason why search engines revolutionized the Internet. You probably guessed it, because they make it very easy to find the information we are looking for. Do not neglect this on your site.
20. Avoid “drop down” menus: the user should be able to see all the navigation options straight way. Using “drop down” menus might confuse things and hide the information the reader was actually looking for.
21. Use text navigation: text navigation is not only faster but it is also more reliable. Some users, for instance, browse the Internet with images turned off.
22. If you are linking to PDF files disclose it: ever clicked on a link only to see your browser freezing while Acrobat Reader launches to open that (unrequested) PDF file? That is pretty annoying so make sure to explicit links pointing to PDF files so that users can handle them properly.
23. Do not confuse the visitor with many versions: avoid confusing the visitor with too many versions of your website. What bandwidth do I prefer? 56Kbps? 128Kbps? Flash or HTML? Man, just give me the content!
24. Do not blend advertising inside the content: blending advertising like Adsense units inside your content might increase your click-through rate on the short term. Over the long run, however, this will reduce your readership base. An annoyed visitor is a lost visitor.
25. Use a simple navigation structure: sometimes less is more. This rule usually applies to people and choices. Make sure that your website has a single, clear navigation structure. The last thing you want is to confuse the reader regarding where he should go to find the information he is looking for.
26. Avoid “intros”: do not force the user to watch or read something before he can access to the real content. This is plain annoying, and he will stay only if what you have to offer is really unique.
27. Do not use FrontPage: this point extends to other cheap HTML editors. While they appear to make web design easier, the output will be a poorly crafted code, incompatible with different browsers and with several bugs.
28. Make sure your website is cross-browser compatible: not all browsers are created equal, and not all of them interpret CSS and other languages on the same way. Like it or not, you will need to make your website compatible with the most used browsers on the market, else you will lose readers over the long term.
29. Make sure to include anchor text on links: I confess I used to do that mistake until some time ago. It is easier to tell people to “click here”. But this is not efficient. Make sure to include a relevant anchor text on your links. It will ensure that the reader knows where he is going to if he clicks the link, and it will also create SEO benefits for the external site where the link is pointing.
30. Do not cloak links: apart from having a clear anchor text, the user must also be able to see where the link is pointing on the status bar of his browser. If you cloak your links (either because they are affiliate ones or due to other reasons) your site will lose credibility.
31. Make links visible: the visitor should be able to recognize what is clickable and what is not, easily. Make sure that your links have a contrasting color (the standard blue color is the optimal most of the times). Possibly also make them underlined.
32. Do not underline or color normal text: do not underline normal text unless absolutely necessary. Just as users need to recognize links easily, they should not get the idea that something is clickable when in reality it is not.
33. Make clicked links change color: this point is very important for the usability of your website. Clicked links that change color help the user to locate himself more easily around your site, making sure that he will not end up visiting the same pages unintentionally.
34. Do not use animated GIFs: unless you have advertising banners that require animation, avoid animated GIFs. They make a site look unprofessional and detract the attention from the content.
35. Make sure to use the ALT and TITLE attributes for images: apart from having SEO benefits the ALT and TITLE attributes for images will play an important role for blind users.
36. Do not use harsh colors: if the user is getting a headache after visiting your site for 10 consecutive minutes, you probably should pick a better color scheme. Design the color palette around your objectives (i.e. deliver a mood, let the user focus on the content, etc.).
37. Do not use pop ups: this point refers to pop ups of any kind. Even user requested pop ups are a bad idea given the increasing amount of pop blockers out there.
38. Avoid Javascript links: those links execute a small Javascript when the user clicks on them. Stay away from them since they often create problems for the user.
39. Include functional links on your footer: people are used to scrolling down to the footer of a website if they are not finding a specific information. At the very least you want to include a link to the Homepage and possibly a link to the “Contact Us” page.
40. Avoid long pages: guess what, if the user needs to scroll down forever in order to read your content he will probably just skip it altogether. If that is the case with your website make it shorter and improve the navigation structure.
41. No horizontal scrolling: while some vertical scrolling is tolerable, the same can not be said about horizontal scrolling. The most used screen resolution nowadays is 1024 x 768 pixels, so make sure that your website fits inside it.
42. No spelling or grammatical mistakes: this is not a web design mistake, but it is one of the most important factors affecting the overall quality of a website. Make sure that your links and texts do not contain spelling or grammatical mistakes.
43. If you use CAPTCHA make sure the letters are readable: several sites use CAPTCHA filters as a method of reducing spam on comments or on registration forms. There is just one problem with it, most of the times the user needs to call his whole family to decipher the letters.
Posts: 7
This means that while one piece of web design will appear as the designer wishes it to in one browser, it may appear completely differently in another.
Posts: 20
What I noticed with other websites is that their CAPTCHA is not readable. Thanks for this one. You did a great list.
Posts: 2
It’s a very good and informative post. Your resources are very nice. I like your post and thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!
many things i never knew before
hope after reading this post my web design services improves hell of quality
thanks again for your wealth of information
Posts: 4
Wow thanks for the tips. Very informative and reliable. It will surely limit the errors on designing and move on to the next level.
Posts: 2
Absolute beauty, not only a post but awesome piece of information about good website design characteristics. I like to add some points as well.
1. A good web design is always consistent as all of the modules and navigations are patronized
2. It is highly satisfactory in usability aspects and amuses its users with ease of use
Posts: 37
Thank you for your posts. Its very useful for me to understand the concept better.
Posts: 12
Thank You...its a great and applicable information for my developing team.
Posts: 4
Really great. Thank u so much for this great post and i am so happy to join this forum and got valuable information.
Posts: 3
Pop up messages
Poor load time
Poor use of HTML tables
Spelling/Grammar mistakes
Inconsistent page design
No contact information
No 'about us' page
No privacy policy
Different backgrounds on each page
Poor content
Poor navigation
Broken HTML code links and graphics
Poor browser compatibility
Large slow loading graphics
Too many graphics
Large Welcome banners
Flashing banners
Pages scrolling to oblivion
Multiple colored text
Large fonts
Poor use of mouse over effect
Posts: 16
That very good advice..because in designing the web template some minor changes occurs.Like some unclosed tags which are open but not closed.thats why your website should not be visible in the different browsers..
Posts: 2
8 Web Design Mistakes to avoid
To create a website, keep these tips in mind as they can make the difference between a good and a bad project.
1. Content. Break your content on the bullets or paragraphs to make it easy to read. Make sure the content is "above the fold". You can do this by not having a large logo or advertisements below the logo. That visitors should not have to scroll down to view the content.
2. Navigation. Visitors often leave a site because it is unclear what to do next. They offer suggestions and related content, popular posts and categories.
3. Color. For text-based sites have a white background and black text. This combination is easier on the eyes. It is the most popular combination because it works.
4. Windows. Do not open links in new windows. The surfers are smart enough to do that, if they want. In other words, do not use target = _blank, even for external links. If your site is good, the visitor presses the button again to return.
5. Of contact. They have a contact page. There are many reasons to have one. Allows visitors to send feedback about the site or notify you of errors. Allow other webmasters to contact you for joint ventures. That allows advertisers to contact you about the ad spots on your site. If you are selling a product, have a contact page to create customer confidence.
6. The media. Having audio or video to play automatically is annoying. Allow your visitors the option to play the file if they wish. Background music in your site is never a good idea.
7. Flash. Do not use Flash on their sites, as it affects load times and the iPhone / iPad viewers can not see.
8. Splash. Do not use a splash page before your homepage. Visitors prefer to stop having to deal with an introductory page.
Posts: 5
Jake Mcgreg said:
What I noticed with other websites is that their CAPTCHA is not readable. Thanks for this one. You did a great list.
Captcha is not a as such big problem as compare to many other. Website should develop nice relate to user.
Posts: 2
The first few seconds that a visitor spends on the website are very critical in retaining the prospective customer. Therefore, the web design should be clever to converse to the visitor what the website is about. In other words, a first look at the web design should offer a clear understanding of the website.
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Posts: 3
Make website by which user can understand in just some second about website. Don't use more text in the blocks. Fancy fonts are not readable so don't use of that type of words.Put registration form where it needed.Use the back button in all pages and don't break this.
Posts: 4
Thanks for providing such useful things. Can you provide me some great information about SEO mistakes.
Posts: 41
Very useful information most especially the first two comments. Today, minimalist type of design is a thumbs up.Too much design elements are sometimes not good. Simple design will make it work.
Posts: 31
Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design
1. Bad Search
2. PDF Files for Online Reading
3. Not Changing the Color of Visited Links
4. Non-Scannable Text
5. Fixed Font Size
6. Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility
7. Anything That Looks Like an Advertisement
8. Violating Design Conventions
9. Opening New Browser Windows
10. Not Answering Users' Questions
for more detail please visit us.
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Website Design in London
Posts: 12
This info which you have shared is really very helpful to web designers and learners. keep sharing things like this.It will help a lot.
Posts: 2
A number of web designers are only interested in making their sites look attractive and forget about the content that they would be using on their websites. This deteriorates the quality of content used in these websites as a result of which these websites do not get high traffic. Also some web designers include good quality content in their websites but after some time they do not update it which makes the viewers lose interest in your website. So content is very important for a website.
web design swindon
Posts: 4
A related problem is when search engines prioritize results purely on the basis of how many query terms they contain, rather than on each document's importance. Much better if your search engine calls out "best bets" at the top of the list — especially for important queries, such as the names of your products.
Wordpressintegration
Posts: 5
An SERP is that who result on 100 pages first then it takes time on google:-0
Posts: 2
This is really a nice and informative post. A good web design is not only helpful for the user who views it but also for the website itself. A good design can bring lots of traffic to your website.
Regards
Linda
Posts: 4
I agree with Sandra Necaise, he has shared very basic points.Actually i'm newbie in web development field and its really helpful for me.
Posts: 3
I totally agree with your tips. These will be very useful to me. Thanks Joomla Web Design
Posts: 1
Yeah, I had something along the lines of another web design mistake being that you advertise your service and pretend you're a disinterested party to it... and "quality first post, bro", but I've been kind of a jerk around here lately so I though I was pushing it on the off chance they stuck around.
Logo Design Company
Logo Designers Sydney
Posts: 63
Best discussion I have found in Bing forum.
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Posts: 1
Web designs are really important when you are intending to create an online presence. Web Design play important role to create Amazing website.Web Design is the complex discipline that involves a wide range of skills.This list of web design error provide great help for the freshers.
website design boca raton
Posts: 6
Hi everyone,
These are the most common mistakes that takes place in web designing..
Poor Navigation
No Clear Calls To Action
Color & Contrast
Content is more Important
Clutter
Web Design & Development
Posts: 1
Some of the major Web design mistake a designer made are...
1. Slow loading website
2. Over use of Images
3. Inline CSS and Java Scripts
4. No use of Image Alt tags
5. Complex navigation
6. No use of Heading tags
7. Not using keyword friendly page names
8. And designing for getting rank on search engines.
web design|web designer
Posts: 6
Most people do not read unless it’s absolutely necessary, and they prefer to scan through information quickly to get to the points of interest. This is why it’s so important to establish a strong visual content hierarchy so users can quickly scan your site and sifting through relevant information.
Port Elizabeth Online Marketing
Posts: 5
Thanks to every one for giving wonderful information about website design mistake. Hi-Tech Outsourcing Services Pvt, Ltd. Leading web application & software development company in India - Hire PHP Programmer India (HPPI) Hi-Tech Outsourcing Services Pvt, Ltd. Leading web application & software development company in India - Hire PHP Programmer India (HPPI)
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This is one of the right articles you can gain in the net explaining everything in particular regarding the subject. I thank you for action your abstraction sharing your thoughts and ideas to a lot of readers out there.
Posts: 4
As the world has become more connected with the internet and more people are getting access to the internet everyday, significance of creating a website that will feed the needs of the company has been on the rise. Creating website has gone beyond from just having a website to high quality portals that become the face of the company itself.
Posts: 3
Most common mistakes are:
This is a great seo company and web design company that will give free advice and tips
My Blog = http://www.seojus.com/blog
Posts: 38
Website navigation comes as an important factor for me. Visitors tend to love sites that are easy to navigate.
Learning the basics of web designing.
Posts: 3
Most common mistakes are:
My Blog = http://www.seojus.com/blog
Posts: 2
Thanks for sharing this post. Very satisfactory.
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Posts: 5
Don’t install any built in music arrangement which cannot be controlled by the visitor. The website should have buttons to control the music.
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Posts: 6
your tips are great, i am a web designer myself and i have found your tips very helpful.thank you.
Posts: 52
This is a very god post about website design. Tell me something more about website design improvement.
Posts: 8
I do agree with you and i would like to say i site should be a SEO friendly so that it can get good rank on the search engine and can do a good business .
so i think a site must be good as SEO point of view then we can say it a perfect site .
Thanks you all for sharing good information .
Best regards .
Aaron
Posts: 20
I am agree with you it is really nice information.Thanks for this helpful post.
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Posts: 1
Good information from above post.
Web Design code must be W3C validated:
Below are the link to check HTML and CSS W3C validation:
http://validator.w3.org
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator
Its very much important for a Web Design Company to provide W3C validated code to provide top notch services to its clients.
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