Websites are no longer exclusive to major brands. On the contrary, people of all walks of life now have sites of their own to get their name out there and to connect to potential customers. Doing business in the virtual world is imperative nowadays, and the competition is fierce.

There are many advantages to starting a website. Firstly, it showcases a person’s work so that potential customers can get a better understanding of what there is on offer. In time, that helps to build credibility and establish a brand.

Also, having a website allows for making new connections easily. Not only that, but it also means information is available to clients at any given time.

Luckily, setting up a website is free and fairly easy to do. All that it takes
is to:

• choose a platform to build the site on
• select a domain name
• customize the design
• start adding content

However, having a website is useless if it is lost in the pile of search results. What matters is to be prominent enough to land on the first of the SERPs. Research has shown that 95% of searchers do not bother checking out page 2 on Google.

A good web designer should set up a website that is user-friendly and that is also in tune with the latest SEO trends.

But sometimes, it is not all about knowing what to do as it is about knowing what not to do. With this in mind, keep reading to find out which website design mistakes you should avoid as they would do more bad than good.

Unresponsive Site

Responsive design support is the most important feature a website can have. Over half of website visits in the U.S. are done from a mobile device. Google recommends using responsive web design to configure how a web page appears on different devices. Responsive sites are switched to Mobile-First Indexing and rank higher in search results than sites that have only a desktop version.

Responsive design compresses menus, adjusts the size of the font, images, and buttons, and rearranges the information columns to fit the various screens.

In other words, if a website isn’t responsive, it will not only rank low in Google, but the few users that actually find it are likely to be dissatisfied with how it runs on their smartphone or other devices and will bounce within seconds.

Slow Website

Slow website loading speed could be detrimental for website traffic. Visitors are likely to bounce if the site takes more than 3 seconds to load.

Also, Google uses page speed as a ranking factor. Thus, a slow website will experience a drop in the SERPs.

Apart from the website speed, a slow server may cause the site to become sluggish too. In addition to that, carousels, large images, and videos tend to slow the site down. You need to resize and optimize them to fit the required dimensions.

If the website you are building will have a resource-intensive content, you may want to consider a premium hosting provider such as AbeloHost to ensure short response time. Offshore web hosting guarantees maximum power, security, and speed.

Content Mistakes

Focused on Business

When it comes to content, a rule of thumb is that it shouldn’t be oriented toward the product or service. Instead, quality content focuses on the customers’ needs and strives to provide a solution to their problems.

A Wall of Text

Additionally, content must be easy to skim. Website visitors are impatient, and if they aren’t able to find the information they need by scanning for a few seconds, they will leave the website.

Make use of headings and subheadings for better organization. Use bullet points and short paragraphs to make the most of whitespace for clarity and readability. Bold, italic, and highlighted formatting also ensure that the reader will find the most relevant information easily.

Last but not least, content should be updated regularly. Failing to do so may leave visitors with the impression that the site is neglected and irrelevant or that it has gone out of business.

Typography Errors

Small Font

A clear sign that the font is too small is if you have to squint when using a mobile device. It is best to avoid tiny font as today’s visitors lack patience and will simply hit the back button and move on to the next best bidder that is more user-friendly.

Too Many Fonts

Although it may seem like a good idea to make the website more memorable and appealing by using a variety of font styles and types, it is quite the contrary. It tends to create confusion and distracts the visitor from taking action.

Illegible Font

Cursive fonts, excessive use of symbols, and hand-drawn scripts are difficult to read. Therefore, they are unable to keep the reader engaged because they decrease cognitive fluency. In other words, users are likely to give up on such content and bounce.

Poor Spacing

Spacing is crucial for readability. If the spacing between characters, words, and lines is optimal, the content will be visually appealing to the readers and keep them on-site longer.

Navigation Problems

404 Pages

Research has shown that users who encounter a 404 Not Found pages are prone to just clicking the back button and never coming back to your site again. That has a negative impact on website traffic and the SERP rankings alike.

Poor Search Function

Visitors use search bars on websites to find what they are looking for more quickly. It is frustrating and bad user experience when the search doesn’t yield the desired results.
For the search option to function correctly, it has to handle:

• typos
• hyphens
• keyword variations
• lowercase letters
• plurals
• apostrophes

Link Issues

Small Links

Links need to be big enough for a human finger to tap on instead of being optimized for a mouse cursor only.

Link Color

Links that do not change color after the user visits them are highly impractical and decrease user experience. Visitors organize better if they are able to see where they have been and what did not work for them without clicking on the same links over and over again.

Buried Content

In truth, what it takes for people to bounce or give up taking action is a sign of untrustworthiness. A visitor is unlikely to become a customer if the website’s privacy policy, contact information, return policy, and warranty are hard to find or non-existent.
Such important information should be prominent on the website and well-organized.

No Favicon

A vast majority of searchers use multiple tabs in their browsers. They leave them open so that they could return to them later. If a website is missing a favicon, it lacks a visual reminder for users to come back to that specific page.

Social Media Icons Placed on Top

Initially, it may seem like a good idea to showcase the website’s social media presence by placing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar icons top and center on the page. However, that distracts visitors from the site and encourages them to leave it. And once they start scrolling away at social media platforms, they are likely not coming back to the website.

Comparison of Failed Web Designs and Ones Done Right

Cluttered Content vs. Minimalistic Design

On the odd chance that you are still unconvinced of how vital a role content plays in web design, make sure you check Rover P6 Cars website. It is so aggressive that it is more than enough to induce a headache. Also, it still uses the obsolete “click here” links. On the other hand, Apple offers a clean design that focuses on the featured product name, image, and logo. All of those are hyperlinked for more information, eliminating the need for in-your-face CTA buttons. Another prime example is the Google Search page, with the masterful use of whitespace to enhance its purpose.

Impossible Navigation vs. Structured Site Hierarchy

Arngren is notorious for its overly busy design. It is so cramped with information that any attempt at navigation is hindered. Conversely, Pinterest uses a multicolumn design of tantalizing photography, which is a joy to browse through.

Aggressive Images vs. Photography Done Right

Ling’s Cars is a textbook example of unpleasant, flamboyant images that are utterly mismatched to the rest of the site’s content. O’Neill, in contrast, uses captivating images to emphasize its ski and surf equipment range.

In Conclusion

For a product or service to generate revenue online, special care has to be taken in developing a website. The website mirrors the quality of the goods it offers, and thus, its design has to be painstakingly executed.

Avoiding common mistakes such as improper font choice, slow loading speed, link issues, and navigation problems will make your site more user-friendly and increase the rate of conversions.

Moreover, irrelevant, tedious, and hidden content, as well as the layout that is not optimized for various devices, is bound to put visitors off and decrease website traffic.

Therefore, the pressure is on you as a web designer to build flawless websites for your clients that would promote their business, rank high in the search results pages, and provide a satisfying user experience.