Imagine this - you stumble across a website that is full of massy pages, irrelevant content, and worst of all - the pages take painfully long to load. That's when you decide that the site is nothing short of a fiasco and leave it right away.
Website designs have come a long way since the 1990's. However, various web designers are still facing difficulties with building effective websites. In fact, certain designers are failing to take care of the most basic design rules.
According to an infographic by InstantShift, 94% people have cited the design as the reason for trusting a website. You don't want your visitors to perceive your website as being untrustworthy.
Not paying attention to detail and committing fatal design flaws can turn your visitors away.
It is crucial that you implement the best design practices to get the desired results.
Here are five web design faux pas you should avoid at all costs.
1. Choosing Wrong Typography and Font Size
Your website's typography is one of the cornerstones of its design. The font size plays an equally important role.
In the current era, users have the attention span of a gnat. You want to ensure that you instantly grab the visitors' attention through your website. For this, using the right typography and font size is integral. Also, don't opt for low contrast fonts for your website as doing so will make reading the content toilsome.
Remember, the visitors will give up on your website if they have to squint to read the content. Consider using a 16 px font size at a minimum.
According to a study on readability, the typography is one of the biggest influences when it comes to adjudging the legibility of the text on the Web.
As far as creating contrast with different font styles is concerned, follow the rule of thumb: if the background is dark, the font should be light and vice versa.
Your priority shouldn't be enhancing the visual appeal of your website. Instead, it should be improving the usability and readability of your website's content.
2. Using Outdated Content and Confusing Navigation
Using old, dated content on the website will make you lose your credibility. You should keep your website fresh and update it on a regular basis for perfect results. Ensure that your content is accurate and clutter-free. Also, focus on long-tail keywords when working on your website's content. For instance, use keywords such as ‘Web Design Charlotte,' instead of simply using ‘web design' when looking for website designing services in Charlotte.
Being creative when designing a website is absolutely okay, but that doesn't mean you end up complicating the navigation. Navigation plays a vital role in generating traffic as well as influencing your website's search engine rankings. So, it should be seamless. Make sure that it has labeled pages and is in standard places as your users will expect it to be. Make the navigation easy-to-use, concise, and in tandem with the theme of your website.
3. Following Web Design Fads Blindly
Choosing to design your website based on current trends is likely to leave your website looking dated as soon as the trends die out. Instead of following design trends blindly, go for longevity as that will work best in the long-term.
Don't be a slave to fleeting designing styles or decorate your website without putting ample thought into it. Opt for out-of-the-box, yet sensible ideas when designing the website and keep your work authentic.
4. Compromising on the Load Time
So, your website has crisp, relevant content and outstanding images! But, what about its speed? Does it load fast on every device?
If your answer is no, chances are your users won't stick around and wait to go through the brilliant content.
In fact, according to the surveys conducted by Akamai and Gomez.com, nearly half of the Web users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and tend to abandon a site that doesn't load within 3 seconds.
Slow load time is a big turn off. If you want a website that can help take your business to the next level, make sure that it has a fast load time.
5. Failing to Focus on the Color of Call-to-Action Buttons
Call-to-action buttons are used on the website for drawing the visitors' attention in order to guide them to take the desired action. By not using an accent color for them, you'll be committing a big blunder. Here are a few tips you should follow when it comes to picking call-to-action button colors:
- The color you choose needs to be reserved only for the key call-to-action button, so it doesn't blend in with the background color by getting overused on the website.
- It needs to be bright and complementary to the other colors on your website.
- The button should stand out from the background it is placed on.
Conclusion
Building a good website can be a tricky job. Don't underestimate small mistakes in the building process. These seemingly minor errors can reduce the effectiveness of the website dramatically, thereby affecting your bottom line. Your website should be all about providing your users with a fluid user-experience and solving their needs. Put plenty of time and effort in designing your website as that will be beneficial in the long haul. By avoiding the aforementioned mistakes and striving for perfection, you'll be able to give your website an edge over your competitor's.
(Image source)