Top 10 Mistakes In Web Design

Importance of websites in today’s world cannot be denied. They can serve almost any purpose from showcasing products to taking orders, updating users with the current information or receiving their feedback and suggestion, providing an avenue for interaction among people and serving as a medium of mass communication. Each website owner must make full use of this valuable resource to take optimal benefit out of it.

There are certain mistakes which are often committed by the website designers. A list and brief summary of all such mistakes is given below.

i.        Introduction Page

A graphical introduction page with music playing in the background looks good only for the first few times, later it becomes annoyance for users. Regular visitors don’t want to see introduction every time, they want to go straight to their intended page.

ii.        Complex Layout and Navigation

A common mistake is not to provide buttons or links to information in logical subsets. This renders users in doing unnecessary exercise of checking many links to find out the desired piece of information, which is gruesome.

iii.        Excessive Use of Flash Contents and Graphics

Excessive use of Flash contents and graphics makes a website heavy and cause loading of a page painfully time consuming. Also, the user’s computer might not have latest Flash player installed therefore he/she won’t be able to view these contents.

iv.        Clustered Data

Too much information given on one page will make it hard for a user to grasp it. Information must be presented in a logical and methodological way by using subheadings and titles.

v.        Outdated Information

This is probably the most painful thing for visitors. They expect all updated information in the websites they like to visit. Outdated information not only annoys them but also give them a chance to review badly about your website in different forums and blogs.

vi.        Registration/Signing Up

Unnecessary registration and signing up must be avoided as this takes time and irk users. Lengthy forms add up to the user’s frustration. In case registration is really necessary, only important information should be asked for.

vii.        Downloading Files

Another common mistake that people make is that they give little information on the web page and then direct users to files that contain detailed information. This practice should be avoided and most of the Information should be given on the main web pages.

viii.        Long and Wide Page

A webpage should be of appropriate length. A wide page with horizontal scroll bar is a mistake and must be avoided.

ix.        Avoid Animations and Images

Keep your website simple, professional and user friendly. Websites with small animations and a lot of images affect loading speed of the website. This is also unfavorable for SEO purposes therefore it’s better to avoid using animations and images.

x.        Advertising

A common mistake is to mix advertising with original text. It creates annoyance and undermines readability. A good website only provides valuable and relevant content instead of promoting other’s products. Advertise only if the potential product or information is useful for the readers.