One of the things that website designers rarely take into consideration is how their visitors will feel using their website. All of your visitors are human. They have emotions and feelings just like you and I.
Have you ever been to a website that was wonderful, easy to use, and just plain great? We all have. Those are the sites we return to again and again. There are some really great user friendly sites out there. On the other hand there are also many sites that are just irritating.
There are some that are anything but user friendly. Those are the sites we tend to avoid. When you design your website be sure to consider what emotions it will evoke from your visitors. Don’t be a site owner that irritates, annoys, and deters users. Here are some of the most common web design mistakes people make.
Example of how it should be done
Using bad typography
Have you ever noticed how irritating is can be to visit a website that has several different font colors, font sizes, and font styles? It’s a lot better to keep your sites design consistent and simple. Choose one style of font, one font size, and one font color.
You may think that being creative with your text is a good way to get peoples attention but it actually drives people nuts. People hate tiny text, and bright colors. The font style and size should be easy to read. Don’t use some fancy font that makes it hard to distinguish what letter is what. Times new roman is the standard business font and is the most commonly accepted.
Example of how it should be done
As you design your site make sure that your back ground color does not interfere with the readability of your text. You may think a black back ground with white text is cool but it leaves your viewers struggling to see what your text says. Don’t give your visitors eyestrain. Choose a dark text color and a lighter, not too bright background color.
Forgetting to give feedback to your visitors
New technology such as AJAX is being used for most websites. Once upon a time it was easy to know what was going on with the site you were on. The site would tell you as the page was loading.
Example of how it should be done
New technology like AJAX makes feedback less apparent. Your visitors want to know what is going on with your site whether it be good or bad. Be sure that there is feedback to inform them. Interaction between your site and your visitor is very, very important.
Using pop-up ads
A lot of website designers think that of they place pop-up ads on their site they will get more subscribers or make more sales. That idea couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Pop-up ads are seriously annoying. They interrupt your users as they are trying to browse through your content. They are a distraction. To give your visitors a better experience on your site avoid using pop-up ads.
Having forms that lose your input on error
When you are filling out a form on a website you expect to be able to complete the form and click submit without there being any trouble.
Sometimes though you get done filling out the form and click submit and receive an error message. All of the information you just entered must be re-entered. I don’t know about you but I find that to be very irritating. Most website visitors do.
When designing your site you can prevent information loss by using Java Script, or a validation library. You can also submit using AJAX.
Not making your site fast
Example of how it should be done
One of the most irritating, annoying things the users encounter is a slow website. People don’t want to wait forever to view your content. They want to be able to quickly click through it.
Did you know that 40% of users will click away from a slow website? That’s almost half. If your site is slow you may be losing potential customers. If you speed up your site you may find that your sales increase. Your customers will trust your site more if it works properly for them.
If it’s slow customers will think there’s something wrong with it. Faster websites also rank higher in search engine results. Site loading speed is one of the things that Google uses to determine how your site will rank.
Not having a responsive website
Example of how it should be done
When designing your site take into consideration that web surfing is not just limited to the desk top computer anymore. Now a days people are surfing from cell phones, tablets, and several other types of devices.
Make sure that you site will be responsive to these types of devices. As technology advances so do your users and so should your web design.
Using a bad navigation structure
One of the very most important things to consider when designing a website is whether or not your users will be able to navigate it easily. No one wants to have to search and dig for your contact information, etc.
All of your links should be clearly visible. Users should be able to see what you site offers quickly, without having to search. A site that is not easily navigated will cost you customers. People will click away out of frustration. They most likely will not return.
Using intrusive ads
Few things are more annoying than intrusive ads. There your user is, navigating through your site, when all of a sudden music starts playing and an ad appears. Your visitors don’t want to deal with that.
Most will scramble to make the music stop. Think of user that are visiting your site from work, or from a public place. When that ad starts blaring music everyone will turn to stare. It could even get them in trouble if they are using a work place computer. Do your future visitors a favor and avoid using intrusive ads.
Websites can benefit from using pop-ups that offer their visitors assistance. If your site has one of these types of pop-ups it’s okay. Just be sure that your visitors can easily close the window and that it doesn’t make obnoxious sounds.
Using auto play for audio
Sometimes there is a need to have a video on your site. Maybe you have a video that shows how a product can be used, or maybe you want to introduce yourself to your customers.
Videos are fine so long as you avoid using auto play. Let your users determine whether or not they want to view it. If it comes on automatically they will most likely become irritated and leave your site.
Using horizontal scrolling
Website designers need to keep in mind that scrolling is done differently with different devices. Tablets and mobiles have touch screens. A simple swipe of the finger is all it takes to scroll through your site.
Desktops use a mouse or touch pad. Scrolling takes place differently. Not all of your users will be able to scroll horizontally. Think of your visitors that are using desktops. If you implement horizontal scrolling on your site their experience on your site will be difficult. They will become frustrated and probably click away.
Ending thoughts
To make sure that your site won’t frustrate your visitors it’s a good idea to access it from several types of different devices. Browse your site from a desktop, from a tablet, and from a mobile phone.
If you find that there are problems with navigation when using any of the devices make adjustments to your sites design. Also check to see how your site looks and responds from various devices. When you do this you will know what your visitors are looking at and dealing with when they access your site. Fix all of the problems you encounter so that you don’t end up losing customers or business.
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