Your website is your company’s face to the world. And like any other business, you would want a website design that grabs potential visitors’ attention within 0.05 seconds. For that to happen, you need to avoid these common web design mistakes. Read on and learn more.
You can’t deny that having a website is no longer an option today but a crucial requirement. An unavoidable necessity, we must say. It’s a no-brainer that today, the website has become the backbone of your business, handling all your online needs and helping you stay competitive.
Keeping everything in view, you have finally developed your dream website that is all set to rock the online world and leave every other similar website behind. But it’s been a few weeks/months or so, and your website is not attracting anyone. Sounds like a terrifying nightmare?
But seriously, what went wrong? From picking the apt theme to using attractive images, crafting persuasive content, and more, you took great care of everything. In fact, you have spent lots of time and put some great effort into designing your website.
Then what went wrong? Why are you not getting any visitors?
Well, your website design might be the reason. Even if you know everything about website design, you can fall prey to it. In fact, many professionals make mistakes when it comes to web designing.
But, guess what? You can always turn the table in your favor.
If you want your online business to succeed, you have got to up your web design game, which means you need a well-versed web design consultant that identifies website design problems and solutions, stays updated with emerging web design trends, leverages advanced web design tools & technologies and helps you craft a compelling website.
So without any further ado, let’s get to know about the top website design mistakes that you (as a business) need to avoid at any cost to stand out to stay ahead of the curve.
Are you ready to turn things around? Let’s jump right in!
Top 9 Web Design Mistakes to Avoid (With Effective Solutions)
Not Having a Design-Thinking Approach
The Problem
Not realizing the importance of design thinking and drawing the layout on paper is one of the most common web design mistakes businesses can ever make. Assuming things about potential users and implementing them without doing any extensive research will lead you to pitfalls. And obviously, this is not the right way of web designing.
The Solution
Understand and identify customer needs, pain points, issues, and motivations. Empathize with your potential customers, detail their wants, and build solutions to solve them. The design thinking approach enables a website design and development company to identify website design problems and solutions, goals, project scope, technological capabilities, solution feasibility, and effectiveness.
Poor Design/Layout
The Problem
Did you know that 52% of shoppers don’t usually return because of overall aesthetics? Not using the appropriate layout/design that resonates well with your business and conveys your brand message without words is the biggest web design mistake you’re making right now. If your layout is not going well with your brand, how will your visitors resonate with your business?
The Solution
Your website needs to be well-functional for your users, especially if you’re into the e-commerce business. If you think your website is experiencing a user decline or bad user retention, you need to look at your current web design/layout and act accordingly. Offer people what they want, what they need, and they will stick to your brand.
Cluttered Navigation
The Problem
Let’s admit that navigation has a vital role to play in websites. Navigation can literally make or break your web engagement. 94% of consumers say that websites must be easy to navigate. If your visitors find any navigability issues (like they can’t find what they need easily and quickly), they will turn away in just a blink of an eye.
The Solution
If you want users to spend more time on your website without facing any navigational difficulties, you need to ensure all your website’s navigational aspects are user-friendly and easy to understand for users. Help your visitors and Google crawlers find what they need as quickly and simply as possible, don’t make them go away.
Poor Visual Content
The Problem
Not having appealing visual content is one of the most common website design mistakes businesses make. Websites with obsolete styling, unmatched colors, fonts, poor quality images, videos, and graphics are huge barriers to keeping visitors on your website. These elements (if done wrong) push away your potential visitors and open opportunities for competitors.
The Solution
To make good use of your visual content, aim for being minimalist. Don’t use more than five colors in a single web layout; try avoiding all the unnecessary designs, use graphics that reflect the tone of your business and resonate well with your brand. It is advisable to hire a reputable creative digital agency for zero misleading content!
Neglecting Slow Loading Time
The Problem
In today’s fast-paced online era, having a slow website is one of the major website mistakes to avoid. Per Google’s research, 53% of users leave a site if it doesn’t load within three seconds. Page speed and SEO are interconnected. Thus, a slow-loading website will not only make your site sluggish but also (negatively) affect your ranking.
The Solution
Ask your growth digital agency to keep all the considerable elements in check (including images, caching, etc.) and optimize your website loading speed. They will ensure your web pages load in three seconds or less, helping your website rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs).
Not Prioritizing for Mobile-First
The Problem
Most businesses don’t aim for mobile-friendly website design, and that’s where they make the biggest website design mistake of today’s time. Mobile devices account for generating 54.8% of global web traffic. That’s more than half of the population. So not having a mobile site is a biggie in web design mistakes.
The Solution
Ensure that your hired web designer is leveraging a mobile-first design approach and offering a mobile-friendly experience to users. It’s crucial because even Google has switched to mobile-first indexing for all websites. So adopt a mobile-first approach and improve user experience and SEO ranking.
Wrong Use of Whitespace
The Problem
Most businesses ruin their content and overall web design due to poor use of whitespace, resulting in user distraction. The content of your website shouldn’t span the width of your site. The improper use of whitespace makes the content overwhelming for visitors to read. As a result, they won’t come back to your website.
The Solution
Using and managing whitespace well can help break up large blocks of text, help structure the page, and provide a visual guide. Aim for 12-17 words per line with whitespace on either side. Well-used whitespace increases comprehension, improves readability, increases attention, and maximizes clarity.
Disruptive Pop-Ups
The Problem
Businesses often use pop-ups, but they don’t use them wisely, and that’s where they make a big and most common web design mistake, unknowingly. Pop-ups interrupt, annoy, and confuse visitors to the core. In fact, Google says that websites with annoying pop-ups have difficulty ranking high on SERPs. Therefore, resulting in lower UX and damaging the brand’s reputation.
The Solution
Build high-converting pop-ups that won’t annoy your visitors. When used rightly, pop-ups can convert up to 1375% more email subscribers. You can time a pop-up to appear once a visitor has spent at least 30 seconds on your website to once a visitor has scrolled halfway down your page.
Irrelevant and Unclear CTAs
The Problem
Having an unclear and irrelevant Calls-to-Action (CTAs) is probably one of the biggest website mistakes to avoid. Not giving a clear call to action at the appropriate places may lead to not converting many hot prospects. If your CTAs don’t tell what, where, and how to your customers, your CTAs are vague and insignificant.
The Solution
Ensure that your website has strong CTAs that can effectively persuade your visitors to take action and convert them into loyal customers. You can use compelling and strong command verbs and provoking emotion and enthusiasm for your website’s CTA.
Now, It’s Over to You
Web design mistakes can directly impact your user experience, make your potential customers frustrated, and drive them away, resulting in damaging your brand’s reputation; and more. These common website design mistakes (and their solution) in mind will not only help you craft a website that drives a lot of traffic, brings business, and helps you generate more revenue, but they will help you turn a good website into a great one.
Write A Review