Everyone, even experts and professionals, makes mistakes when they are starting out in any career, and web design is no different.
Over the years, website design and development has changed and evolved, where now greater importance is placed on providing a high-quality user experience be it through interactive web design or adding services like live chat app for websites.
Here are some overly common web design mistakes that you should avoid:
1. Too many pop-ups and distractions.
Since pop-ups are back in fashion, you will find that a growing majority of websites have started to include pop-ups on their site.
Sure, your website needs to make conversions, but showing a pop up every few minutes is not a smart thing to do.
When used in moderation and with proper intent, pop-ups can help you effectively capture your audience’s attention and increase your chances of making a conversion. Ideally, you want to limit the number of pop ups to around three.
Being blasted with a pop-up each time you attempt to use the website will only make your website look spammy and once visitor gets allowed most will behave in similar pattern of exiting your website following principle of reciprocal determinism.
The worst kind of pop-ups is the ones that occupy the entire screen. These pop-ups usually don’t have an easy way to get back to the website. They often require a user to figure out how to exit the pop up by scrolling down.
2. Unresponsive web design.
Unresponsive design is a sin for web designers. Not only will you be punished by an increased bounce rate, but Google and other search engines will also rank your website lower on the SERP.
Unresponsive web design means that your website cannot present the content and information stored across different devices of varying shapes and sizes.
These days, there is hardly a valid excuse to have an unresponsive web design. Most website builders make your website responsive, but most WP themes are responsive as well.
More and more people are using their smartphones to access the internet and social media platforms. It’s already difficult to cultivate a loyal audience if you’re doing everything right, so having an unresponsive website will make it just that harder to make a name for yourself in your niche.
3. Poor user experience.
Websites having poor user experience is more common than you might think.
A crowded website is usually the first culprit. Jamming too many things onto your website is not a good idea, to begin with. These days, minimalism is super popular, so make good use of it.
The next cause of user dissatisfaction is poor navigation. You should give your online visitors the option to navigate back to the home page just by clicking on the logo. That’s a first. If you’re designing a blog, make sure that there is adequate navigation to get to the previous post, the next post, or even a relevant series of blog posts.
As discussed earlier, the ill use of pop ups also contributes to poor user experience.
When doing web design, make sure to put the needs of the site’s target audience first. This will automatically start to improve your web designs.
4. Lack of or too many CTA buttons.
Beginner web designers are prone to make this mistake.
They forget that the purpose of a website is not only to create a space to upload and store content, but there are also business needs and goals that need to be achieved.
If CTA buttons are missing from your website, how do you expect your online audience to make conversions that you would like them to make? Remember that people need to be guided gently towards making a decision. CTA buttons do just that.
However, another mistake that rookies make is that they choose to have multiple CTA buttons placed right next to each other. This takes away the attention that a single, well-positioned CTA button would get.
Make sure that your CTAs are well spaced from each other. This way, they will be able to capture your online visitor’s attention and get you more conversions.
Knowing how people think and interact online will give you a better understanding of if and where a CTA button needs to be placed.
Conclusion:
By avoiding these common web design mistakes, the websites you end up creating will not only provide a positive user experience to your audience, but they will also help your clients reach your business goals more efficiently.