In today’s blog post, we will be discussing some common web design mistakes that you should avoid making on your site. These mistakes can negatively impact both the appearance and functionality of your website, so it is important to be aware of them and take steps to prevent them.
Non-Responsive Websites
Building non-responsive websites is one of the biggest mistakes you can make on your small business website. Non-Responsive websites tend to be older and are difficult to use on mobile devices. They can cause serious headaches for your users because they do not dynamically change to fit a user’s screen size, therefore websites often render incorrectly.
In a poll by Goodfirms, 84.6% of web designers said that non-responsive design was the most common mistake. Here are some of the main reasons why building non-responsive websites is a mistake:
- Mobile usage has skyrocketed in recent years, and more and more people are using their mobile devices to access the internet. According to TechJury.net, 60.66% percent of the total web visits are currently mobile, compared to 39.34% percent coming from desktops. If you don’t have a responsive site, then you will miss out on these potential customers. That is the main reason why businesses should always take a “mobile-first” approach to design.
- American adults spend an average of 5.5 hours daily on their phones. Websites that are hard to navigate on mobile create a HUGE missed opportunity for your growing business. Responsive design makes it easy for users to navigate your website, no matter what type of device they are using. Non-responsive sites often require zooming or other awkward interactions that can result in frustration and a poor user experience.
- Many of your competitors are probably already using responsive design, which means that you could be losing potential customers to them if you don’t have a responsive site yourself.
- A non-responsive website can also hurt your search engine rankings since Google now prioritizes mobile-friendly sites in its search results. This means that you may lose out on valuable traffic from people searching for your products or services online.
Here is an example of a non-responsive website.
Tips from a Web Designer
Not optimizing for mobile is a huge no-no. If building your own website, be sure to create different iterations based on all possible screen sizes, and test them all for possible layout breaks, and broken links-related issues. Depending on the layout, you may rearrange, resize, or even leave out certain elements.
No Clear Branding
Branding is one of the most important aspects of any successful website, as it helps you to establish your unique identity and build credibility with potential customers. Without good branding, your website will appear generic and unprofessional, which can turn off potential visitors and hurt your overall business goals.
As a designer, clear and consistent branding (both in copy and in design) is always top-of-mind. But did you know that according to Forbes, branding will create loyal customers and makes them feel more connected to your company? So what exactly does good branding entail? Here are just a few key things that you should keep in mind when designing or re-designing your website:
- Develop a clear, recognizable brand identity. Your branding should be based on your name, logo, and other design elements that are unique to your business. This could include things like color schemes, fonts, and graphic patterns or images.
- Use consistent design elements across all of your online properties, including your website and social media profiles. This will help to ensure that visitors can easily identify your brand no matter where they encounter it online.
- Establish a clear voice for your brand through the language you use in all of your marketing materials, social media updates, and other communications with customers and potential clients. Using a consistent tone of voice helps to build trust and credibility with customers by demonstrating that you have a deep understanding of their needs or problems.
- Invest in professional design services that will help you to create a beautiful, functional website that represents your brand in the best possible light. Poorly-designed sites may look cheap or unprofessional, which can damage your credibility and make potential customers question whether they should do business with you.
Tips from Your Designer
A clear brand is critical to your ROI. A clear visual identity creates trust and gives your company a personality that your clients can relate to. By working with an experienced web designer, however, you can rest assured that your site will be attractive, easy to navigate, and optimized for search engines as well as human visitors. Don’t have your brand solidified? Contact me today for help.
Low-Resolution Images/Bad Photography
With so many different factors affecting how effective your website is, there are also many potential pitfalls that you need to be aware of. In particular, web design mistakes like using low-resolution images or bad photography can negatively impact the look and feel of your website – and even prevent users from interacting with it at all.
As anyone who has ever purchased a print or used a screen magnifier on their computer knows, low-resolution images often appear pixelated or blurry – which can be incredibly frustrating for users. And if your site contains numerous poor-quality images, it can quickly become difficult to navigate as well. Low-resolution images are another surefire way to convince a potential lead that you don’t actually mean business. Bad photography is unprofessional and can hurt your reputation as a trustworthy business.
Tips from Your Designer
HIRE A PHOTOGRAPHER. Image quality and consistency are SO important in creating a trustworthy brand. If are a new business and can not fit a photographer in your budget, consider high-quality stock photography until you can.
Unclear Navigation
If you’re thinking about building a website for your business or organization, one of the most important factors to consider is how easy it will be for your visitors to navigate. After all, to a website visitor, nothing is more frustrating than not being able to find the information they are looking for on a company’s website. If users can’t find what they need quickly and easily on your site, they’ll leave without taking any action – and that’s bad for your bottom line.
One of the key elements of good navigation is clarity. Your navigation should be intuitive and clearly labeled so that visitors can find their way around with ease. It is important to think about what questions your customers may ask when putting together a sitemap for your website. Then, organize it in a way that makes answering their question easy. I recommend keeping your menu between 5-8 items at the most to avoid overwhelming your website visitors.
Another thing to keep in mind when designing your site’s navigation is the overall layout of your pages. You should aim for an easy-to-scan design that allows visitors to view and understand all relevant information on a page with minimal scrolling. This means using clear headings, well-organized content blocks, and plenty of white space to help break up large sections of text and other elements. Keep in mind Website Navigation Best practices when creating your menu.
Overall, if you want your users to have a positive experience on your website, it’s crucial that you take the time to plan out your navigation carefully and make sure that it is as clear and intuitive as possible. By doing so, you can ensure that visitors will be able to find what they need quickly and easily – and that will result in more conversions, greater brand recognition, and ultimately more revenue for your organization.
No Call To Action (CTA)
A website should not be built without a clear goal in mind. Your CTA is used to convert your users to take an action toward that goal. For example, if you’re a marketer looking to have perspective customers demo your product, you’d want to use CTA’s spread throughout your website encouraging users to ‘Request a demo’. Building a website without a strong call to action is a big mistake that can result in serious consequences for your business.
- Having a clear call to action ensures that visitors know exactly what you want them to do when they land on your site. This makes it easier for them to engage with your content and take the actions you want them to take – whether this means buying your products or signing up for your mailing list
- By including a clear call to action on your site, you will be able to more effectively measure the success of your marketing efforts. With no call to action in place, it can be difficult to determine which marketing tactics are driving the most traffic to your site and what actions those visitors are taking once they get there.
- A strong call to action can help you boost your conversion rate and increase the overall effectiveness of your website. By including compelling calls to action on your site, you will be able to convert more visitors into leads, customers, or subscribers – which will ultimately help you grow your business and achieve your goals.
Interesting Stat
In an effort to not appear ‘salesy’ 7 out of 10 small business websites don’t include a call to action. No CTA means that visitors will not ever convert to clients or customers and they do not move through the sales funnel. Source: Small Business Trends
If you are building a website for your business and want to make sure that it is effective in helping you reach your goals, then be sure to include a clear call to action on every page of your site. With this simple step, you can ensure that visitors stay engaged with all of the valuable content on your site and are more likely to take the actions that you want them to take – ultimately helping you achieve your business goals.
Tips from a Web Designer
Your CTA should be concise, eye-catching, and lead directly to a form or way to contact you. Not to be confused with buttons that link to non-contact pages.
[BONUS] – Too Much Going On
When it comes to designing and building a website, it’s important to remember that simplicity is key. Having too much going on can make your website feel cluttered and confusing for visitors, which can lead to lower engagement and fewer conversions.
Things like too much animation, video, bright colors, and moving elements are overwhelming and distract from your goal. Crazy graphics all over feel scammy, dated, or like an ad. This also goes for the copy. Ever heard of “TLDR” – this holds true for a website as well. Should be concise, to the point, and drive users to convert or learn more. Shouldn’t feel like a novel.
One of the best ways to achieve a simple, clean design is by following the principles of minimalism. Minimalist design focuses on simplicity and eliminating anything unnecessary – including fancy effects, animations, and any other visual distractions that might overwhelm or confuse your visitors.
By opting for a minimalist design instead of one that packs in tons of bells and whistles, you can create a more streamlined user experience while still conveying all the necessary information. This will help keep your visitors engaged. Your website should use hierarchy to draw the user’s eye where you want it to go – preferably your CTA.
[BONUS] – Hard to Find Contact Information
Building a website with hard-to-find contact information is a recipe for disaster. Whether you’re an individual business owner or the marketing manager of a large company, it’s crucial that your website enables potential customers to easily find the information they need to get in touch with you. Unfortunately, too many small business owners often make the mistake of making their contact information hard to find on their websites.
If people have trouble finding your contact information, it can lead to frustration and lost sales opportunities. After all, if someone is interested in doing business with you, they aren’t going to simply give up and move on just because they had difficulty locating your phone number or email address. Instead, they’ll most likely turn to a competitor who has made it easy for potential customers to reach them.
My rule of thumb is to place the contact information page in the menu where it’s easy to find. One-click – there it is! Do not forget this page! Omitting this will lead to a drop in conversion rates, as the visitor has no idea where or how to find you.
On your contact page, be sure to include email, phone number, address, short form, and social media accounts at the minimum. Also, a good idea to place basic contact info in the footer – people often expect contact details there as well.
Final Thoughts
The internet is a constantly evolving landscape, and the web design trends that were effective or popular just a few years ago may no longer be relevant now. However, as you can see, there are some common mistakes that businesses make when designing their websites. Avoiding these mistakes can often be the difference between business success and business failure. That is why I focus on not only providing premium design services, I create design strategies that put my clients in the best possible position to reach their personal or business goals.
If you’re looking to build a new website for your business, or if you just want to give your old site a refresh, I can help. My years of experience have given me the knowledge and expertise needed to create websites that not only look amazing but also drive results. Whether you need help with content strategy or web design services, get in touch with me today so we can start designing the website of your dreams!
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