How to Avoid 5 Common Web Design Mistakes

Anyone who has used the internet has seen lots of examples of terrible website design. Creating a good site requires more than just paying a website design services provider for help. Clients need to think about website design solutions in terms of what some of the most common mistakes are. Here are 5 web design mistakes you'll want to make an effort to avoid.

1. Bad Navigation

End-users need to be able to locate the navigation system and easily use it. Lots of websites deploy navigation in terrible locations, such as favoring sidebars even for key items. The main navigational elements should be in a horizontal bar at the top of the page, and they should be fairly limited in number. Likewise, avoid using dropdowns unless you have a massive site that justifies the effort from the end-user.

2. Poor or No Mobile Functionality

The split between mobile and traditional devices used to explore websites is about 50/50. It's important to have a site that uses responsive web design to accommodate these visitors. The idea behind responsive website design is to adjust to the limitations of the device. This means its height, width, and layout will automatically adjust to display well on screens of all sizes, dimensions, and orientations.

Bear in mind that this isn't just a design issue. Search engines like Google now regularly use mobile display quality as a factor in page rankings. That means a site with a poor mobile design will rank lower than one that displays well on smaller devices if all other things are equal.

3. Busy

Keep it simple. Don't use more than four main colors as your design scheme. Avoid using a ton of images in spaces where people need to read the text. Try to use a simple column structure that makes it clear where the main content area is.

4. Excessively Simple

Yes, you can mess up in the opposite direction. A site can become boring and plain to the point that it ruins user engagement. If you don't have enough content like photos and charts to work with, you may want to think about ways to acquire and integrate them. Even some stock photography, as long as it is high-quality and pertinent, can give an otherwise dull site some life.

5. No Call to Action

Each page should have a purpose. A blog article for a law firm's website, for example, should direct the user to contact the office for a consultation. Include valuable information, too, such as phone numbers, emails, and business hours.

If you need help with sprucing up your website, contact we design companies.