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14 Replies Last post: Sep 1, 2009 9:13 PM by Hymesdesign

The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes

Dec 4, 2008 5:03 PM

Click to view ZekeLL's profile Mogul ZekeLL 53 posts since
Dec 2, 2008
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After redesigning over 100 websites I now
have a pretty good idea about the most common web design mistakes.

If your site is making some of these
mistakes, fix them now! Otherwise, you are leaving money on the table every
single day.

*Bad
Layout*
Your navigation and layout have to be simple,
obvious, and intuitive. If you expect your visitors to figure out how to get to
where they want to go, prepare for them to leave. Don't make them think, make
it obvious for them. Forget about "cool" navigation. Make it simple and
elegant.

*Slow
Websites*
Keep your website light so it loads fast. There is
nothing more annoying than those "Loading... 1%" messages. People don't want to
wait. Studies show that if a website takes more than 8 seconds to load, 21% of
your visitors will leave and if it takes more than 20 seconds to load, 43% of
your visitors will be gone! This is a tragedy. There are ways to achieve
excellent designs that are also very light.

*Bad
Colors Choice*
Most web designers are not professional graphic
designers. They never learned what colors work well together and most
importantly, what different colors mean. Make sure your website uses the right
colors for your market and it is not hard on your visitors' eyes.

*Bad
Music Selection*
In most cases I am against music at all. I am
talking about music that auto-plays (background music). A lot of people will
visit your website from work and they don't want annoying music popping up. Music
also makes websites slow to load. If you decide that you want to have music on
your website, choose the right one for your audience.

*Under
Construction Pages*
What is the purpose of "Coming Soon" pages? This
looks really unprofessional. Just don't have them at all! Who wants to read an
"Under Construction" message? If you want to generate curiosity about a section
that you will be adding soon, have some teaser copy and possibly a list-building
box: "Sign Up to Be Notified When We Release this Feature".

*Information
is Hard to Find*
This happens very often with your phone number and
email address. Let's say you own a restaurant. Most people visit your website
to get your phone number and make a reservation. Put your number at the very
top and make it huge!

*Ads
on Commercial Websites*
If your website is supported by advertising,
displaying ads is your business. But if your main stream of income is not
advertising, get rid of ads. They look really unprofessional and they make you
look needy.

*Low-Resolution
Images*
There is nothing that makes me angrier than web
designers who use low-resolution images. They look terrible! There are ways to
optimize images so they are both light and visually appealing.

*Splash
Screens*
Don't waste your visitors' time. They are on your
website to learn about your company and services, not to see how talented your
graphic designer is and the cool animations he can do for you. Don't force them
to take an extra step. They want information. Give it to them.

Passive Marketing
Your website is an excellent opportunity to tell
prospects why your company is better than the competition, why they should buy
from you, and ask them to take action. Be proactive.

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If you enjoyed this article, visit my blog
at www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog
for more great tips on entrepreneurship and online marketing.

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Zeke Camusio

The Outsourcing Company - Professional Web Design
Blog: www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog
www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com
info@TheOutsourcingCompany.com
(1)877-581-3921 (Available 24/7)
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Click to view your_web_guy's profile Mogul your_web_guy 68 posts since
Aug 4, 2008
1. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Dec 4, 2008 5:32 PM
in response to: ZekeLL
Can we add Copying and pasting from word as one of the ten most common mistakes drive by posters make? :p
Click to view ZekeLL's profile Mogul ZekeLL 53 posts since
Dec 2, 2008
2. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Dec 4, 2008 6:36 PM
in response to: your_web_guy
You are right. It was my first post and I couldn't preview it. I will make sure it doesn't happen again. The original post is here if you want to read it: http://www.theoutsourcingcompany.com/blog/web-design/the-10-most-common-web-design-mistakes/

Zeke Camusio
The Outsourcing Company - Professional Web Design
Blog: www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog
www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com
info@TheOutsourcingCompany.com
(1)877-581-3921 (Available 24/7)
Click to view Mongoose's profile Mogul Mongoose 270 posts since
Nov 2, 2008
3. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Dec 4, 2008 10:37 PM
in response to: ZekeLL
I guess one mistake we could yell at on this board is No HTML tags in the message boards...
Click to view Bluesuit's profile Mogul Bluesuit 136 posts since
Oct 23, 2007
4. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Dec 5, 2008 11:07 AM
in response to: ZekeLL
Great advice.
Click to view EagleEye's profile Mogul EagleEye 85 posts since
Nov 7, 2008
5. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Dec 10, 2008 1:45 PM
in response to: Mongoose
Yes Mongoose.. that and no ability to edit a post for a short period of time after it is posted. I have seen some forums where you get at least 15 mins. to edit your post before it become permanent. That would be nice.
Click to view EagleEye's profile Mogul EagleEye 85 posts since
Nov 7, 2008
6. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Dec 10, 2008 1:48 PM
in response to: ZekeLL
ZekeLL, I will definitely be checking out your blog. Nice post. I actually hate ads on ecommerce sites where a product or products are being sold. It distracts from the main purpose of the site, which should be the marketing of goods. Of course, ads have their place when appropriate.. but they should never be overdone or so overwhelming as to take away from the main content of any site. Content is still king.
Click to view jumiram1's profile Start-up jumiram1 1 posts since
Jul 22, 2009
7. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Jul 22, 2009 8:03 AM
in response to: ZekeLL
Very valuable information. i have done several mistakes like this. thank you very much.

jumi

http://www.web4half.com

<a href="http://www.web4half.com"><b>Quality Web Design</b></a>
Click to view Designer139's profile Start-up Designer139 1 posts since
Jul 14, 2008
8. Re: The 10 Most Common Web Design Mistakes Jul 22, 2009 12:23 PM
in response to: ZekeLL
I have one of those splash screens on my web site. It had the same feelings about it as you. I could not get it to go away without confusing the page loading order. Therefore I left it in and it magically fixed itself. It became time limited. It displays whatever it can in 5 seconds and then goes on with the business at hand. That is the solution if you must impress with flashy designs. I would allot maybe 2 to 3 seconds and then move on.