5 Most Common Website Design Mistakes
Let me start by saying that this list of 5 of the most common website design mistakes is simply my opinion. I've been dealing with websites for nearly 10 years now and have come to recognize certain things on a website that screams "amateur" like the list of 5 popular website design mistakes below
Visitor / Hit Counters
This has to be one of the most obvious mistakes. Hit counters are the little graphics generally stuck at the bottom of a web page that goes up numerically by 1 each time the website has a visitor. I realize that if the number is large that it makes your website look popular but if the number is small it can have the opposite effect. Let your website tell your visitors about the popularity of your website.
I understand wanting to track your stats but Google offers a free analytics program that will give you pretty much any information you could ever want about your visitors. It's completely free to use so visit Google Analytics to setup an account.
Too Many Ads
I understand the purpose of most websites is to make money but placing Google Adsense in every available location is annoying and is my first clue that the website isn't a "quality" website.
As you may have read in the past, I run www.websitespot.com and have added ads in only 2 positions. I have Google Adsense on the right hand margin and two small banner ads on the left navigation. If I added Adsense in many more positions on the page it would look like a giant advertisement rather than a website filled with valuable information on making a website.
Too Much Distracting Animation
You will have been to pages that flash, spin, throb and change color. How long do you usually stay? A few seconds? That’s longer than me. Those animations may be "cute" but if you're interested in keeping visitors at your website and want to portray a professional look do EVER use them. Take a look at GameQuarium.com.
Writing For Search Engines
Don't get me wrong, writing for search engines is important but not like in the sense that a visitor to your website is unable to make out the content or easily navigate. Take look at LanyardSupply.com, I'm sure that they are a great website that offers great products, great service and great prices but their website was written for search engines. I'm sure that I don't need to explain this one much more.
Not Planning For Older Technology
I could break this up into a few categories but I said that this was 5 popular mistakes, not 10. The thing about this mistake is that people think that everyone has kept up with the latest technologies. There is a huge population of users that still have dial-up and very small monitors.
You need to take this into consideration when you're developing your site in regards to the amount and size of graphics on your website as people with dial-up service could leave your site before even seeing what you have to offer because your site takes too long to load.
In regards to small monitors, if you don't plan the size of your website those with smaller monitors will have the horizontal scroll on the bottom of their monitor which is a big no-no.
In Conclusion
I could go on and on about web design mistakes to avoid but this is a nice place to start. As you build more websites you'll find that there are certain things that you should avoid and learn from those mistakes.
Best regards,
David Lalumendre
www.WebsiteSpot.com