7 Common Website Mistakes to Avoid

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Look at me! That’s what you want your website to say, but without blinding your audience. At first glance, your customers are interested in your site, but what they find upon further observation may cause them to think twice about your business. Here are seven design mistakes that could turn folks away from your website:

Poor navigation – The first thing anyone wants to know when they visit your website is how to get around. So place your site map in a conspicuous place. Also, headings need to be prominent and self-explanatory. And remember that when visitors can’t navigate past the home page, they leave altogether.

Illegible fonts – It might seem cool to use a gothic-style font on a Halloween website for effect, but those who are trying to read it won’t think so. If viewers stumble over your content trying to figure out what it says, they will take their business elsewhere.

Clutter – You can have as many pages as you want on your website, so don’t squish everything on the same page. In fact, too many images, buttons, text, and sounds lead to sensory overload. Tone it down and space your content accordingly.

Non-existent contact information – Just because you create a business entity on the internet doesn’t mean that phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses are a thing of the past. Customers need a variety of contact methods to reach you. Make sure they can do that.

Poor form – We aren’t talking about your dance moves but your registration and opt-in forms. Only ask for the most essential information. Potential customers may be leery to provide any more details.

Wrong background – Dark font on a dark background won’t make your readers happy. Avoid this combination and save your readers’ eyesight. Be sure your pages can be read easily.

Incohesive design– Images and color schemes should match the purpose of your website. Vary the images and content throughout your website, but keep the same color scheme to provide continuity. Too many styles mixed together gives a schizophrenic feel to your entire site, and viewers can become easily distracted.

Creativity makes your site unique, but too much of it and everything becomes a disaster. Keeping everything at its simplest level works best.

Does your website need a refresh? Ask me to conduct an online audit to determine how you can improve your site.