Library

Web Design Blunders

by: AllinOneWebServices.com

The 12 most common web design blunders are:

1. Too much design, too little function
2. Unintuitive Navigation
3. Broken Links
4. Flash Overkill
5. No Search Engine Marketing
6. No Cascading Style Sheets
7. Technology before Practicality
8. Images that are Too Big
9. Lack of Consistency
10. Lack of Testing
11. Security
12. Lack of Tracking

Too Much Design, too Little Function

Artists, particularly graphic artists, are the most notorious for creating a site that is beautiful to view, but that has no obvious meaning or message. Never lose site of the message of your site. Whether your site is about information, photographs, or games, every part of your website should reinforce the message. If you are selling products or services on your website, put those products and services front and center.

Unintuitive Navigation

One of the most common mistakes web designers make is difficult navigation. Navigation should be available and consistent on every page. If you use images for navigational buttons, include text links somewhere on the page. Remember, if a visitor can’t link to a page, the page is worthless. Ideally you want a visitor to reach any page on your site, from any other page on your site in 3 clicks or less.

Broken Links

Broken links happen—we’re all human. However, there are services and software that will check for them. Broken links are a common place where website visitors move on to a different website. One way to keep your visitors is to design custom pages, particularly Error404 pages. This option is available in most web servers and allows you to customize the error. All In One Web Services typically recommends to its clients to include programming on these pages to alert the website manager (webmaster) when a broken link is reached. This way the problem can be found and corrected quickly.

Flash Overkill

Flash is a technology that allows for easy addition of movies, sound, animation, and interactivity on websites. Flash is one of the more controversial technologies in web design. The reason is multifold: 1) Not all visitors will have Flash available in their web browsers. 2) Flash can be overused to the point where its obtrusive to the message or navigation of the website. 3) Flash is not particularly search engine friendly. 4.) Visitors to your website may be at work and having sound or music can get them into trouble (and kill the sale for you!).

No Search Engine Marketing

Even if your website is designed only to serve your existing customers, search engine marketing does not require much more work. A few subtle changes can increase your visibility on the internet. If the right techniques are employed, this marketing is free and only takes a little time to work.

Cascading Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets are a technology that enables designers to quickly and easily make changes to the format of a website on all pages. The idea is to create groups of formatting that is applied to sections of the website. Up until a few years ago, style sheets were buggy and did not work consistently across web browsers. However, in the past few years, they have become much more reliable. If you are an amateur or pseudo-pro web designer and haven’t learned style sheets, do yourself a favor and learn them. Visit w3c.org for more info.

Technology before Practicality

Web design is still a fast-moving industry with technological advancements being made regularly. However, new technology is generally buggy, error-prone, and often not consistent across multiple web browsers or computers. Don’t jump on the latest craze in web design just because it’s cool. First make sure that the technology is necessary to your visitors. And second make sure it will look consistent across browsers and computers.

Images that are Too Big

Our staff regularly comes across websites that have images that are way too big. If you are scanning and formatting the pictures for your website here are 3 quick tips:
1.) All images should be of resolution 72 dpi (dots per inch).
2.) When creating JPEG files, use 20% compression (or 80% quality). This will not degrade the images and will make the files considerably smaller.
3.) Avoid resizing images on the web page. Size them in photo-editing programs.

Lack of Consistency

A good site is like a good store—consistency is vital. Throughout your site you should use the same logos, the same color scheme, and three fonts or less. Key components like navigation links should be in the same locations. Ignoring this can confuse your visitors, leading them to leave your site early.

Lack of Testing

Before updating a live website, test everything. Links are the most common point problem. Check that all images appear correctly. Try different browsers, like AOL, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. Test the website on several computers, if you have access to them. Make sure if there are changes to the appearance of the site between browsers or computers that you can live with them.

Security

Security in websites is a double-edged sword. Of course you don’t want a hacker to screw up your site. But you also don’t want to include so much security that it impedes a visitor’s experience. Be realistic about your security. If you run a site with 100,000 or more visitors a day, you are a bigger target for a hacker, and you require more security. However, if you are running a small website (less than 20,000 visitors per month) be judicious of your use of security. You are not a big hacking target and the money you save can be applied to advertising and site features.

Lack of Tracking

Websites offer the unique opportunity to track your customers every move. Where did they come from? Where did they leave? How long were they at the site? If you aren't tracking your customers movements then you can't make the appropriate adjustments to enhance their experience.