To ensure that you are able to keep up with your industry, it is imperative for you to have a website today. In order for your website to excel, it must stand out from your competitors. When it comes to website design, there are numerous pitfalls that can cause the user experience to be ruined. The same can be said of search engine rankings and the visual experience of the website. Regardless of whether you are in the process of making a website for your own small business or a large-scale organization, here are three mistakes that you will want to make sure you avoid during the design process.
Making It Difficult to Locate Contact Information
As a general rule, the main intention for websites is to connect with readers or bring in new clients/customers. In order for this to be accomplished, your company's contact information needs to be easy to find. All too often, though, this information is hidden in the footer, in a font that is difficult to read and a color that is too dark. To avoid this issue, create a standard "Contact Us" button and have a dedicated "Contact Us" page with all of your contact information on it. You could even consider incorporating your basic contact information—phone number and/or e-mail address—into the site header.
Overloading Users with Colors and Fonts
As you design your website, you will probably be tempted to tap into your inner creativity and artistry, and while that is completely fine, you need to make sure that you practice some constraint when doing so. If you use too many colors and fonts, you will overwhelm your visitors, distracting them from what is important—the content on your site that they need to read. So, start by focusing on your company branding and utilize the primary fonts and colors. Try to stick to a couple of fonts—one for the headers and one for the body text.
Making It Difficult for Users to Navigate
Online users simply do not have the time to go through numerous pages and dead links attempting to locate information that they need. Therefore, your website needs to avoid using new windows, pop-ups, and extensive subpages. Instead, make sure you use a basic, traditional menu, along with a back button, search option, and static navigation bar. All of this helps to make sure that website visitors are able to use the single click of a mouse to perform actions on your site, making navigation a breeze.
For more information on designing your website, get in touch with a website design service in your area.
