{"id":9241,"date":"2015-07-22T14:29:32","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T13:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/?p=9241"},"modified":"2025-05-01T17:06:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T16:06:46","slug":"13-web-design-mistakes-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/en\/13-web-design-mistakes-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"13 web design mistakes to avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

 <\/p>\n

When designing a website it\u2019s just as important to seek advice on what SHOULD NOT be included so that your planning and design workshops are absent of concepts and ideas that are counterproductive to good web design.<\/p>\n

This is a simple exercise that\u2019s so often overlooked with the result that personal (flawed) design influences negatively impact the effectiveness of the website. When a company\u2019s website is of such importance it is staggering the number of websites that fall at the design hurdle.<\/p>\n

The following list of 13 web design mistakes to avoid or DO NOTS is not exhaustive but as a start will help you avoid some of the major design pitfalls and at a bare minimum, get you live with a well-designed and functioning website.<\/p>\n

This list is also as relevant to your existing website and if taken on board, will significantly improve your website’s performance.<\/p>\n

Key Point:<\/strong> You should look at your role as a task manager. How can I help visitors to my website complete their task(s) as effortlessly and as easily as possible?<\/p>\n

With that in mind, AVOID the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t confuse your visitors with complicated or confusing messages<\/strong>
    \nEmpirical evidence clearly shows that visitors to a website will make their minds up in under 2 seconds whether they will stay or not.
    \nI invite you to click on this link<\/a> and see if you can determine in under two seconds what we do?
    \nNow, check the key message for your new website or visit your existing website. Is it clear and unambiguous what you offer you visitors?<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t clutter your homepage or any page for that matter.<\/strong>
    \nDon\u2019t clutter your homepage with what we call \u2018bells and whistles,\u2019 unnecessary objects that distract your visitor from completing their key task.
    \nPlus, the more clutter, the slower your page loads and Google doesn\u2019t like slow page loads.<\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t use moving text, garish coloured cursors or music<\/strong>
    \nLinked to the load speed and note Google\u2019s dislike which will hurt your SEO rankings.
    \nPlus, it\u2019s really annoying to land on a website that hits you with music especially when you could be in your work environment.<\/li>\n
  4. Don\u2019t automatically play videos<\/strong>
    \nA big no no. Visitors should be left to their own decision as to whether they want to watch your video or not as the case may be.\u00a0On the Big Red Cloud website we have a clear \u2018Play\u2019 button on the client testimonial videos.<\/li>\n
  5. Don\u2019t forget to include ALT Tags on all your images<\/strong>
    \nALT Tags tell search engines what the image is about and this is very important in determining your overall SEO score.
    \nIt\u2019s so easy to do but you\u2019d be surprised by how any companies neglect to do it.<\/li>\n
  6. Don\u2019t, under any circumstances, have dead links<\/strong>
    \nDead links are the kiss of death. Someone looking for a product or service that lands on a dead link will exit your website faster than a speeding bullet, pretty much without exception.
    \nGet to grips with this by using any one of a number of free dead link checkers.<\/li>\n
  7. Don\u2019t use unreadable fonts.<\/strong>
    \nYou\u2019d think that this would be straight forward \u2013 not to use a font that will prove challenging to some visitors to read but lots of websites do.
    \nHere at Big Red Cloud, we spent quite an amount of time deciding on our font for the website and we recommend that you do too. We also spent a considerable amount of time distilling down our key message for the homepage (Simple accounting software.\u00a0We help small businesses complete simple, everyday accounting tasks)<\/em>\u00a0and taken together with a readable font, makes if far more effective.<\/li>\n
  8. Don\u2019t ignore mobile<\/strong>
    \nMany purchases today will begin on one device (mobile) and end on another (PC or tablet.)
    \nMake sure your website is responsive as it will provide easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling across a wide range of devices.<\/li>\n
  9. Don\u2019t forget to ask for permission<\/strong>
    \nWhen a visitor provides their email address to download from your website don\u2019t assume that you have permission to include them on your ezine or email list.
    \nAsk for permission and tell them what they can expect to receive. Permission based marketing is a whole lot more powerful than being viewed as a spammer.<\/li>\n
  10. Don\u2019t\u2019 bury your contact details\u00a0<\/strong>
    \nAs previously stated, we should look at ourselves as task managers and one of the most frequent reasons for website visits it to get our contact details.\u00a0Make it a clearly defined link either at the top of bottom of your homepage.<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. Don\u2019t forget to measure twice and cut once especially when it comes to spelling<\/strong>
    \nWithout a doubt, one of the biggest factors affecting the overall quality and perception of a website.
    \nPoor grammar and spelling reflects poorly on you, your products and your company. Spend time and double check everything.<\/li>\n
  12. Don\u2019t use pop-ups<\/strong>
    \nPop-ups can inadvertently block your website for a genuine visitor as they may have their pop-up blocker turned on. Don\u2019t use pop-ups.<\/li>\n
  13. Don\u2019t use drop-down menus<\/strong>
    \nBack to being a task manager \u2013 make it as easy as possible for your visitor to complete their task. Drop-down menus by their very nature take longer to navigate and may inadvertently hide what your visitor is actually looking for.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    The 13 web design mistakes to avoid is a good a place to start and will go a long way to improving the effectiveness of your website. It’s worth repeating, your website is the world’s window to you and your company. You can provide your visitors with a great experience by making some simple changes or you can proceed as is and hope for the best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      When designing a website it\u2019s just as important to seek advice on what SHOULD NOT be included so that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-small-business"},"yoast_head":"\n13 web design mistakes to avoid - Big Red Cloud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A simple to follow list of 13 web design mistakes to avoid for small businesses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/en\/13-web-design-mistakes-to-avoid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"13 web design mistakes to avoid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A simple to follow list of 13 web design mistakes to avoid for small businesses.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/en\/13-web-design-mistakes-to-avoid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Big Red Cloud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SimpleOnlineAccounts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-22T13:29:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T16:06:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/exit-sign.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Big Red Cloud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BigRedCloud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BigRedCloud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Big Red Cloud\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"13 web design mistakes to avoid - 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