Your Website Design Is The First Thing A User Sees When They Log In
Your website design is one of the first ways, if not the first, your customers will find out about you. If your website is poorly designed, you’re not exactly leaving a good impression.
These mistakes we’re talking about are all too common. And, chances are, you’ve already made them. Here’s how to identify some of the biggest web design mistakes you might be making and what to do about them.
Broken Links On The Website
Out-of-date and/or broken links send a clear message to your site visitors: you’re not paying attention to your visitors’ experience. We get it. Websites you previously linked to in the past might have suddenly changed the content that appears on the originally linked page or shut down completely. Or you may have mistyped a link, leading visitors to a 404 error.
This is why it’s key to continue checking up on all the links, whether internal or external, included on your website. Make sure that each link goes to where you want it to. It may also help to include contact information for your Webmaster so that customers can report broken links if they stumble upon them.
Not Integrating Social Media
If your visitors like what you do, chances are likely they’ll want to keep up with you on social media too. But many web designers make the mistake of not making social media info easy to find. Many visitors may just assume you don’t have a social media presence at all when that might not be the case.
Consider including widgets for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and whatever other social media sites you use, on every page of your website so that interested users can click through and follow you as desired.
Convoluted Navigation Mars Website Design
If customers/visitors can’t find what they’re looking for on your website, why would they bother staying on your site? Make navigation easy for your customers.
Ensure that your search functions work as they need to (it may help to use a Google search plug-in), that you’re properly using tags and hyperlinks as needed, and that customers can easily click on your navigation bar, which should be available on every page, as needed.
Poorly Chosen Colour Schemes and Fonts Affect Website Design
Outdated and/or ugly sites do two things- they scare off users and shred your reputation. Good design matters. Choose complimentary colours that go well together and appropriate, easy-to-read font. If all else fails, hire a web designer to help you design the look of your site.
Outdated Information Make For Clunky Website Design
It’s not just links and the look of your site that need to be up-to-date, so does all the information on your site. Contact information, special promotions, and other things customers need to know need to be as up-to-date as possible. Review constantly.
This same principle also applies to your site’s security as well. While some web hosts, like WordPress, can auto update, it can also be a good idea to use a protection service like iThemesSecurity to make sure every element of your website is secure and ready to go.
A Slow Server
No one likes to wait for pages to load. If a page takes longer than ten seconds to load, people will lose patience. Make sure your server is equipped to handle your monthly visitor load and that your website doesn’t have too many elements, such as videos or photos, that bring loading to a halt.
Complicated Registration Forms
Users shouldn’t have to feel like they’re applying for the FBI when navigating onto your site. Keep registration forms easy to fill out and as uncomplicated as possible. A username, password, and maybe a first and last name are all you need. If users feel like they’ll spent all day just trying to access your website or create an account, why bother trying to register in the first place?
[This post by Jon Westenberg first appeared on Medium and has been reproduced with permission.]
