Web Page Design: Ten Mistakes To Avoid

Posted on November,11,2009 by Admin

Anyone makes mistakes in web page design, but there are some mistakes that are made primarily by beginners. Although this is article is aimed primarily at newbies, anyone involved in web page design can learn something by reading it. The ten most common mistakes beginners make are: A web page design that has no navigation. Remember that website visitors generally have limited time so help them use it wisely by making user-friendly web pages. Include an index or site map on all pages and make it easy for your visitors to go back and forth from different pages. There is nothing so frustrating than not being able to move easily from various pages on a web site. Overuse of graphics: new web site designers are almost always guilty of putting too much graphics on websites they create. Graphics is good, but too much of a good thing is – well – not so good. Using the wrong fonts. Some experienced designers refer to this as ‘ransom fonts’. Remember that reading online is not everyone’s cup of tea, so use fonts that are readable and the right size. No matter how good your website is, if people can read the content they will leave. Stale or useless content. Anyone involved in website design knows the value of content to web sites, but beginners always seem to over this little fact. When it comes to websites – content rules! Start working on your web site content at the same time you plan on building the website. There is no reason not to have content, if you cannot write to save your life ask a friend or family member to help you. Orphan web pages: this again brings forward the need for clear navigational links on every webpage. Orphan web pages are those pages that do not have any links to your home page. The problem with these pages is that a search will take the searcher directly to the page with the keyword used, but once the back button is clicked the user is taken back to the search engine instead of to your home page. No clear purpose for the website. In an attempt to cram everything into a website, new website designers tend to put all their ideas on their webpage. Have a purpose and state that clearly. Ignoring SEO Many website designers, and in particular new designers, tend to ignore SEO to their peril when it comes to website success. Even if you hate writing, there is no reason not to optimize your website. All it takes to include SEO in a web page design is to include meaning titles to each webpage, title tags on images and links, and include good content. SEO optimizing a website is the first step in attracting traffic to a website. Including hit counters on a site. This literally screams ‘newbie’ to visitors to that website. Hit counters really add no value and should be avoided at all cost, unless your site is really popular and you want to show that you’ve had millions of hits. If you really need to capture visitor statistics for your website, use the tools provided by your website host. Use and placement of banners: Not only do banners tend to slow down the loading of web pages, they can be annoying. In addition, most website users will not even click them because they know that banners are really advertisement. Just as some persons click through ads on TV so will they avoid website banners as well. If you must include a few banners, place them at the top or bottom of the webpage, or even in the sidebar where they are less obtrusive. Asking visitors to register before they can access the website. Websites lose more potential visitors than they know when they ask for registration. What this shows is that new website designs such stick to simple web page design as they learn the ropes. Avoiding these mistakes will help you build a successful web business.