Common Website Design Mistakes to Avoid

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Common Website Design Mistakes to Avoid

by
Jim Bruce
founder: Ristvin Marketing

Website design mistakes can have a tremendous negative impact on both your Search Engine Optimization strategy and your online business growth. Saturating your website with hundreds of pages might be an accomplishment but it certainly is not a good SEO web site strategy unless your pages have been designed properly and are focused on your business goals.

In the early 1990s, business web sites weren't very common and just about any kind of website was considered acceptable. With tens of millions of business sites online now, users will not tolerate unprofessional and disorganized sites that don't provide the information or solutions they are looking for and expect. At best, they upset your visitors and potential prospects. At worse, you lose them forever.

1. Lack of Website and Webpage Focus - Too many web sites leave visitors wondering what the site is all about. Be sure your homepage explicitly conveys what the theme of your site is, what you do, the value you offer, and entices visitors to explore other pages for additional information.

2. Text-heavy Pages - Actually, text is OK, but if your pages are long, don't use lengthy paragraphs with no visual breaks. Reading online is akin to scanning headlines in the newspaper. Use the following to break-up your blocks of text - shorter, more focused paragraphs - headlines and subheads - bullets and numbering points - a few well-placed photos or graphics - and appropriate white space.

3. Legibility Issues - Dark fonts on dark backgrounds, light fonts on light backgrounds (may be seen as "hidden text" by the search engines, and tiny fonts that strain the eye are obviously poor choices. Use common your sense and take account the common backgrounds and fonts your competitors use.

4. "Noise" and Clutter - Even if you have a great website design to your pages and site, if your visitors are forced to wade through long blocks of copy, a multitude of promotional offers, slow loading animations, constant sales pitches, and worthless keyword weighted dribble, you'll quickly confuse your visitors and drive them away.

5. "Blatant" Advertising - While we all hope to use our web site to funnel prospects along in the sales process, desparate in-your-face advertising isn't the answer. Everyone suffers from advertising overload these days. Relevant information, problem solving solutions and value will do the job more effectively. While pop-up ads are widely used and acceptable in many marketing websites, full screen pop-ups that are difficult to close infuriate everyone, especially on a site where they seem inappropriate to the site theme and content.

6. Navigation Issues - A clearly defined navigational panel makes obvious sense doesn't it? But common sense isn't always common practice if the navigation itself is clumsy and difficult. How easily can a new visitor navigate your site? Many webmasters like to use fancy javascript drop-down or hover-over menus. These may look nice but are they efficient and can the search engines navigate them?

7. Inappropriate Graphics and Photos - Photographs and graphics can usually enhance the appearance of your site as well as substantiate and support your web content. But don't use slow loading, intensive graphics or photos of your company office which are relevant to no one but you and your employees.

8. Outdated Information - Nothing, nothing screams "unprofessional" any louder than outdated information. Make sure your content is up-to-date and relevant.

9. Too Many Clicks Needed - We're an impatient species these days and always in a hurry. The online waiting threshold is much less than off-line and patience isn't an online virtue. If more than a few clicks are required to get to a page, you'll lose your visitor every time.

10. Lack of Contact Information - This seems obvious, but I have searched numerous websites for contact phone numbers, email, or a physical address and I am amazed how many times I was unable to find any means to get in touch with a human being. Just because a web site is online doesn't mean a visitor doesn't want to contact you or only wants to contact you online.

11. Form Frustration - The large majority of online forms are too lengthy and want to collect too much information. Get rid of questions or fields that simply are not needed. Don't designate a field as required if it really isn't.

12. No Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, or Terms of Service - In this age of rampant spam, we all want to be certain we are offering our e-mail address to someone who will protect it fully. If you ask for an e-mail address via one of your forms, let your visitors know that you will not sell or distribute their address to anyone (if that's true of course). Include a disclaimer or terms of service if applicable. Look like a legitimate business.

Your prospects, potential clients, and interested parties are visiting your web site specifically for the content and the information they can glean. A visit to your web site should be a positive experience. The appearance and usability of your website design are critical factors. If done properly, you have a much better chance of converting leads and prospects to clients.

We now offer a FREE Search Engine Optimization Whitepaper Report explaining SEO and what you need to do to your website to properly prepare it for the highest search engine rankings. Receive it by filling out and submitting the following form:

**Note** After you submit this form, you will receive an email from SEO-whitepaper@aweber.com asking for you to confirm your request. Once you click on the confirmation link, you will be sent your download link.