About Common Website Mistakes
There are plenty of easy mistakes to make when designing a website. Even web designers have difficulty avoiding some of these pitfalls, and that's okay! If you find that any of these situations apply to you, don't feel bad. This list is to help you identify some common mistakes that make for less effective websites. Read on to figure out which mistakes you're making, and how to fix them.
Bad Navigation
It is very easy to focus too much on the visual aesthetic of a website and forget about functionality. One of the first things you need to remember when designing a website is that it has a purpose. You want to make sure to prioritize the main goals and functions of a website in its design. One of the purposes of a website is to lead users to different actions, and navigating the website is how they are able to do those actions.
If your website is difficult to navigate through (header links are hard to read, can't figure out where the contact form is, etc.), it can lead to frustration and confusion in your customer base. Make sure your navigation system is clear, easy to understand, and easy to use!
Inconsistent Branding
Another common website design mistake is inconsistent branding. When you have a different color palette, logo, etc. in your website than you do across other marketing avenues, it can lead to confusion in your customer-base. To represent yourself professionally and cohesively, you need to ensure you are using the same colors, fonts, logos, and other graphics in your website that you are using in your social media, advertisements, physical locations, and more.
If you want a headstart to learn how to create a cohesive brand identity for yourself, be sure to check out our free Branding Basics guide, all on how you can set up the perfect branding for your business! It includes helpful points for those starting their branding journey, or a good check-in for those halfway there.
Lack Of Calls To Action
Like I said before, it is super easy to focus too much on the visuals and not the functionality of your website. It's important to figure out what actions you want your customer to take when they land on the website. That's going to be your biggest push to actually converting sales, getting signups to your newsletter, and other useful engagement viewers can perform with the site.
Once you have your list down, it's time to design around those actions. One of the best ways to encourage engagement is by creating calls to action, or CTA's as they are commonly called. These typically appear as sections with a bold statement heading, a short description of the action, and a button that leads the customer where you want them to go.
Make sure you are using CTA's throughout your website, and that their placement is as effective as their wording. This will help you design a website that converts sales, bookings, and so much more!
One Of The Most Important Mistakes To Avoid - Neglecting Mobile
Another common website mistake I see, and one of the worst ones you can make, is to forget about the mobile version of your website.
If you didn't know already, it's important to mention over half of the internet traffic you get will most likely be on mobile devices. Many users these days look up websites on their cellphone for convenience, or stumble across advertisements for websites while using social media on their phone. This means it's extremely important to ensure these website viewers also have a great experience when visiting your website.
When you forget to make sure the website works on phones and tablets, you are cutting off half your customer base. Make sure to make any necessary changes in layout, font sizes, and images when designing to ensure the mobile site version is accessible, easy to navigate, and no design elements are breaking. This ensures your phone users can have just as good an experience as your desktop ones!
Conclusion
These are just a few of many common website mistakes made throughout the internet. It's easy to fall into these patterns, so don't worry if anything in this list applied to you! Hopefully now that you know what is holding you back, you can go fix your website and make it more effective and efficient than ever before. If you'd like to procrastinate, I understand. You can just improve my bounce/retaining rates by clicking on a surprise article here!
Thanks for reading,
Meagan
