Every web designer know that you can not get away with a slow loading website that has hard to read text on it and is harder to navigate. Still, we continue to come across such website during our day to day browsing sessions. Did you know why? Because web designers continue to make the same mistakes again and again. They don’t look at the latest web design trends which is why their website looks dated. What’s worse is the fact that some of them don’t even realize it that they are committing blunders that would cost them heavily.
In this article, you will learn about some of the biggest sins in web design no web designer should ever commit.
1.Neglecting Performance
Imagine visiting a website that takes ages to load. With our attention span and patience level at all time low, no one would wait for even few seconds for your website to load. Unfortunately, you have not made performance a priority from the beginning which is why your website must face such issues.
People want instantaneous response these days and if your website fails to deliver that, they will look for alternatives and they have many alternatives to look up to. That is why most businesses struggle to make money online and monetize their website fully. As a business, your focus should be delivering blazing fast performance and buttery smooth responsiveness to your users, so they can get the information they are looking for quickly and efficiently.
2.Text Color and Size
Have you ever come across a website with a text color or size that makes it hard for you to read? Is the background color of that website making it difficult for you to read the text? I am sure the answer to both these questions is yes because we all come across such websites. The easiest rule for boosting your readability is to use contrasting colors.
Let’s say your website has a white background so you should use a black color for text instead of a grey. Avoid using long paragraphs as it will make your web page look text heavy. Break down large paragraphs into small paragraphs. Use bullet points to make it easy for users to skim the content on your webpage. This will make it easy for your website visitors to read the text on your website.
3.Using Modals
Modals is a user experience nightmare. Unfortunately, the use of modals in web designs have slowly increased. As a result, we are seeing elements that hinders the user experience such as annoying pop ups. Things can get even worse if you are viewing the same web page on mobile devices.
Adrian Egger thinks that you should look at alternatives instead of using modals. Here is what he had to say, “Modals are the crutch of the inarticulate designer and developer.” Use expanding element such as a non-modal dialog instead of modal.
4.Using a Wrong Framework
Just because a framework is popular does not mean that you should use it. Many web designers make this mistake and jump on the bandwagon without realizing that it is the right choice for their needs. Each framework is different and has its advantages and disadvantages and without knowing the pros and cons of each, you can not make the right choice.
5.Ignoring The users
One mistake that the best web design company never make is that they never ignore the user. In fact, successful web designers and web design agencies create web design based on the user. They develop use cases and think about how users will interact with your website. They consider user preferences and give users what they are looking for, laying a foundation for web design that users fall in love with.
On the other hand, if you ignore the user when creating web design, even if your web design is functional and eye catching, it won’t help your business one bit. You should always give priority to your users and their preference when creating web designs.
<h2″>6.Poorly optimized Images
Yes, you have loaded the website with all the visual bells and whistles and eye candy and your website looks great too. You forgot to optimize images and videos. As a result, all the visual eye candy brings your website down to its knees. The slow loading times and poor user experience can put off many users despite your website great looks. Optimize images and videos on your website to make sure it loads faster even on slower internet connections. This will go a long way in delivering a better user experience to your website visitors.
Which is the biggest sin you have ever committed when creating websites?
Author Bio:
Irfan Ak is a digital marketing manager at Branex & Taskque & a guest blogger on various websites.