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| 10 Big Web Design Mistakes To Avoid |
By:
Steven Wanless |
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Web design is a new frontier for the modern business. While it presents endless opportunity to reach people all across the globe, it also is full of traps and missteps that could easily derail even the best-laid plans for a successful online business.
The field and its' technology is so new that there are rules and guidelines that change and emerge with great frequency, and so it's difficult to keep up, but dangerous to fall behind. A simple list of some of the most common web design mistakes might help you save money and time in implementing your vision for your website.
A list of the top ten don'ts of web design would likely include many of the following, which should be avoided for anyone looking for an easy to manage website which is successful in its' goals:
1. Poor Proofreading - Mistakes in grammar, syntax, and word choice are thoroughly unattractive, even in today's more grammatically permissive times. Carelessness in content could leave people wondering what other corners are cut at this business, and it gives the impression of poor professionalism. A mistake or two is inevitable, but a page riddled with mistakes of this nature can't help but make the whole effort look amateurish.
2. Copied Content - With content mills and other nefarious outlets churning out more and more generic copy, the instances of content being stolen or reposted without due credit are legion. A lack of citation not only opens up a business to possible litigation, but also shows a lack of respect for intellectual property and again seems to be a calling card of a lazy or possibly dishonest organization.
3. Poor Website Testing - Different internet browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Firefox all have different ways of encoding the HTML that comprises nearly all websites. So designing or testing a website across different browsers or machines could lead to problems with formatting, which can easily make your site look disorganized and poorly designed.
4. Too Many Colors/Designs - While color can make a page visually striking and memorable, a cacophony of colors and designs can leave your site looking far too busy and tacky for the tastes of your demographic. Make sure nothing about your design interferes with actual functionality, and be sure to make sure your colors don't obstruct the readability of the text.
5. Music of any Kind - In the early days of the internet, websites were often designed with music files that would play songs coded into the page. MySpace was a popular example of a page that let each user set a kind of "theme song" that would play when the page was visited. Practically speaking, this is incredibly annoying or startling as sound is not the norm on most websites. Also, if the user is running another music program this sound will begin clashing with whatever the user is playing. Also music brings up licensing and permission rights, both of which are far bigger problems than a great tune is worth.
6. Too Many Cooks - In many of today's startups, groups of people are working in concert to build businesses. Too many hands editing, proofing, and designing a website makes for a bloated and time-consuming process that requires far more energy and coordination than a more simplified approach. A limited number of people should be working on the design, and others can work on marketing, logistics or any of the other feats of work that are necessary to get a business off the ground.
7. No Advertising - Without a budget for advertising, even a great website will likely sit undetected in the infinite space of the internet, awaiting visitors. Search engine optimization is needed, as is promotions on social networking sites and other venues. Marketing is costly and time-consuming, but it's necessary if you want more than the people who worked on the site to know of its' existence.
8. Cramming your Meta Data - While optimization is important, stuffing far too many words into your meta data will not help people connect to your site. Many search engines discourage this practice and might ban your website if you're suspected of over-tagging, which would be the exact opposite of your intended goal. Those keywords at the bottom of the page seem like a great reel to bring in visitors, but be reasonable with them or it might cost you.
9. Poor Updating - Some of the great websites on the internet built up great followings only to watch them lapse over time as content flowed to a trickle, and then to perhaps none at all. Visitors require fresh content, and if that means specials, promotions, or new copywriting, it all helps to bring people back again and again to see what's new. If information on the site is no longer relevant, then it's time to get up to date.
10. Poor Information Visibility - Problems finding how to contact a representative, or lack of other pertinent data leads to frustrating experiences with websites. You must be sure if you mention the ability to carry through on functionality like booking a room, then users must be able to pull up a calendar or other relevant information to make that feature practicable.
There's much more that's needed to make a great website, but if you want to have one with a chance of thriving, make sure the aforementioned problems aren't all exemplified in your work. The beauty of websites is that with some diligence, it's possible to continually smooth out problems until you get all the kinks out.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4594725
heap domains, and web hosting has opened the internet up to everyone. But before you try to build your company's website on your own you should consider hiring a professional web designer to avoid the embarrassment of making mistakes. Not only can the professionals help your site look better but by using search engine optimization techniques they can help you bring in more customers from the web.
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