Website Design can be tricky…
Some of the website design companies in the industry, such as Wix or Squarespace, can make website design sound as easy as dragging a few blocks here or there and adding some colour. There is however a difference between what a normal user can make in a weekend using a drag and drop builder and a web design company. At WebDevBuilders we have seen many different types of designs, some great, some not so great. We want to share some tips on what are common design mistakes that we hope to see eradicated some day! Some of these tips may be obvious to many but they happen often enough that we felt it was worth talking about.
Bad Colour Choices
Colour is interesting. It can be vibrant, eye-catching, soothing and warming when done correctly. When implemented badly… well it’s jarring, uncomfortable and unpleasant. Colour theory is a vast field that involves many different variables from colour psychology to cultural associations and human perception. Your colour choices will often reflect your branding, at least on a well designed website. Most importantly remember that whatever you are designing will need to be readable. Red text on a dark green background is bad. Similarly white text on a bright yellow background is bad. Generally speaking you will want to have your background colour be white – it’s easier to match with colours than almost any other colour. A good designer can make almost any colour work but this is because a good designer understands colour theory.
Not being a Mobile Friendly Design
This is a huge website design mistake. As of 2022 the vast majority of internet users access the internet on a mobile device. In Ireland it currently stands at 95%, or 9 out of every 10 users. If your website does not have a mobile version then you are missing out on a significant potential audience. No one wants to wrestle with a bad site on their mobile device.
Bad Font Choices
Font is the web name for the text that appears on your website. The most widely used and often considered standard font is Arial which is a safe one to stick to. You can use others but we would recommend that you stick to fonts that both enhance your branding while also stay legible. Font Size is also important. If your font is so small that no one can read it then why is it even there? On the flip side, if your font is so large that there is excessive scrolling needed, this is also poor.
Content is easy to find on your Website
The entire point of your website is to advertise your business and create brand awareness. Part of this is ensuring that your products/services are easy to find on your website. It might sound cool to bury a product page inside an image but if it’s not apparent that this is what your buyers are supposed to click on, then this cool design can lose you business. When designing your website always put yourself in your customers position and ask “How would I find the product”, and design accordingly.
Poor SEO Implementation (Or None!)
This is the biggest website design mistake that a business can make. SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, should be at the forefront of your thoughts when designing a website. SEO works best when it is integrated from the beginning, rather than added later. Writing good quality SEO friendly content is important for the lifeline of any business. Take out advice and ensure that when you, or your web design company is creating your website, that SEO is first and foremost.
Conclusion
To summarise, the average internet user makes up their mind within 10 seconds of opening your website. You have 10 seconds to make a good first impression and show this user that your site is worth staying on. Make those 10 seconds count. When WebDevBuilders create a website we strive to ensure this. We avoid these website design mistakes and create the website that you and your business needs to be successful.
WebDevBuilders
https://www.webdevbuilders.ie/
