18
Sep
Image source:Craigsoup
- Content that’s not written for the web i.e., non-scannable text.
- Page titles with low search engine visibility, think key words in a combination that entices.
- Content that looks like an advertisement or content that is an advertisement, I don’t care which books on Amazon you enjoy, they wouldn’t be listed on your site if you weren’t making affiliate money from them.
- In-your-face advertising i.e., blocks of AdSense that push your real content below the fold/scroll.
- Violating design conventions - see CRAP Design.
- Opening new browser windows. Let the users decide, they will come back if your content is good.
- Non-standard links,
hyperlinks should be underlined, hyperlinks should be obvious, there’s no reason to confuse novice users. Alsostrikethroughis being used to indicate a visited link - this is silly and should be avoided as it can be easily confused with corrections which is what strikethrough should be use for. - Over using Flash, Flash requires a plug-in, don’t use it unless it actually provides functionality which you cannot gain through other means.
- Browser incompatibility, check what your pages look like on other browsers.
- Scrolling text, marquees, and constantly running animations.
- Complex URLs, they are not good for search engine hits or usability. Avoid.
- Long scrolling pages, break it up, use excerpts if you have to.
- Poor navigation. Try and find some old content on your site. Is it easy?
- Overly long download times. Use Photoshop or other applications to optimize images for the net. Read points 12 and 8 again.
- Too many animations. They are hard on the eye. If you must use them, use for emphasis.
Even in an ever changing environment, such as the net, you must always consider the user experience before and above everything else.
15 Responses to “15 Common Web Design Mistakes That You Should Avoid”
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Thanks for the tips!
They’re great!
I agree with them all but 12. It really bugs me when I go to a site to read an article and have to go through more than one page to get it all. Newspaper sites are particularly notorious for this. Always makes me think they’re just trying to get more ads in front of me.
Of course, absurdly long scrolling pages are bad, too. There is a happy medium.
Hi Niall - I agree with what you are saying, I guess I was aiming mostly at those absurdly long pages…i.e. blog front pages that have 15-20 recent posts in full, and a minute after landing on the site the page is still loading. Thanks for the input.
Thanks for the reply, Simon. It’s all about the context, I guess.
Great site by the way, I’ll be checking back often.
All good tips; but I have to point this out:
7. Non-standard links, hyperlinks should be underlined, there’s no reason to confuse novice users.
Interesting that a site which does not underline its links would point this out.
Very good point Brian, they do underline on mouse over and I think it is still clear that they are hyperlinks…but kind of a slip up on my part…the intent of that point is the suggest that it should be clear what words are hyperlinks, and I think it is clear which words are hyperlinks. Thanks for the comment.
Oh you’re absolutely correct–links are quite obvious on this site–I just had to point out that little nugget of irony.
“hyperlinks should be underlined”
This web site’s hyperlinks are not underlined.
It is very ironic.
“Content that’s not written for the web i.e., non-scannable text.”
That depends on the purpose of the text, doesn’t it? Sooner or later, particularly on B2B sites or sites that sell big-ticket items, people want detail, lots of detail. Or, say, news articles or short stories or tutorials or research … so this rule is kind of silly, I think. Maybe it could be a rule for sites targeted at ADHD 20-year-olds?
Hi Lee, I agree that detail is important, however, when I say the content must be scanable, I don’t mean it must be brief, I mean it must be formatted in such a way that makes it easy to scan through and find key information .i.e., sub headings, good structure, and writing with purpose. But I see your point and where you are coming from, I just think it is important to have structure to good Internet writing. Thanks for your input.
Great article.. i will saved it for futures read. Anyway. It is a great if your website if they are categories by headings as it is very useful, it’s like in newspaper.. that there are parts that we have to consider.