This post is completely written from the user's perspective; therefore you will not find much technical input on it.
Because of my job as Marketing Director of a Web Development Company, I have to check out hundreds of different websites daily, keep up with trends and use every single website that comes in handy, honestly it is impressive how I still find horrifying web design with no usability guides whatsoever. What you will read next is a quick list of "please don't do it's" that I have come across with; I hope that you not only enjoy them, but also learn from it:
1. Your website is in fact a type of advertising; people will come back just because of the way it looks, putting your contact button or link or information where people can't really access it at first sight is a terrible mistake.
2. Do not force users to use Outlook or Thunderbird (or anything related for that matter). Believe it or not, not everybody uses those services and contacting you becomes a hassle; either place your email address visible or have a contact form available (why not both).
3. We all have free email services such as Gmail or Live, and they are useful, but if your website is for your business, having one of those email addresses placed as your main contact is unprofessional and makes people wonder how serious your business is: Always have an email address with the same domain name as your site.
4. We all love colors, but people that spend hours in front of a computer know that color palettes were created for a reason. When you design a website, pick a color palette and stick to it, otherwise visitors will just run the hell out of your site from all the visual noise.
5. This one might sound obvious, but trust me, hundreds of people make this mistake: if your business is ran in this era: you need an email address.
6. Link building is your friend if you do it wisely; there is no need to include every single website you know, just network. Link exchanges are a great way to gain exposure and also it proves that your website is trust worthy
7. Content is key; people are lazy readers. They will not read 2000 words of content, so make sure you keep it short, clear and simple, no more than 500 words on a page. Make sure you use your keywords and check your grammar. Always check your grammar.
8. Menu tabs need to be useful. Only keep the ones you need, and those that communicate nothing need to go.
9. This one is VERY important: I don't know who came up with the idea but it sucks. Do not put music on your website unless you are a musician. It is intrusive, usually very loud and scares people away.
10. Add buttons to your social networking profiles. The key to succeed is to be real, be accessible and when people like what you offer they like to follow you. Make it easier for them to do so.
What other horrifying mistakes have you found on web design?
Because of my job as Marketing Director of a Web Development Company, I have to check out hundreds of different websites daily, keep up with trends and use every single website that comes in handy, honestly it is impressive how I still find horrifying web design with no usability guides whatsoever. What you will read next is a quick list of "please don't do it's" that I have come across with; I hope that you not only enjoy them, but also learn from it:
1. Your website is in fact a type of advertising; people will come back just because of the way it looks, putting your contact button or link or information where people can't really access it at first sight is a terrible mistake.
2. Do not force users to use Outlook or Thunderbird (or anything related for that matter). Believe it or not, not everybody uses those services and contacting you becomes a hassle; either place your email address visible or have a contact form available (why not both).
3. We all have free email services such as Gmail or Live, and they are useful, but if your website is for your business, having one of those email addresses placed as your main contact is unprofessional and makes people wonder how serious your business is: Always have an email address with the same domain name as your site.
4. We all love colors, but people that spend hours in front of a computer know that color palettes were created for a reason. When you design a website, pick a color palette and stick to it, otherwise visitors will just run the hell out of your site from all the visual noise.
5. This one might sound obvious, but trust me, hundreds of people make this mistake: if your business is ran in this era: you need an email address.
6. Link building is your friend if you do it wisely; there is no need to include every single website you know, just network. Link exchanges are a great way to gain exposure and also it proves that your website is trust worthy
7. Content is key; people are lazy readers. They will not read 2000 words of content, so make sure you keep it short, clear and simple, no more than 500 words on a page. Make sure you use your keywords and check your grammar. Always check your grammar.
8. Menu tabs need to be useful. Only keep the ones you need, and those that communicate nothing need to go.
9. This one is VERY important: I don't know who came up with the idea but it sucks. Do not put music on your website unless you are a musician. It is intrusive, usually very loud and scares people away.
10. Add buttons to your social networking profiles. The key to succeed is to be real, be accessible and when people like what you offer they like to follow you. Make it easier for them to do so.
What other horrifying mistakes have you found on web design?
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