10 Website Design Mistakes That Hurt Your Business and Brand
Starting a business is now a matter of days, if not hours. Anyone with a legit idea can launch a business, especially these days when e-commerce is thriving.
However, since operating online doesn’t require having a physical store, you still need to have something that resembles an office. And a website performs that function perfectly.
But make no mistake; although designing a web page isn’t as physically demanding as setting up an office, it still requires a good deal of intellectual capacities. So, how do you ensure your page is captivating and up to date? The following are ten mistakes you want to stay away from at all costs to make your site professional and modern.
Poor visuals
There is a reason the visuals kick off this list of mistakes. They play a critical role in people’s perception of websites. Users tend to like pages with high-quality pictures and dislike low-quality ones. But how do you determine whether your images are good or bad? Well, you don’t. But the more attention you pay to visuals, the higher the chances users will continue to follow your page. Thankfully, it’s not that hard. You can come up with beautiful visuals with free animated graphics by VistaCreate. Plus, make sure to spruce up the visuals, including various types of them.
Mediocre content
Content is king. And although people’s attention span has decreased over the years, they still long for meaningful articles and blogs. Whatever you’re up to, make sure to provide food for thought. Your page isn’t a dumpster where you throw letters now and then. Even if your visuals are great, low-quality content will prevent your page from being visited.
Burdensome navigation
If users can’t find what they look for quickly and easily, the chances that they will ever come back to your site are close to zero. Not only that, but your page will also suffer. Weak navigation will worsen your SEO ranking, thus moving your site to the bottom of Google search. Ensure straightforward navigation in the hamburger menu or alike.
Misused calls to action
Calls to action work wonders, but only when they pop up in the right place. People often misuse CTAs putting them in barely visible spots, and then they wonder why such links don’t work. Even worse, they sometimes scatter such buttons all around the pages, thus only pushing potential customers away.
Unresponsive pages and low speed
Add unresponsiveness and low speed to poor navigation, and you guarantee your website will turn out unusable and horrible. Responsiveness and speed matter enormously these days; even several extra seconds of loading speed can cause an outflow of people. How to fix that? Your web page might be filled with unnecessarily heavy components, hampering the responsiveness and speed. Remove those items ASAP.
Weak brand icon
Given the number of brands entering the market, the question of authenticity has never been as essential as it is today. Companies reach out to qualified designers to create a top-notch brand identity and leave a footprint behind them. If you haven’t given much thought to your brand and its image, it’s the best time to take a step forward and revamp your branding strategy. From a silhouette to a slogan, every branding component must be unparalleled.
Insufficient contact information and social media links
Even if you do online business solely, your web page must contain sufficient information. People are entitled to know your address, phone number, and email. Otherwise, how would they reach you if need be?
Social media networks are potent venues for communicating and doing business, so eschewing them would be a severe blunder. Even if you have profiles on social platforms, make sure they lead to your web page. The latter must also contain links to social media.
Irritating pop-ups
Numerous websites follow the same disastrous path by inserting annoying pop-up windows. While those windows can be effective, they shouldn’t appear one after another, even if they contain messages about discounts and vouchers.
Redundant elements
As said previously, additional items slow down the page’s overall speed. Although this appears to be the main reason for deleting them, keep in mind that redundant elements also spoil the general impression of your page. A plethora of ads, windows, CTAs, and other items will do your page and its reputation no good.
Inadequate SEO approach
Every website owner aspires their page to be on top of Google search. But do they put enough effort to let that happen? Sadly, but no. SEO, or search engine optimization, touches upon a host of elements, from keywords in the paragraphs and images to speed and page’s readability.
It’s vitally important to approach SEO thoroughly. Try to do SEO analysis and tackle the primary requirements to boost your page. But make sure you don’t overdo keywords. Not only will they make your articles unreadable, but they will also negatively influence the site’s ranking.
Recap
No single item might prevent your page from getting the expected numbers. Boosting the website requires a complex approach toward various things. Provided are the most common mistakes brands make unconsciously. These miscalculations result in a page’s reversed success and inadequate attention. Consider omitting the ten mentioned errors or fixing them as soon as possible, and your page will have a high chance of getting to the top of the list.