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Did you realize that the design of your website accounts for 75% of its credibility? If there are numerous website design errors, visitors might think less of your business. Your company will be able to stand out online for the correct reasons if you can avoid making these mistakes when creating a new website or updating an old one.
Not prioritizing accessibility.
Forgetting the importance of responsive design.
Compromising user experience for aesthetics.
Not investing in customization.
Using features that don’t convert.
Having a lack of hierarchy.
- Not giving accessibility top priority.
The worst error in website design is to treat accessibility as an afterthought. The HubSpot Marketing Web Team’s Maria Kelly, the Web Development Manager, lists the following four common accessibility mistakes:
inadequate contrast between colors
Inadequate or absent alternate text for pictures or graphics
Insufficient or absent visual focus markers
ignoring names or labels that are easily available
Too little contrast in color
One accessibility error that is commonly disregarded is color contrast. This error often arises from the fact that businesses develop websites with their brand color palette, which is typically not designed with accessibility in mind.
Inadequate or Missing Alt Text Screen reader users rely on image alt text to explain the meaning of an image or graphic. You are excluding readers who require it in order to browse your website if it is absent or insufficiently describes the image.
Absence or insufficient Visual Focus Indicators
Visitors won’t be able to fully utilize your website without visual focus indications. According to Kelly, “focus indicators typically take the form of outlines around interactive elements like buttons and links.”
Ignoring Labels or Names That Are Accessible
Take into consideration users of assistive technologies if your website uses visuals to deliver information. “The same information should be conveyed using accessible labels for assistive technology when designing pages and components where it is conveyed visually,” advises Kelly.
- Ignoring how crucial responsive design is.
Even without taking into account tablets, mobile devices accounted for more than 58% of all website traffic worldwide in the second quarter of 2022. You run the risk of upsetting visitors and raising your bounce rate if your website isn’t as simple to use on mobile devices as it is on desktop computers.
More than ever, users are accessing websites from a variety of devices, including TVs, laptops, tablets, and phones. Visitors would lose faith and click or tap away from the website if our content appears poorly on any of them, according to Juan Manuel Devia Pinzon, Associate Design Lead at HubSpot. “This is the era of breakpoints!” - Making aesthetics the sacrifice of user experience.
A common mistake in website design that has become more prevalent in recent years is putting aesthetics before functionality. Since the internet has become overly full of mo Over the years, there has been a tremendous growth in new media and design, making success nearly necessary. Sergio Martinez, Design Experience Manager at HubSpot, says, “Unfortunately, this has resulted in a blast of excessive use of design and graphic elements that elevate users’ senses but lack or feel disconnected from the true purpose of a website.” - Not making a customisation investment.
You pass a clothes store with an eye-catching, imaginative window display while strolling around the downtown area. It weaves a story with a backdrop and catchy wording while showcasing a selection of clothing on sale. Then nothing draws your attention when you pass a store with only a few articles of apparel displayed on mannequins in the window.
Consider your website to be the online storefront for your company. It should feel specific to your business and represent your branding. Selecting a cookie-cutter template and not personalizing it is one of the biggest mistakes people make when designing websites.
- Making use of nonconverting features.
Using ineffective features is another frequent mistake. Whatever an element may look like, keep in mind that the effectiveness of your website comes first. Derby says, “Relying on rotating carousels to feature multiple pieces of content at the same level is another common mistake.”
“Innumerable studies have demonstrated that users seldom engage with carousels, especially when using mobile devices where the cost of interaction is elevated.”
- Not having a hierarchy.
When visiting a website, have you ever been unclear about where to direct your attention? If so, it’s likely that the website you visited lacked a hierarchy. “The typography on your website should indicate significance in the same way that a newspaper uses headlines and subheads,” advises Landry.
Having order on your website has a practical as well as aesthetic purpose. According to Martinez, “the way your website’s elements are organized will give it a unified look and feel that directs users to take specific actions, accomplishes its main objective, and ultimately creates a seamless experience.”
- Having a confusing navigation system.
Uncertain navigation is a problem because it can make visitors to your website feel less frustrated when they arrive. Devia Pinzon says that “a smooth transition from first visitor to advocate will be ensured by having a clear navigation and consistency across your multiple touchpoints and user journeys as more and more businesses branch into the digital world, resulting in more crowded and complex content on the website.” - Not explaining your company’s goals clearly enough.
Visitors to your website ought to be able to quickly and easily understand what your business does. What if that image is even a tad fuzzy? You guessed it: users might stop visiting your website.
According to Landry, “a website visitor’s first action upon loading your site is to ascertain whether they are at the intended destination.” Does your website make it obvious what kind of goods or services it provides above the fold?
Your website ought to increase your company’s legitimacy. Redesigning your website is probably necessary if it doesn’t confirm to visitors that they are in the appropriate place and communicate your company’s mission.
How to Correct Typical Errors in Website Design
After going over the most common errors in website design, let’s talk about how to correct them. Not to worry, half the battle is awareness. You can start building a website that incorporates best practices for website design now that you know what to avoid.
- Give importance to accessibility.
Web accessibility, according to Kelly, is “making websites and the information on them accessible to everyone,” thus it’s imperative to get it right when creating a website. “We create usability obstacles for the millions of individuals living with disabilities when we commit these typical accessibility blunders in website designs. Your website isn’t reaching its full potential to satisfy your objectives and commercial demands, even if it appears fantastic, if some actions or content are inaccessible to a portion of users.
Here are a few doable solutions to address the accessibility problems in design.
Make Personas for Different Users Based on Their Needs
ensuring that the design of your website incorporates accessibility and that your personas are inclusive. - Verify that the design of your website is responsive.
You can be confident that visitors to your site will have a flawless experience regardless of how they reach it thanks to responsive web design. Fortunately, creating a flexible website isn’t as hard as it might appear. In fact, if you use a content management system like Content Hub, you can even choose themes that are already optimized for mobile devices. - Strike a balance between a smooth user experience and visual appeal.
We are aware of the consequences when a website prioritizes appearance over functionality. It is feasible to combine a smooth user experience that makes it easy for users to browse through the pages and locate what they’re looking for with an eye-catching design on a successful website. - When designing your website, be deliberate and don’t be scared to use your imagination.
It’s not necessary for your website to have the same style or layout as anything else you see online. Derby says of the space beneath the navigation, “Give some real intentional thought to what should be placed in this highly valuable spot.” - Don’t hide details about features that don’t result in conversions.
Make sure you don’t exclude any important information if you know a feature doesn’t convert or that users ignore it. (Or, even better, do away with it completely.) Make sure you take best practices into account if your company’s website has a carousel. - Ensure that your website follows a hierarchy.
Your website is overwhelming, unclear, and hard to navigate without a hierarchy. On the other hand, a hierarchy makes it obvious to visitors where to look and what to read. Luckily, adding a hierarchy to your website only takes a few simple steps. You should look into website design companies that specialize in hierarchical architecture in contemporary web design to obtain some inspiration. - Make sure the site’s navigation is simple to use.
Your website’s bounce rate may indicate that your navigation isn’t working properly. Consider effective navigation to be essential to a flawless user experience.
According to Martinez, “intuitive navigation guarantees a seamless user experience and supports the user’s journey by offering an easy way to discover information or return to a specific point.” Teams should specify the levels of navigation (preferably limited to three) and the ways in which pages on various levels connect to their parent level in order to ensure this. Additionally, ensure that the navigation functions properly on various screen sizes by verifying that it is labeled correctly to make it easy for users to comprehend, as different screen sizes may act differently.
- Ensure that the copy and design support your company’s mission.
To do this, you’ll use eye-catching language and graphic components. Consider the goal of your website before you start. Are you building an online store where customers may buy products from your business? Or does your website’s main objective serve to enlighten visitors about the services your team offers? Determine the purpose of your website with clarity. Each feature and wording you add to the website should support that goal. If you want to increase audience engagement for your organization, you might need to hire IT services.
Steer clear of common website design errors to increase site credibility.
Avoiding typical website design blunders will increase the legitimacy of your website and provide users with an engaging experience that will entice them to return.
Martinez claims that web design is a team sport that necessitates a circular approach to guarantee strong alignment between teams, stakeholders, and user knowledge. “To make sure your website is heading in the right direction, there’s no better way than testing and iterating, including user research and usability testing.”
