For this blog, our SEO team conducted extensive research on over 200 websites and compiled a list of the 10 most common website design mistakes to avoid.
Let’s get started!
In the virtual world, your website is your digital store. Just like a physical shop, it must be attractive, offer a pleasant experience and be enticing enough to persuade the customer to hit that “Buy Now” tab! However, it is easier said than done. In reality, most businesses suffer due to a poorly designed website.
A poorly developed website can do much harm to your business; it will compel the visitors to bounce back, and the CTR and retention rate will also suffer. Together, they will negatively impact the sales and profit of your business. Your business will be sidelined by your competitors with much better websites in no time. Sounds a little horrifying, right?
That’s why an excellently designed website is a must for any online business!
Ever heard of the famous saying that it’s better to learn from other’s mistakes? With this rationale, in today’s blog, we have enlisted some common web designing mistakes so that you avoid those while designing your website!
Not Optimising the Website for Mobile
One report by Statista suggested that by the end of 2023, India will have a billion plus smartphone users!
With the mass availability of budget-friendly smartphones and internet plans, India is moving towards digitalisation at a faster pace. Gone are the days when we used to check dictionaries for learning certain words, cookbooks for recipes or even newspapers for news. Today, for our every query, we have a one-stop solution, Google. Moreover, most of the searches on Google are done through smartphones. Thus, even Google considers mobile-friendliness as one of its crucial ranking factors.
It’s pretty clear that having a mobile-friendly website in this era is a must! As an online business, it is imperative for you to ensure that your website is adaptable to various devices and offers an excellent experience regardless of the device.
Having a Slow Loading Time
There’s a 5-second rule for website loading that says if your website does not load within 5 seconds, it will have a huge bounce rate. Thus, having a prompt website is a must-have rule to survive in the digital space.
How do you check your website’s loading speed? There are a bunch of tools such as Google PageSpeed, Sitechecker, GTmetrix, etc.
If you have a poor loading speed, you may try downsizing the images on your website, utilising caching, trimming bulky codes, and removing unnecessary plugins. Moreover, you can even try using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).
Wondering what CDNs are? Not anymore! Check out our informative blog on CDNs and modernize your website.
Terrible Navigation
Terrible navigation can frustrate the user, they might lose track and find it difficult to locate what they want. Result? They’ll abandon the website and turn to your competitors.
If you do not want this to happen, have clear and proper navigation. The menu bar and search bar must be easy to locate and use. Similarly, you can offer voice search and make it clearly visible to your audience.
All in all, structure your website in a way that even if you have thousands of categories of products, it takes not more than a few seconds to find one. This is true for all websites however, for eCommerce ones it is a MUST.
If you have an existing eCommerce website or are planning to create one, take the help of our expert eCommerce web development services and sit back and relax while we work on your digital store!
Poor Images
When it comes to making your website visually attractive, colours, images, and graphics come in handy. However, a lot of people make the mistake of placing irrelevant and poor-quality royalty-free images on their websites.
This is a big NO-NO. Here are some image SEO tips from our Team.
Why?
Because they can do more harm than good. Sometimes they might be so detached from the content of the website that the customers will find it unnecessary or confusing whereas at other times they may take the entire space overshadowing the CTA. Thus, balancing is crucial.
Usually, original, minimalistic and good-quality aesthetic images go a long way when it comes to designing a website. However, if you’re trying bold colours, it’s better to conduct A/B testing and generate a few reviews before going ahead. This is what we call ‘split testing’. Also, always ensure that the CTA is not overshadowed by images.
Poor CTA
Always remember, on a website, every word matters. You don’t want to fill the website with unnecessary or repetitive text. Instead, your website, particularly your home page and about page must give a brief of your business and tell your customers how you can help them. Thus, web copywriting is a skill that must be mastered.
(Brownie Point: We have already written an elaborated blog on website copywriting, its benefits, and some tips to improve the same. You can check it out here!)
One important component of web copywriting is CTA. A clear, crisp CTA that serves the purpose of your page is a must. When it comes to web designing, your CTA must be bold, easy to locate, and be the centre of attention.
Making Contact Information Hard to Find
Let’s take two examples here:
If you pay a little attention, you’ll notice that the first image does not have a “contact us” tab on top. If a customer is in a hurry and doesn’t have time to browse through the entire menu, s/he’ll have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find Monginis’s contact details.
On the other hand, Merwan’s have offered their contact information on the top right of their landing page. Thus, a customer can simply contact them and make the purchase.
Simply put, making contact information easily available to your audience is a must!
Owning an Unsecured Website
With the passage of the Digital Data Protection Bill (2023), it is imperative for data fiduciaries to take security measures so as to avoid unauthorised data access or leaks on their websites.
Thus, investing in an SSL Certificate is a must for any online business. An SSL Certificate will encrypt the data shared by your customers to you (such as contact details, address, and credit/debit card details) and protect it from cybercriminals.
There’s no doubt that website development is a technical process and unless you take professional help, it is very difficult to make a sound website. If you’re having trouble with your website or want to develop it from scratch, contact us NOW. Our experienced and expert web developers are ready to give wings to your business!
Using Disruptive Popups
Have a look at these:
These are a screenshot from a prominent edTech company BYJU’s. On almost every page, if you scroll a little bit, you’ll be bombarded with a popup. At times it is very unpleasant, as when you’re focusing on educational content and suddenly boom you get a popup of becoming an IAS.
There is no doubt that pop-ups are one the cost-effective ways of bringing higher ROI to the table however, they must be used with caution.
They must be put after a user has spent a minute or so on your website and has scrolled to the bottom. This indicates that the user likes your content and thus might be further interested in seeing what you have to offer.
Not Including Favicons
If you don’t have a favicon, you’re missing out on one of the most important branding elements of your website.
Simply put, favicons are 16×16 pixel icons that are unique to your website. It helps users identify your website. Remember, favicon may or may not be your brand logo. For instance, check these out:
Almost every well-designed website has a favicon, so don’t miss out on it.
Poor Use of Content
Content is basically what you put on your website for your users. It may be written content or images, testimonials, short videos, etc.
Thus, while designing your website, instead of focusing on including every other form of content to make your web appealing, stick to a few that suit your business, make sure it’s visible and readable with proper fonts and white spaces, etc.
Bottom Line
Your website is the most important business asset, hence, you must make it impactful to create a lasting first impression. For that to happen, you need to avoid these website development and design mistakes.
When developing a website, keep your business goals and target audience in mind. It is always important to prioritise functionality and usability over aesthetics.
If you are looking for a website development company in Mumbai, we’re just one click away! Contact Us Today and Give Wings to Your Business.
