5 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Companys New Website
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Avoid these often made, but costly mistakes 1. Confusing Layouts- The biggest mistake you could make when designing your next website is designing a confusing and scattered site with a layout that discourages comfortable viewing. Let me explain.
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Avoid these often made, but costly mistakes
1. Confusing Layouts
The biggest mistake you could make when designing your next website is designing a confusing and scattered site with a layout that discourages comfortable viewing. Let me explain.
I'm sure at some point in your Internet surfing career, you have fallen upon a website that has so many sections that you can actually feel your pulse quicken as you scurry to make sense of the layout and decipher where to begin your reading. I would bet my next paycheck that you probably pushed the back button as quick as you could so you could look at the next site that appeared in your search return.
Your website should be easy to understand. You have about 5 seconds to capture your visitor and set them at ease so they can continue exploring your site. Easy to understand navigation, complimenting colors and text, and logical flow will be your goals when building your next website.
2. Seizure Inducing Websites, Web-Dungeons
Ok, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but it sure feels like a dungeon of torture when you fall upon one of these sites.
Again, looking back at your glorious Internet surfing career, you've probably come across a website that made you dizzy and want to throw-up. Yes... I can actually see the frustration on your face from here!
Many web developers">web developers">web developers, and even some business owners, have the idea that more is better, and even more than that is super-good! They fill the website with flashy ads, larger images scattered across the site with no logical purpose, and even use video (dare I mention those horrible websites that have music in the background?) to "improve" user experience.
The fact of the matter is that these are distracting features and if you were to look at your weblogs you would see people leaving your site after the first 5-10 seconds. Come on, you know as well as anyone that there are millions of websites out there...you can't afford to drive your customers away from your site and directly to your competitor.
3. Self-Serving Ego-Sites
Yes, I made that term up myself. These are the sites that Egyptian pharaohs would have designed for themselves... that is, if they had Internet.
I was recently scouting out my competition and was looking at some work a particular competitor had done for one of their clients. First let me preface that I do not make a habit out of bashing my competition. I'm sure that their client insisted that the website be designed as it was.
The website was for a vacation resort. Before I continue, try to envision how you would build this site, how it should be promoted, and how search engines would view the site (remember, search engines can only read text... not images, video, or flash). On the home page was a huge picture of one of the cabins. The picture took up the entire page and you actually had to scroll down to see anything else. Therein lies the problem. There was nothing else. Below the picture were two buttons; Reservations and For More Info.
At first glance the website is actually very beautiful. The image on the home page had me wanting to take vacation, however the site lacked info, additional pictures, rates, etc. More importantly, the website was designed as such that search engines will simply overlook the page and omit it from search results. If you already knew about the vacation spot it would be easy to look up the website. But what about casual vacation seekers? How are they supposed to find your site? Search engines rely on content to deliver relevant search results, so if your website is all Flash, video, or image with no actual text content, the search engines will view that site as irrelevant and not authoritative. This business owner is MISSING OUT on a ton of potential business (read: revenue).
4. When in Rome, do as the Romans do
As any decent public speaker already knows, your message should address the audience. If you are a doctor and asked to speak to your son's 8th grade class on "Career Day", are you going to explain the significance in detecting irregular neurotransmissions in geriatric Alzheimer's patients? Or would you tone down your speech a bit so your audience could follow along?
That may be an extreme example, however the principal remains the same. Your website needs to communicate in a way that addresses the majority of your potential customers. In some cases industry jargon may be appropriate. Other times it is not.
5. A Penny Saved is Not Always a Penny Earned
Far too often business owners view their website as nothing more than a check-box to be marked through. They see their website as a need to keep up with the "Jones", however they don't view their website as a true asset to their business. Out of sight, out of mind is their attitude toward their website.
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