Avoid Common Web Page Design Mistakes While Designing a Website.

In today’s fast paced market, having a unique and compelling website is a necessity rather than an option. This is more so in the case of small and medium businesses, which do not have the necessary resources to compete with the larger and more influential businesses. Websites with sloppy design features are beginning to emerge at an alarming rate. Many business owners design their own websites in order to avoid hiring a web designer. This can be due to anything from efforts to reduce spending to wanting to maintain management of its own marketing campaigns. What they may not realize is that these decisions have consequences that can negatively affect the company’s future reputation.

What happens if a website is not designed well?

For a small or medium scale business, competing on an equal footing with industry leaders is not always possible. Several limitations, like stringent budgets for marketing campaigns, and the inadequacy of funds and resources, prevent small businesses from competing with their larger counterparts. Which is why, for a small business, the website is such a vital component for its branding and marketing success. The look of the website is crucial to make a lasting impression on visitors to a website. A company deficient in this area will prove to be disastrous. A poorly designed website can result in the continuous loss of a company’s customer base.

Common web design mistakes to avoid

Making a website design too flashy:

Many people don’t know the difference between a website and an over-the-top design. A flashy web page design may attract visitors to the site, but care should be taken to help them easily navigate the website and find all the details easily and promptly. Also, a website which is too full of images, texts, and flash images will make a website difficult to navigate and leave its visitors thoroughly confused.

Avoiding ambiguity:

A lot of websites will go the opposite way and put next to no information on their website, which presents visitors with a dull and incomplete message. Although minimalism in design can work well in some cases, it has to be done thoughtfully. The website should provide complete information regarding the company, its products and services, as well as their customer care. The website’s content should answer customer queries or at least direct them to a solution.

Using content ineffectively:

Publishing suitable and good quality content is crucial for getting a good SEO ranking. Apart from being essential for a company’s marketing campaign, the content gives the website visitors information about the company, and provides industry news regarding the products and services. Content should be original, unique and checked for plagiarism. Also, the content should be updated regularly.

Navigation Problems:

Navigation problems are a common problem with many websites. If left unaddressed, they can have terrible consequences for the business. As future customers, first time visitors to your website will expect all the information to be accurate and up-to-date, as well as being easy to navigate. When the navigation of a website is tricky or full of glitches, or if the search bar is difficult to locate, visitors tend to simply move on to another website.

Targeting specific audiences:

Targeting specific audiences is a key factor for the success of many businesses and is even more important when it comes to small or medium scale businesses. The nature, style and layout of the website has significant impact when it comes to attracting a particular customer base. A website can be playful and fun or, it can be highly formal and professional in its tone, depending on the nature of products or services offered.

Placing ads incorrectly:

Allowing ads on your website might be a necessity at times. As they are regarded as one of the main sources of income for blogs, proper attention must be given to the placement and layout of the ads present alongside your content. Too many ads, pop-ups and flash animations, especially the ones with loud noises, can be immensely off-putting. If that does happen, then that can lead to significant losses for the company. Attention should be given to making the pop-up ads easy to close, at the very least.

A good website plays an important role in developing the brand image and marketing strategies of a business – especially a small or medium scale one. Special care must therefore be taken to design it.