Five Common Web Design Mistakes That Should Not Be On Your Website
1. Using tables for web design
HTML tables used to create page layouts are under no circumstance acceptable in modern web design. Using them will show your visitors that you are not familiar with the latest technology in web development and will make your website look ancient.
If you want a professional look for your website and aim to ensure a pleasant navigation for your visitors, CSS formatting style is the solution. Not only is it faster and more reliable, but it is also very easy to have the HTML integrated in CSS, as it enables a quick separation of your HTML content.
2. Browser incompatibility
When you create a website, you must keep in mind that there are a multitude of browsers, and each of them interprets HTML/CSS code differently. This is why you need to make sure that your website can be viewed at its best no matter what browser or platform (Mac or PC) your visitors are using. Having a cross-browser compatible website is a must in order for you not to lose visitors over the long term.
3. Overloading the site
Even though you might be tempted to place multiple interactive elements on your website, such as pictures, videos and various widgets, this is highly discouraged. Instead of communicating more information, you will get the exact opposite effect.
Your visitors will be overloaded with information and, in the end, will never return to your website. Therefore, try to keep your design as simple as possible. Keep only the very important information on your website and also make sure that you avoid very large portions of text.
4. Not changing the colors of visited links
First, you should make sure that your links are visible. Your visitors must be able to easily distinguish a clickable link from plain text. Choosing to have your links colored with the standard blue color is the easiest way (unless, of course, your whole site is blue).
In order to ensure the maximum of usability for your website, implement links that, after clicking, change their color. This way, your visitors will know which portions of the website they already visited.
5. Ignoring your target audience
When creating a website, take time to reflect on the following issues: Is the content relevant? Is it easy to navigate? Do people realize instantly what the website is about? Keep in mind the so-called “five seconds rule”, which states that if your visitors cannot realize in the first five seconds what you are trying to communicate to them, they never will.
The best way to make sure that you are providing relevant information to your target audience is to ask yourself what you would like to read about the addressed issue and how would you like to have that information structured.
This way, you can better understand what your target audience expects from you!
Tags: attractive design, cross-browser compatibility, HTML/CSS, tableless HTML, website usability
Nice article — Well said and to the point. I took a web design class earlier this year (for my communications degree)and you stated essentially what my professor did in the first week of the semester. To pass the course we had to check our sites on multiple browsers (and different versions of those browsers), plus validate all of our HTML and CSS, which is a nice way to make sure your fundamentals are good.
Too many people don’t pay attention to the basics, and they don’t realize how much it shows.
Thanks!
Hello!
Thank you for supplying some creative information on the topic from your expertise.
I am saving your website and for sure definitely check back often.
Great read thanks
Thanks for sharing. The topic Five Common Web Design Mistakes That Should Not Be On Your Website | Blog CodeMyImage was just what I was looking for. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for this cool post. It helps to get some helpful advice from an informed person.