Website is the backbone or we can say act as the front door of every business. Having a unique, compelling, and research-based website design can contribute to making your business successfully online. Whereas a monotonous and poor website can damage business reputation which can result in loss of customer and revenue. So before you start creating a brand new website or redesigning your existing website it’s important for every business to be aware of various website design mistakes that they can avoid in 2021.
Most of the business look to work with experienced WordPress web design company is because their expertise helps in creating an error-free website that performs well in every aspect. If you are looking to create one then it’s essential to identify some of the common website design mistakes that most designers and businesses commit.
If you are scrolling the internet to find the answer for the same then you have landed on the right article where we are going to highlight some of the common mistakes committed by most businesses while creating their website. Apart from that, we are also going to highlight some of the important points in why businesses need to have a good website design. So make sure you stick to the end of this article to discover some of the unknown facts.
Table Of Content:
- An overview of website design mistakes
- Why is it important to have a good website design?
- Website Design Mistakes To Avoid In 2021
- Conclusion
An overview of website design mistakes
Today most of the businesses and websites around struggle when it comes to creating a conversion-centric and revenue-generating website design. Yes, the website design you create and offer to your prospects should be appealing but should also help you in driving more revenue. Web design is the process that is more focused on conceptualizing, strategizing, and delivering the information related to a business and its product/services in an appealing layout.
A well-designed website has the potential to perform well in every environment and can also help you to grow in the competitive marketplace. But a small mistake in the design can cause serious harm to your website traffic as well as conversion. Thet is the reason why every website should look to create a flawless design that offers a great impression about your website and encourages site visitors to perform the desired action.
Most of the website today is focused on creating and offering appealing design to their audience but today it’s not only about the design. The conversion rate is dependent on multiple factors like color, CTA, visual elements, and more. So it’s essential for every business and website to know mistakes that they can avoid to improve your website traffic as well as conversion.
Mainly the small business that prefers to hire a freelancer or opt for the DIY option commits these types of website design mistakes that affect their conversion as well revenue. That is the reason why it’s recommended to hire a highly experinced website design company for your website and business.
During the COVID19 pandemic, people have visited and scrolled multiple websites so the expectation of the user has become high and if you fail to meet their expectations then it could result in a higher bounce rate, cart abandonment, and more. Remember website design is meant to offer its viewer an unforgettable experience. The form and function combined should be able to offer a web design that enhances user experience and makes the website navigating more enjoyable, usable, and most importantly interesting.
So if you are looking to engage your site visitors, increase website traffic, leads and conversion then it’s essential to offer an attractive and conversion-centric website design to your site visitors. But before you start creating or redesigning your existing website is essential to identify the website design mistake committed by most of the business. So, below we are going to highlight some of the common website design mistakes.
Why is it important to have a good website design?
Before you start exploring different types of website design mistakes that you can avoid in 2021 let’s take a look at why today is essential for every business to have a good website design. Before purchasing any product or services users conduct in-depth online research to identify more about the product/services and about the business. So the website you offer will play a major role in users’ purchase decisions. If a user needs any information related to a product or service then the first thing they do is open Google and type in their query.
If the user visiting your website is failing to access the element, navigation and more then it will create a bad impression about your website as well as your business. So let’s take a look at some of the reason why your business needs a good website design:
1. Enhances the trust and brand consistency
In the beginning, we have mentioned that your website will act as the front door of your business so the design you offer will determine how your prospects will judge the integrity of your beds, product, and business. Most of the successful websites on the internet focus on promoting trust which leads to better traffic and conversion. On the other hand, running outdated and unprofessional websites can increase your site visitor’s doubt about your product and brand which will result in a high bounce rate and cart abandonment.
Today with the increase in the number of internet-related malicious activities every user wished to increase with website and online buying on whom they can trust. The reason why most people don’t hesitate to interact with top brands is that they are able to recognize it in their logo color, or style. That is the reason why it’s essential for every website and online business to focus on maintaining brand consistency by selecting the right set of colors, logos, and more. This way you will be able to make your website and business easily recognizable.
When it comes to maintaining consistency then the outline, text, and other styles you use in your website should be consistent throughout your web pages. If all pages in your website highlight the same design the people will start relating with it and if they come across anything similar then your barn and business will be recognizable. That is the reason why it’s said to maintain consistency so that it helps in enhancing your brand and website trust.
If you are looking to improve your website credibility then it’s recommended to make your website accessible to your audience. To create one make sure you go through our article on How To Make website Design More Accessible? 10 Proven Tips To Follow In 2021
2. Act as your business first impression
Today when every shopper, as well as business, is shifting to online platforms it has become essential for every business to have a good website design. Because the website design of your offer helps your prospects get the first impression of your business and brand. Just by looking at your design, your potential customer might start forming different opinions about your business, product, company, and more. Whether the opinion they are forming is positive or negative is totally dependent on your design.
That is the reason why today every website should focus on creating a positive experience that will directly help you to create a positive impression about your brand and business. When it comes to creating a lasting positive effect on your prospects there are few things that you can consider like offering an appealing, user-friendly, and highly responsive website that allows users to check the different elements for your website and navigate through different pages in your website.
An old-fashioned design with an unattractive appearance can drive users away from your website and also create a negative impression about your brand, business, and products. So if you don’t want to end up losing your potential customers to your prospects then it’s recommended to create a lasting impression with a good website design.
If you are looking to know more about how to create the most attractive and converting website design then it’s recommended to cobalt with an experienced WordPress web design company for your business.
3. Helps in improving website usability
The website design you offer plays a crucial role in determining how easy it will be for your site visitor to find the information they are looking for on your website. A good website design allows site visitors to find information quickly and easily. If your website is failing to do that then it can frustrate your site visitors which can directly affect your online reputation. Even if your website design is attractive and functions perfectly then the bad design can drive users away from your website.
So when you start designing your website your goal should be to put the primary information related to your business and product in the main navigation. Apart from that, you can also add the phone number and other contact-related information in the top right corner of your website. So when it comes to a good website design you need to focus on improving website usability which will result in better traffic and conversion.
4. Helps in easing navigation
A good website design is not only limited to improving your website reputation or usability but also contributes toward easing your website navigation. Having a high-quality design helps in improving your website navigation which is needed if you are looking to drive more traffic and conversion on your website. When it comes to navigating most of the designers make use of hick’s law that means the amount of time in making decisions is directly proportional to the number of choices. That means the more options you add to your website navigating the user decision-making time will also start increasing.
When a highly experienced website designer creates your website they keep hicks law as their first priority. Their goal is to simplify or we can say reduce the number of options available on your website so that users are able to make their decision faster and quicker. Try reducing the number of options to less than five. If you are running an ecommerce website then try to make the navigation more effective by categorizing it more appropriately or you can also take the help of an experienced WordPress website design company to build the right layout of your ecommerce website.
5. Helps in improving website loading speed
A good website design is not only limited to offering easy navigation but can also help in improving your website load time on all devices. Most of the time website load speed becomes the primary reason for bounce rate and cart abandonment. Whether your users are opening your website from mobile devices or from tablets or desktops the elements inside your page should be quickly accessible. Because a small difference in website load speed can cost you hundreds and thousands of traffic.
The page load time is very much dependent on the elements you use inside your website and also the website code. If you add too many visual elements of huge size then it will automatically slow your website loading speed. When it comes to website conversion then the loading speed will play a crucial role in grabbing user’s attention and converting them into paying customers. On the other hand, if your website and its web pages take more than 3 seconds to load then the user may leave your website and bounce to your competitor’s website.
So having a good website design can help you to improve your website speed which may result in better traffic and conversion. However, if you are looking to know more about how you can improve your website speed then make sure to check our blog on Speed Up WordPress Website Loading Time Using 13 Proven Ways In 2021
6. Helps in reducing bounce rate
If you are running a website or planning to create one then you must be familiar with the term Bounce rate. One of the most hated terms by every marketer and business refers to the total percentage of site visitors who visited a particular website and left it without checking other pages or within a short period of time. Having a good website design with streamlined navigating and faster-loading speed will help in making the design more effective and reduce the website bounce rate.
A well-designed website means users will show interest in engaging website design, navigation, content, and other elements inside your website which will automatically reduce the bounce rate. If users start to spend more time on your website then it will automatically reduce the bounce rate which means users are more likely to spend time opening different pages on your website, exploring different products and information which will encourage them to make a purchase from your store. So having a good website design results in a lower bounce rate.
7. Helps in improving your website conversion
Website speed optimization and lower bounces rate are very important if you want to convert your site visitors into paying customers. Having a good website design for your business helps your prospects to engage with the information and other elements in website design which results in better conversion. Not only that, but a good website design allows you to control the user’s eyes which helps you to direct them to exactly where they should be on your website.
You can take your users to the offer page and from there directly on the product page where they can perform the desired action. With a good design, you will be able to help your new as well as an existing customer to discover different elements, buttons, and other clickable elements in your website design. Once your site visitor starts connecting with your website and business then they will not hesitate to perform the desired action which can be only achieved with a great website design.
If you need further assistance on how you can improve your website conversion and ROI by 710% then you can consult with an experienced website design company for your website and business.
8. Get access to a responsive website
Not to mention but today when more and more users are trying to access the website design for their mobile devices it’s essential for every website to have a mobile-friendly design for their website. A good website design allows you to have a highly responsive website design that can load on all types of screens including mobile devices, tablets, and desktops. Whether you are aware or not but the majority of the search happens through mobile devices so if your website is not responsive on mobile devices then you might end up losing a lot of customers to your competitor’s business.
Because today people don’t wait long for a website to load, that is the reason why Google has started to push the mobile-first approach. According to that, every website needs to be mobile responsive if you are looking to stay relevant and get found on the search engine result page. Apart from that the importance of mobile responsiveness also varies depending on the industry and niche. For example, if your business is into entertainment, news and media then it’s essential for you to keep your website and every small element inside your website design responsive.
So a website design can help you gain your audience’s trust and create a strong online reputation by offering you a responsive design that loads on every device. If you are looking to create a highlight responsive website that drives more traffic and sales on your website then it’s recommended to consult with an experienced WordPress website design company for your business.
9. Offer an edge over your competitors
A good website design helps you to offer the best website navigation, fast loading website, and a highly responsive website design. All these contribute toward making a strong online presence that gives you an edge over your competitor’s website and business. If you are someone starting with huge competitors out there then you might get discouraged a number of times if you don’t have a good website design. Yes, when it comes to authority your website might need some time to develop thet but with the help of an experienced website design company your website and business can compete with other top-performing businesses in the same niche.
If you are looking to outperform your competitor and drive more customers to your website then you must ensure that your website design is better than your competitor’s website. You need to identify what elements, features, services, and more can separate your website and business from your competitors, and depending on that you need to highlight it on your website. For more information on how you can separate your website and business from your competitors we recommend you get in touch with an experienced website design company for your business.
By now you must be aware of why your website and business need a good website design and how it can be used in different ways. Next, we are going to highlight some of the common mistakes committed by most website design companies. If you plan to create a new website or redesign your existing website then going through the below tips will help you to eliminate those mistakes.
Website Design Mistakes To Avoid In 2021
Today every website focuses on knowing about different website design tips that can help them to improve their website traffic and conversion. But most of the time these tips don’t work because of the other flaws present in your website design. So, if you are looking to increase your website traffic, leads and sales then you need to avoid making mistakes committed by most of the website design companies out there, mainly your competitors. Fixing these mistakes will not skyrocket your website or business but you will be able to improve your website’s online presence and make other strategies more effective and impactful. So let’s start with exploring different mistakes that you can avoid in 2021.
1. Avoiding design thinking approach before implementing any design
One of the common mistakes committed by most of the business is directly jumping onto the implementation part with few to no plans. Well if you are on the same road then you need to take a u-turn and understand the importance of the design thinking approach. Most of the businesses while designing their website assume things related to design then carrying out in-depth user research to analyze prospect’s needs, which is not a good sign if you are looking to create an attractive and converting website design for your business.
During the design thinking process, one goes their depth research to analyze their needs then creating a rough layout on how the elements and other graphics will be placed in their website. The design thinking process is all about understanding and analyzing your prospects’ needs and converting these into designs to meet their expectations. This way you will be able to develop a website design that empathizes with your target audience’s problems and build a solution for them.
Using a design thinking approach you will be able to identify goals, build effective business features, define project scope, understand user requirements, solution feasibility, and more. Getting a detailed idea about all these will help you to together some of the important data points which can be used to create the right sitemap and wireframe of your website. So if you are looking to create an effective and engaging website for your business then it’s essential to understand your target audience.
If you are failing to do so then you won’t be able to design a website that encourages site visitors to take action on your website. Conducting Target audience research might not be in everyone’s hands as it requires experienced hands, so we recommend you to consult with an experienced WordPress web design company for your business.
2. Not using grid and columns
If you are updated with the latest website design trend then you must be aware of unconventional grid layout, dark mode features, and more. Not to mention but the website design industry is continuously adopting new changes, some of the new trends are getting introduced and some of the older trends are getting updated. But the whole website design industry is changing at a remarkable speed and your website needs to adopt those changes. In the list of website design mistakes, you can include this point as well.
Most of the experienced website designers are adopting these changes but still, there are businesses still focused on developing the design in the old way which means using flexbox, breakpoint, float, and more to organize the content inside the website. Now, most designers prefer to go with a CSS grid to develop highly responsive well-crafted website designs for their business. We are not saying that flexbox, breakpoint, float, and more are not important for a web designer but using them in the right way can help businesses and designers to eliminate all the grind and column-related design mistakes.
With the help of CSS web designers are able to create a seamless user experience where the elements like the content inside the website can be easily segmented and aligned with the help of rows and columns. One of the most common mistakes that most businesses and web designers make is getting confused with the CSS number. If you are one among them then it’s essential to consider this point.
When designing the CSS framework just like bootstrap most of the designers consider a number of columns in a row. But when it comes to the grid system it’s recommended to count stacks or lines. If you dive deeper you will discover that the grad system moving from 1 to 7 lines is similar to spanning 6 columns. If these terms and numbers are sounding more technical then we recommend you consult with an experienced website design company for your business.
3. Selecting unclear fonts
You might design your website to make it look more attractive but sometimes the typography you use to enhance your design becomes the primary reason for your website’s and business downfall. So another website design mistake that you can avoid in 2021 is by selecting unclear formats in your website design. Some of the fonts like cursive, symbols, hand-drawn scripts, and more can be confusing to reason mainly for those who don’t interact with these types of letters in their day-to-day life.
So no matter how attractive and intuitive your website appeared after implementing these types of typography, your prospects will abandon your website. Because it will become hard for them to get the desired information and if they are failing to access the information present on your website then they have left with no option other than leaving your website design. So when selecting the typeface you need to ensure that your prospects are able to read them easily because you are creating a website for them. Well there are other things that you can look into while using the typography in your website like
- Make use of appropriate space: Apart from that you can also fonts on the spacing between the two characters because if there is no pepper space between two fonts then also it will become difficult for your site visitors to interact with the information present on your website.
- Avoid using too many fonts: Until it’s a blog page or an article we don’t recommend you to add too many words to your content. Using too many fonts as well as different font styles on your web page can confuse your site visitors. This way they will not be able to get the message your brand and business are trying to deliver.
- Avoid using conflicting fonts: If the finds you selected are conflicting with each other then we recommend you to change it and use some other font. Using conflicting fonts grabs the user’s attention and they tend to lose the focus away from the other important lament and message.
If you need further assistance related to font placement, style, and more then it’s recommended to consult with an experienced WordPress website design company that can contribute their years of experience in selecting and placing the right fonts on your business website.
4. Content related mistakes
Once you are down with selecting the right the next point you can consider in the like website design mistakes is “Content Related Mistakes”. Content is one of the most crucial parts of website design where most of the website and business fail to make a strong presence. If you are looking to engage your potential customer, make a strong connection and encourage them to take action on your website then it’s essential for you to have a good content strategy for your website.
When we say a good content strategy then it includes the type of content you use inside your website, the placement of the content, and more. The content you use inside your website helps users as well as search engines to identify the purpose of your website. But with few mistakes, all your efforts can go in vain. That is the reason why it is essential for every business and designer to be aware of how the content is displayed on the page. The font size, style, and spacing all come into account to define how the content will be displayed on a web page.
Making sure the content you add to your website solves user problems and also helps search engines to identify the purpose of the web page. Before you start designing your website you need to have a pre-planned content structure that is supposed to be laid out on web pages. This way you will be making your content more effective and engaging. Apart from that, there are other mistakes
- Failing to solve user problems: The content you create for your website shouldn’t be just focused on your product and services. But it should be structured in a way that answers user queries along with highlighting your services. Most inexperienced content marketers create content focused on offering business information. But a smart content market keeps both users and businesses in consideration while drafting the content.
- Your content is not scannable: If you expect your site visitor to read every small word on your website then your expectations are too high. Today people spend less time reading. That is the reason why they scan your web page. OS you need to ensure that you are using descriptive subheadings, bullet points to highlight important facts, short paragraphs, and more to make your content scannable.
- Less whitespace: When it comes to text content the white spacing plays a crucial role in making your content accessible. It helps in improving content readability, maximizes clarity, and grabs more user attention. If there is not sufficient whitespace available on your website then the reading of the content can become overwhelming for your site visitors.
Remember your goal should be to craft an attractive content structure layout that is the reason why we recommend getting help from an experienced website design company that can help you with content creation as well as structure.
5. Not prioritizing the website navigation and accessibility
When it comes to website design mistakes then things like avoiding wireframe, sitemap, and more are common among the designer and business. Apart from that, there are other common website design mistakes committed by most of the designers and businesses in creating and offering poorly configured navigation menus and layout. Remember the navigating of your website plays a cruel role as it can make and break your business. Having improper website navigation can drive the user away from your website because the user is habituated to accessing optimized website design with advanced navigation.
If you are looking to gain your prospect’s trust and look to encourage them to explore more about your website and business then it’s essential for you to create easy navigation on your website. Even if you are designing your website with loads of pages then also your goal should be to either group them into categories or you can display the important pages in the navigation menu. If you plan to categorize the pages then do it hierarchically so that site visitors are able to navigate your website intuitively.
Remember the navigation is not the same for every device it varies depending on the device. So when you start creating the navigation keep different devices into consideration. There are various ways through which designers and businesses can work with navigation but you need to have the right strategy for your website. For example, if you are planning the navigation for mobile devices then it’s recommended to go with the hamburger menu. The hamburger menu works great for both websites as well as mobile devices. You can make use of the responsive checker tool to compare the navigation between devices like mobile, tablet, and more.
6. Not prioritizing the website navigation
When it comes to website design mistakes then things like avoiding wireframe, sitemap, and more are common among the designer and business. Apart from that, there are other common website design mistakes committed by most of the designers and businesses in creating and offering poorly configured navigation menus and layout.
Remember the navigating of your website plays a cruel role as it can make and break your business. Having improper website navigation can drive the user away from your website because the user is habituated to accessing optimized website design with advanced navigation.
If you are looking to gain your prospect’s trust and look to encourage them to explore more about your website and business then it’s essential for you to create easy navigation on your website.
Even if you are designing your website with loads of pages then also your goal should be to either group them into categories or you can display the important pages in the navigation menu. If you plan to categorize the pages then do it hierarchically so that site visitors are able to navigate your website intuitively.
Remember the navigation is not the same for every device it varies depending on the device. So when you start creating the navigation keep different devices into consideration. There are various ways through which designers and businesses can work with navigation but you need to have the right strategy for your website.
For example, if you are planning the navigation for mobile devices then it’s recommended to go with the hamburger menu. The hamburger menu works great for both websites as well as mobile devices. You can make use of the responsive checker tool to compare the navigation between devices like mobile, tablet, and more.
The navigation you create and offer will play a major role in determining your website and business online success. If your falling difficulties with the website design and navigation then you can reason out to highly experienced website design professionals that can help you to create the most effective website design along with streamlined navigation.
7. Paying less attention to website accessibility
If you are aware of the term ADA complaints then you must be aware of the importance of website accessibility. If not then we recommend you to go through our dedicated article on 2020 Complete Guide On ADA compliance: What Is ADA Compliance? To get a better understanding of what is ADA compliance and why your website needs it more than ever. ADA compliance is all about making your website and its element accessible to anyone and everyone.
Today there are a number of websites out there that make their element and content accessible to their prospects which is a good sign. But what if the user visiting your website has problems like color blindness, or some other type of disability like the problem in seeing, listening, and more. Your website will fail to engage the site visitors which will result in users leaving your website and looking for either option. There are millions of people out there with some or other kind of visual or hearing disabilities. But still, they are your potential customer who can be converted into a paying customer.
But for that, it’s essential to make your website design accessible to every user out there. Not taking these users in count while designing your website can be one of the biggest yet common website design mistakes committed by your website. You can start considering them right from the design thinking process. The text, page title, color contrast, alt text, keyboard accessibility, and more come into the picture while making your website accessible to your prospects.
Apart from that when it comes to accessibility the blocking content in your websites like the ads, carousel, auto-playing video, scrolling news feed and more can be considered to make your website more accessible to a maximum number of users. If a user is suffering from hypermetropia and looking to access your website from a mobile device then they might look to zoom the content, so your website should be in a position to change the element shape and size whi8le keeping the quality as the first priority.
If you are looking to make your website accessible then there are a number of things that you need to consider from different user’s points of view that is the reason why we recommended you to take the help of an experienced WordPress website design company for your business. Apart from that if you need any further assistance related to how you can make your website design accessible then make sure to check our blog on How To Make A Website Accessible? 10 Proven Tips To Follow In 2021
8. Not sticking to responsive design and a security-first approach
If you’re updated with the latest internet news then you must be familiar with a number of vulnerable activities happening on the internet like the website getting hacked, datat getting into an intruder’s hand, and more. Yes, the security of the website might sound more technical architecture-dependent but with help of website design, you can improve your website security as well.
Creating a website totally depends on how the designer represents the user journey and how developers lay the design. So if the security is kept into consideration right from the beginning then different security-related loopholes can be avoided right from the design stage. These loopholes are the primary reason that encourages hackers and intruders to play with your website. So it’s always recommended to keep security as your first priority.
If you need further assistance related to how you can improve your website security then make sure to check our article on WordPress Security Guide: 8 Tips To Secure WordPress Website In 2020.
Apart from security, another website design mistake committed by most of the website and business is neglecting to make their website design responsive. No matter how good your website might be performing on the desktop but if you are looking to drive maximum traffic and conversion then it’s essential to make your website responsive on all devices and browsers to offer an optimized omnichannel experience.
Most businesses and designers commit a mistake by developing and designing different roadmap and user journeys for different devices and platforms. When it comes to website design the consistency of your website plays a crucial role in defining your brand and website reputation so you need to ensure that the consistency is maintained across all the devices. Before making your website live it’s essential to check the responsiveness either you can make use of tools or do it manually for better and effective results.
The website design is all about how convenient you are making it for the user to access the design and other elements in your website. If you are looking to improve your website design then make sure to check our blog UI (User-Interface) Design Tips: 10 Proven Tips to follow in 2021
Conclusion
By now you must be aware of why you need to have a good website design and what website design mistakes you can avoid to create an attractive and converting website design. The website you create acts as one of the important assets of your business. A small mistake in your website can affect your business as well as your product reputation. That is the reason why it’s essential for every business to create a positive impression about their business. But for that, it’s essential for you to avoid the common mistakes committed by your prospects.
We have listed some of the common mistakes that you can avoid apart from that if you are facing any difficulties with website design or redesign then you can always reach out to our highly experienced website design company. SFWP Experts is an award-winning website design company with more than 12 years of experience in creating website design for different industries. Our highly experienced website design professional ensures that your website is able to drive the maximum amount of conversion and aims to grow your business ROI by 710%.