Long Paragraphs As web surfers lack long attention spans, they tend to dislike sitting on a computer reading long texts. The reading experience on websites will be more enjoyable if short paragraphs, headlines, and bullet points are utilized. Music on Websites A popular gimmick in the mid-90′s, these days it is considered amateurish for a site to load with music that cannot be turned off. Since people often surf the web while at their job, watching television, or listening to music of their own, sites that have music that automatically loads may be less appealing.
Blinking Text and Animations Blinking text and animations date back to the 90′s. Novice web designers may enjoy showing off their skills, but animations will actually make your site look amateurish. Moreover, animated ads can distract users and cause them to leave the site. Small and Colored Fonts Small fonts occasionally appear really nice on the screen; however, people have trouble reading it. A user will go elsewhere by clicking off, if the site cannot be read by them. It can become hard to read when fonts that are colored are employed, and especially when a dark background with a dark font, or a light background with a light font is used by the web designer.
Little Letters and Colored Fonts Little letters sometimes look pretty on the screen; however, a disadvantage is that people may not be able to see it. If a visitor can’t see the website, they will log off and look in another place. It can be hard to read when colored fonts are employed, and additionally, if the designer of the page uses a font that is dark set on a background that is dark, or a font that is light on a background that is light. Window Browsers That Are New It is very bothersome for the user when new browser windows open up for each page on the website. As visitors browse a website, it is not necessary to keep multiple windows open. Rather, the use of additional windows should be limited to links leading to external websites.
Hidden PDF Files PDF files can improve a website by helping to market it, but there should be text alerting the user to their location. Tell the user if there is a PDF file, prior to them learning about it by clicking on it, as they often can freeze computer screens. Unclear CAPTCHA’s It is necessary to have CAPTCHA’s at this time to stop spam, but sometimes it does not look clear enough for the average person to see. Don’t use CAPTCHA’s that will confuse the typical user.
Illegible CAPTHA’s While CAPTCHA’s are a necessity these days to prevent spam, sometimes they are practically impossible to decipher. CAPTCHA’s can make the average website user frustrated. Getting a professional’s feedback, and steering clear of the web design mistakes we have discussed, can avoid an ugly website from being designed.
Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a professional writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. If you are looking for web design in Houston, or if you just need a few changes to an existing site, InfoServe Media also offers website maintenance.
| August 30th, 2010 | Posted in web design |