Clutter: Too much noise, too much text, and too little white space mean that customers ignore the content. Customers often scan pages quickly, only reading titles or input prompts until they reach the content they want. Be concise, break text up with headings, not too many fonts and consider the reading level of your audience.
Confusing navigation: Buttons and menu items should be apparent, links should look like links. Text should not look like buttons or links. Customers do not typically read and digest information in linear order and should be able to move between sections easily.
Company-centricism: Customers are task-oriented. They don't know (or care) about departmental structures, or company jargon. Look at your site as an outsider would, by function or task. Use clear, generic labeling and try to minimize the use of company or industry jargon, acronyms or abbreviations unless context is provided.
Design by committee: Though teamwork is essential to the success of a website, requiring group consensus for decision making will stop a project in its tracks.
Bells and whistles: How a site looks is not as important as the content and the organization of that content. Establish the site layout before attempting to finalize design.
High-maintenance pages: Static pages based on dynamic information are quickly outdated. Include dynamic data only if it is needed, and provide a way to maintain it.
Back patting: Don't tell customers how great your products are, show them. Keep introductory material to a minimum and focus on your programs or services.
Overcomplicating: Designers tend to approach a site as if it should spring whole-formed from their head before it is published. Remember, a website is forever a work in progress and should be approached as such. Publish the information at hand, and the site can expand and revised as needed according to user feedback.
Torre DeVito is a web designer from Cary, North Carolina.
For more information visit www.pagecandy.com.
There are literally thousands of different options, styles and formats... Read More
This article may come as a surprise to you.Especially since... Read More
A highly effective website will always reflect its highly effective... Read More
As search engine marketers, we spend an enormous amount of... Read More
Have you ever thought about the real stories behind all... Read More
When designing your website, remember to avoid useless and confusing... Read More
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. First impressions often leave lasting impressions. Impressions... Read More
Due to the large number of people offering web design... Read More
So how do you know when your graphic designer costs... Read More
Don't make a splash!Are you thinking about using a splash... Read More
In retailing there is a saying that sales are made... Read More
Are you looking for somebody to build you a website,... Read More
CSS is a new option for website designers that have... Read More
If there's one thing that most web site developers can... Read More
You may not bother with html validation or writing simple... Read More
This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More
(Making Your Graphics Work For You)It's no secret that a... Read More
Let's face it; the line from A Field of Dreams... Read More
10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying... Read More
The question that I most frequently hear from people is... Read More
Good websites stand out from the masses of boring, hard... Read More
As part of your event planning you should seriously consider... Read More
Customers will form an opinion of your business as soon... Read More
"How to turn "slightly interested" customers into "I've got to... Read More
In the early years of the internet the actual design... Read More
How many times have you clicked on a website only... Read More
You're all ready to get started creating your web presence... Read More
ASP.NET is a new programming framework from Microsoft for developing... Read More
Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using... Read More
Since I made the switch 6 months ago to a... Read More
The ability to create simple, attractive and functional web pages... Read More
Most people will agree there is nothing more annoying than... Read More
You've likely heard of the movie, Jerry Maguire, with its... Read More
If you are familiar with my work, then you have... Read More
On the internet we don't deal with face to face... Read More
Any kid, and their grandmother too, can make a webpage.... Read More
I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a... Read More
A professionally presented business website is a powerful and essential... Read More
Since I'm a web designer, I have a tendency to... Read More
As my occupation is that of a proofreader, one of... Read More
1. What's the purpose?The most fundamental thing to do before... Read More
It seems more and more webmasters are using CSS for... Read More
Here are a few programs I can't do without. They're... Read More
The Basics You have a flourishing business ? everything is... Read More
One of the challenges of moving a web site up... Read More
The importance of choosing your website keywords carefully is very... Read More
Ecommerce is just exploding right now on the Net. More... Read More
We will take a look at why your visitors may... Read More
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) allows you to create fast loading... Read More
CSS is a new option for website designers that have... Read More
Web Design |