Ten Website Design Mistakes to Avoid

When designing a website for personal or business use, you must always think of your visitors. While it is not necessary to be an expert at website design and graphics, you must concentrate on making your website user friendly.

With that in mind, there are ten website design mistakes that you should always avoid.

Slow Loading Pages

Some statistics say that you have only 8 seconds to catch a website visitor's attention. Large graphic or media files will slow this down considerably. Instead of opting for non-compressed images, reduce the file size at only a slight loss of image clarity. Also, don't use a lot of scripts or programs on your page.

Confusing Navigation

Website visitors have to be able to figure out how to get around your site. Using horizontal or sidebar navigation are both good options, as are drop down menus. All navigation links should be displayed on all pages. Visitors should only have to click on one link to go exactly where they wish to go.

Bad Color Schemes

Nothing makes a website more annoying than a crazy color scheme. Not only should you avoid obvious clashes of color, you should also avoid very bright backgrounds, dark text on a dark background, or conversely light text on a light background. Patterned backgrounds also make it more difficult to read website text.

Unattractive Page Layout

A website should be laid out neatly and in a user-friendly fashion. The lines of your design should match up, and there should be a continuity of size and pattern. Having random boxes of text or graphic scattered about the page will make for poor website design.

Lack of Consistency

Every page of your website should share the same design. All text should be the same color and style. All links should be the same color and style as well. This makes it much easier for website visitors to navigate your site and understand what you are trying to tell them. If you make different pages of your site in different designs, people may think they have left your site altogether.

Horizontal Scrolling