Basic Blunders in Web Design and How to Erase Them

Making mistakes is human nature. In web design, there are a number of small elements that can put things wrong, however, there are even more easy ways to set them right and make the project good once again. Errors in web design range from a smallest wrong entry of a digit but the damage can be drastic. Web design also has a convenient edge to it through which a design can be rescued with just a little vigilance of identifying the common mistakes. And in our article today, we are aiming to let you know of these common mistakes which designers make and ways to overcome those.

Errors in Typing:

Errors in Typing

In most of the design projects, text is something which dominates most of the page and typography is also one of the most common mistakes. Typography adds an appeal to the text but it is damaged with errors made in it by designers who are new or occasional.

Let’s take an example of a popular web font of serif and sans serif. These two fonts are a modern choice for an appealing typography but using them concomitantly makes the look bland. But that’s not always the case because some cases use both of these fonts for different bodies or paragraphs of a page. You have to keep in mind not to make your web page look disconnected. You can do so by not using a lot of different kinds of fonts and doing with just a couple of them to not disrupt the overall look or to hinder the easy readability.

Talking more about providing easy readability, contrast between the text and the background color is also important. One suggestion to make it better is to use as opposite a color as you can in comparison to the background color. Also, you have to keep the aesthetic qualities intact to not frustrate the reader.

Use of Padding, Spacing and Margins:

Use of Padding, Spacing and Margins

In this modern computer age, we need not worry about padding and margins a lot as screens with dimensions of 21” have ample white space. Without wasting a lot of space, you should keep the spacing balanced and equal to achieve a mature look. And it applies for both external margins and internal padding. Grid system is another thing which you can use to make your web page look more organized. Most successful designers use grid systems to give a proper order to the web page which uses consistent gutters to clean up designs.

Stone Age of Web Design:

Stone age of Web Design

Just like every fast paced activity in this world, web design has also made a lot of advancement and a whole lot of new development has occurred. A designer can collapse the whole idea of his web page if he continues using the outdated ways of designing. No matter how popular they were in their times, they are just not suitable for use in the modern times. Layout tables, background music, animated GIFs and use of frames is a no-no for your web page. Many advanced features have taken the place of such features so they should be considered outdated if you want to make your design successful.

Size and Proportion of the Text:

Size and Proportion of the text in Web Design

The way how a web page is balanced in size and proportion matters a lot. The best way to deal with this is to incorporate a hierarchy in your design. The texts and headings that you need to emphasize and stand out should be arranged according to size and proportion.

Designers need to take care of the size and proportion of the text not for themselves but from a user perspective. A web page should be easily accessible. It should not be such which will make the user zoom in on the page and squint his eyes or justify the page. It should be as convenient as simply looking at something.

It is not always the case with every designer but the standards work on “The Golden Ratio” or the “divine proportion”. The Golden Ratio is the 1 to 1.62 ration which designers should try at all costs, although it’s only for the designers. The Golden Ratio is a natural way to balance as humans are used to it. The ratio of our hand to the forearm and the ration of getting attracted to someone all work on the Golden Ration principle. That is why, to make a web design look good to the user, we have to use a balance, one way of obtaining which is The Golden Ratio.

Keeping the Main Purpose in Mind:

Keeping the main purpose in mind

The one bad thing you can do to spoil your web design is forgetting your main purpose. If you are designing for an e-commerce website and you have an idea for a feature that is just not appropriate for this project, you shouldn’t incorporate it just for the sake of adding what you think is good. In the same manner, if you have spend a considerable time in creating a feature but it is becoming a hindrance in the particular style of a website then you should drop the idea of using it.

You should not let you mind wander for anything other than what you project you have at hand. No matter how many features you can incorporate in your design, you should abstain from everything else other than what is the best for the current project and its easy accessibility. Make a habit of checking at regular intervals how your project is coming along and make changes wherever needed.

Common Rejection Factors:

Common rejection factors

There are some other factors too which may become the reason of the rejection of your project. So mentioned below are some more common items which become the base of rejection by the review team.

  • Use of Line Height

Experts suggest that a good design takes a nice amount of line height to add proper spacing and to make the design look good to the eye. A height around 1.3-1.6em is considered to be well enough spacing by many.

  • Visualization

As mentioned earlier, visual hierarchy plays an important role in the look and effectiveness of a design. You can emphasize on more important things by creating hierarchy to make the reader read as much as you want by making him get attracted towards the page.

  • Choosing a Compatible Browser

One of the most careless blunders you can make is to use an incompatible web browser. If you do not make your website accessible on all browsers, you will lose a considerable quantity of potential visitors. More chances are user leaving the site instead of going through the fuss of opening the web page in the right browser. To avoid this, make sure that your website is compatible with all browsers by thorough testing.

Final Thoughts:

Mistakes are a part of everything and equally in web design. But there are also ways to overcome them, provided you can spot them vigilantly. Also, keeping in mind some basic things can help you avoid making those blunders in the first place. From taking care of typography to the balanced use of fonts; from the contrast of background and text to spacing and from the proportion and size to making to user accessible, these and some other elements are what you should be keen of when designing.

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2 thoughts on “Basic Blunders in Web Design and How to Erase Them

  1. Thanks for the article.
    Designers know about these, but it’s so easy to forget all these trivial but important things.

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