We all know that web designing is not an easy thing. Even if a person is creative, coming up with a design which looks good and harmonious can be a difficult thing. One thing is for sure that a design can make or break a website. A few wrong decisions or choices can cripple your website completely. Nowadays, every big brand or company has its own website as most of the companies are now operating their businesses online as well. Your website is a perfect representation of your business and a great way to make a new and loyal clientele. So, you have to be very careful while designing your website. One thing you must keep in mind is that visual appearance is way too important however, you should never ignore the importance of proper functionality as well.
It is very important for designers to understand the effects of their design choices can have on a website. Designers must learn to avoid the mistakes that can make a good website turn into a bad one. If you are not making your design selections carefully, you might end up destroying your website completely. Anyone who will read this article will agree to the fact that every human being loves beauty. It’s natural to get attracted to something beautiful, elegant and classy. So, while designing a website, one should understand the importance of design choices so that they can come up with a perfect design.
Following are a few things that designers should keep in mind in order to avoid bad design mistakes:
Keep it Simple:
You must have heard of the phrase “less is more”. If yes, you must act upon it while designing a website. As a designer you would want to come up with something exceptionally well, however, do not use everything and anything in your design just because you think it would look good. The first thing that needs to be kept in mind is the product for which you are designing website. Too much going on the home page will annoy the visitor and he will never return to your website. Your design should be pleasing to the eye of your visitor and at the same time, navigation of your website should be simple and user friendly. Nothing annoys a visitor more if he feels lost on the website and if your visitor is going through such feelings it means you have definitely made a lot of designing mistakes. Your website design should be error free.
Handling Your Client’s Ideas:
Well, a client will always have something in his mind regarding his website. He will explain it to you as well. In most cases, the only thing a client wants is a better looking website in comparison to his competitor. But the truth is that you might end up hearing some really bad ideas from your clients. You will have to make them understand that an over the top website will not help them in increasing the popularity of the product. A website should be a true representation of the product and by going over the board in order to make things perfect is not a great idea. Now, as a designer, you can obviously not tell your client on his face that he is talking nonsense. Be polite to them and tell them that their idea isn’t bad but you think the website should be done in a different way. A good designer will always have its way out when it comes to deciding which design to go for, his or clients.
Avoid Loud Background Music:
Design is not all about visual appearance. When it comes to website designing, everything in website is included in designing. Nothing will annoy your user more than a loud music which gets automatically loaded whenever he or she visits your website. In such cases, most of the visitors just close the browser and move to the next website. They won’t care how attractive your website looks. While designing a website, always think like a visitor. Like me, a lot of people will surf the internet with headphones on and their favorite play list playing in the background. Now, all of a sudden a website’s loud music will destroy everything.
Also, you should always a visible stop button for the music on your website. Some clients will insist on not having that button but you need to make them understand that it’s not a good idea. So, say a big NO to adding a music which automatically loads on visiting your website.
Designing for Various Browsers:
You will find a lot of people who thinks that internet explorer is the only browser available. If you have a client like this, you need to educate them about other browsers as well so that you can design a website for all of them. Nowadays, people are using various browsers such as Firefox and safari. If your website is not designed for these browsers, you will be losing out on a lot of visitors. Your website should never have an option to download something in order to be viewable as this will make a visitor think that it’s some virus and will leave your website immediately. Websites are meant to be informative and user friendly and why would anyone want to stay on your website if a lot of effort and hassle is required? So, while designing a website, think from a visitor’s perspective.
Too Much Pop Ups & Ads:
Automatic pop ups are a big turn off for any visitor. You will find almost every user looking for the X tab as soon as an ad pops out of nowhere. Apart from pop ups, too much of advertisement of your website will most likely disappoint the user. Some people consider it spamming as well and they will leave your website in no time. So, while designing a website, it is very important for a designer to keep in mind such things. A designer is not all about coming up with a great design. With too many ads running on your website, a visitor will not notice your design selection and color scheme.
Friendly Navigation:
There is nothing worse in web designing than bad site navigation. Even if your site is visually appealing, a user should be able to visit different pages without any disturbance. There should be a tab for returning to home page on every page. Also, creating harmony is very important. While designing and selecting color schemes, make sure you do not go for different designs and color schemes for every page. You would end up confusing the visitor. The visitor should find your website user friendly.
Final Thoughts:
As a designer, you would definitely know the dos and don’ts of a web designing. The points mentioned above are very important and every designer should keep them in mind while designing a website. Remember these things are part of designing and even ignoring a single of them can affect your complete website. For instance, if your website is really attractive visually but is not user friendly, your good designing is of no use. So, keep all the factors in your mind while designing a website and come up with a great design.
About The Author
This is so true… One must choose the web design as per the above defined points. Found this article really informative.
You might want to mention proof-reading? Even though the word is not spelled wrong, doesn’t mean it was the right choice or tense. Your content should be easy to understand, and not make your visitor have to try to figure out what you’re trying to say.
I enjoyed your post, and found it good food for thought, but you should proof-read before you post. The content is as import as the design!
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Thanks for the compliments.
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Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. Totally know what you mean with the “images” sticking out the billboard. You touch on something that’s really important.
I really enjoyed your post. Thank you for sharing.Thanks for the info. A great find. It’s hard to find good articles these days. This one is really good. Great article. Thumbs up for this post. Thanks.
A custom website design is very importance and thus should not be taken for granted or underestimated. It is not an easy task and needs proper preparation and implementation.A skilled professional who has creativity and has abundant training and proficiency in designing field could only be the appropriate person who can give professional look to website.
pass it on
Cross-browser issues are very unappreciated by a lot of designers. One day, IE7 will disappear and life will become easier.
Also, there has to be the proper balance between design and SEO, and hopefully both can co-exist.
How about “padding articles with huge, unnecessary images”?
Dont forget to mention to use HQ photos in your design, NO camera phone pics please =)
All of this is very true and completely relevant information that I wish more people would take into account nowadays.
Far too often do I travel to fellow designers sites and am astonished to find that the navigation is horrible. If I can’t even begin to understand what I want to click on then why should I stay on your site to look at what you have to offer?
Anywho, great post! Keep em comin 😀