Too Many Bells And Whistles? Let’s Settle Your Common Web Design Mistakes

The good news is – most businesses have begun the journey of creating an impactful digital footprint. Having a presence online, while very important, can be limiting if you adopt some poor habits when it comes time to designing your website. Your site should represent you as a business, especially your bottom line. The best way to do this is by simply letting your viewers know what you do, why you do it, and what makes you stand out amongst your competition.

We’ve all seen them, websites which require too much concentration, difficulty navigating, and overall just too many bells and whistles. There’s a delicate balance between not giving enough information and giving too much. Here are some tips to avoid some of the most common web design mistakes.

It’s just too much

Within a matter of seconds, you want people to come to your site and know what it is you do or are offering. While it is always a good idea to get the point across “above the fold”, this doesn’t mean you have to put all of your content there. Too many images, text, and ads in one area can affect your organic traffic, leaving people to look elsewhere if they’re overwhelmed.

It’s just not enough

Remember the whole balance thing? You need to give your viewers something. If someone has landed on your website and still doesn’t know what you do, this is a problem. You need to give your visitors direction and a very minimalist design with vague content won’t answer anyone’s questions about your business.

It’s very confusing

How do you want your website to represent your business? Would you want people to come to your store or office, look around and ask you what it is that you do? Visitors need answers, and quickly. Having a design template that is consistent throughout your site and cohesive will result in the best engagement. Pick one theme, one logo, and stick to it.

A poor CTA

Your call to action (CTA) is your bread and butter. If your visitors need to see anything on your site, it’s this. If you go on an eCommerce site and purchase an item – you most likely followed a CTA, and it was readily available and visible. “Shop our sale today!” usually does the trick. A company offering a service could prompt you with a “learn more” CTA, landing you on the page where you could purchase a service or call for more information. Make it clear and keep it simple.

Too much content

Yes, you need words, but be selective. You don’t want people to land on your site and be bombarded with a novel. It’s a good idea to break up your concepts and incorporate some visual elements accordingly. Also, be mindful of your font and size of your content. Don’t use overly large sizes, and make sure the layout of your content and headings are visually satisfying.

It seems simple enough. As consumers, we all want the same things. We have tolerance levels of how we absorb information – we want to get the information with little to no effort. We need to find what we are looking for, and we need directions to get to the end result. The path has to be clear, so if there are too many distractions on your website – you have fallen victim to some infamous common web design mistakes.

If you’re in need of a clean, easily navigated website, look no further than Kraus Marketing. Our web developers, graphic designers, and copywriters are here to make you a cohesive website focused on attracting new clients.