10 Major Web Site Design Mistakes

Ah the bane of being alive in the early 21^st century is that everyone nowadays seems to a web site. Everybody is doing it, Businesses, Non-Profits and of course Personal sites abound and a must these days (if not a personal site at least one or more blogs, but that is a topic for another day).

Where about 10 years ago it seemed optional, or at least a luxury, one cannot survive today without at least one web site. Or at least it feels that way.

So when you are designing a web site you must carefully consider what other people may think when they stop by for a visit. You should carefully think about what you may want to say and how you want your message to come across. This is where a very good editing eye can be essential to your successful design.

Yes that sounds logical, but too many times one gets caught up on over designing their sites. This causes then to lose visitors and critical repeat traffic by making some very bad basic mistakes.

Here are ten design mistakes one should be careful to avoid:

1. You don't want to load your web site with a lot of high tech and flashy clutter. Your visitors may miss your whole sales message while watching your fancy flash video or spinning logos.

2. You should never use any unnecessary words or phrases on your site. You only have so much time (about 7-10 seconds) to get your visitor's attention and keep her interest. You need to make ever word count.

3. You should never the mistake that everyone will totally understand your web site message. Sure you understand what you are trying to say, but someone else might miss the nuances of your wit. It is better to use descriptive words and examples to get your point across.

4. Don't write your strongest point or benefit only once. You should repeat it at least 3 times because some people may miss it at first.

5. People like to skim; use plenty of headings and sub headings. Don't push all your words together on your web site. The clutter may cause your intended reader to miss your main point.

6. Don't use site content your target audience isn't interested in. If people are coming to your site to find info about fishing don't include soccer content.

7. Standardize your look and feel. Don't use 50 different content formats all over your web site. Use the same fonts, text sizes, text colors, etc. People like consistency.

8. You should avoid using words your web site visitors might not understand. People are not going to stop and look in a dictionary, they will just go to another site. If you have a fairly specialized topic, (medicine, finance etc), you should explain the unfamiliar words and acronyms where possible.

9. Don't let selling words and phrases go unnoticed. Highlight important words and phrases with color, bolding, italics, underlining, etc.

10. Don't forget you need to use words that create and evoke emotions. All people have emotions, people will have more interest in what you have to say when they are emotionally attached.

Most of all think about the sites you like to visit. What do they look like? What draws you to that site? Do your best to emulate the best practices of these sites (but don't rip off the content) and you will find that your site visitors will have an enjoyable experience.