Common Web Design Mistakes Revealed

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by: Peter Kuczaj
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Word Count: 504

No matter which services or products your business is marketing using the Internet, others are doing the same. Luckily, there are lots of clicks to go around and the Internet provides opportunities for many similar businesses. You don't necessarily have to be the first nor the best to be successful. Besides professional web design, you need to be found and you need stand out. Once a potential client arrives at your website you only have their attention for a short time. At a glance, potential clients need to quickly find what they are looking for.

Make your content easy to read. Although this is obvious, it is surprising how many websites have illegible text and graphics - content which feels compressed or stretched apart. Keep in mind that most people don't read words one letter at a time, but rather as a complete unit. If the wording is not easily read it will most likely not be read at all. Have coworkers, friends and family proof the website's readability, and then collect their feedback. If it's within your budget, hire a copywriter to review your website and make changes where appropriate. Your web developer should include this as part of their services.

Graphics are great, but only when they assist in understanding the message. All pictures should be clear and obvious. Too often pictures are not crisp and sharp, and not understandable. When using pictures to display your products or services, they should be the focus of the image, to not confuse your visitors. While commonly used stock photos are sometimes valuable, when displaying your products it is best to use custom photography or graphic design.

There is no room on a website for spelling or grammatical errors. Some common typographic errors include incorrect or inconsistent line or character spacing, incorrect, missing, or extra punctuation. Grammatical errors are equally as unimpressive. At the least, run your website content through a spelling and grammar check before posting it online for the world to read. The quality of a website’s content is a reflection of the business as a whole. As your website is an extension of your business, sloppiness and carelessness leave a bad impression on your visitors. If high quality is not represented through your website, poor quality is demonstrated towards your business' products and services.

Occasional errors may slip through the system. When this happens and when later pointed out, they must be dealt with immediately.

There are additional benefits to proofing and re-proofing your website. Product, price, and service changes can sometimes be forgotten, especially for businesses that are new to the Internet. Far too often websites are the last thing to be updated when processing a change throughout a business, if they are remembered at all.

Customers do not trust businesses with websites that are hard to read, hard to understand, and which are out of date. Careless mistakes and sloppy, confusing, or out-of-date information are a reflection of your business in general.