Web designers the world over know one thing well, which is that a poorly designed website is among the biggest reasons for losing customers, failing online, and inhibiting business growth. Fortunately, experts with years of experience find it easy to resolve a majority of web design issues their clients face, and they can also help you steer clear of them in the first place.
The most common web design problems come in the form of poor navigation, slow-to-load pages, disorderly design, inappropriate colors, and non-responsive layouts. The result is a poor user experience (UX) that ends up harming a brand’s image. There’s no need to panic, though, because a professional can help you avoid these website design issues.
Here, you will look at the top website design mistakes along with solutions that will help you rectify the situation and improve the overall appearance and usability of your website.
Table Of Contents
Delivering a Poor User Experience
Imagine how it feels to walk into a shop where the shelves are all over the place, the directions make no sense, and the products you need are in places where they are hard to find. It would be annoying, right? This is exactly how visitors feel when browsing a website where the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) don’t work in tandem.
Navigation
Complicated navigation is one of the most common website problems. If users are unable to locate what they need easily, they will move away from your website and head to one that belongs to a competitor. As a result, you must ensure that your website offers seamless navigation with a well-structured and easy-to-understand menu structure, and include brief labels and logical hierarchy.
Responsive Design
Another common UX-related web design issue comes in the form of ignoring responsiveness. With almost everyone using mobile devices these days, having a website that runs well on different screen sizes is essential. If your website appears unappealing or functions poorly on tablets and smartphones, you are likely failing a large percentage of your potential clients. With responsive web design, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve taken care of this problem.
Keep in mind that responsive and mobile websites are not the same. With responsive design, you have just one website that adapts to different devices and screen sizes automatically. A mobile website, on the other hand, caters to mobile devices specifically and will not run well on laptops or desktops. In this case, you will need two separate websites.
Page Loading Speed
Many people make the mistake of overlooking page loading speed. However, you need a speedy website because the modern-day consumer prioritizes speed over most other things. By optimizing images, streamlining code, and leveraging caching techniques, you can ensure that your website loads quickly and runs smoothly.
Remember that even a one-second difference in page speed can get a consumer to leave or remain on your website.
Accessibility
Accessibility is another website design issue that’s relatively easy to address. For starters, you have to remember the need to include all audiences. Then, make sure your website is compliant with ADA web accessibility guidelines so everyone can access it easily, especially visitors with vision and hearing difficulties.
This requires adding alt texts for images and videos, providing adequate color contrast, ensuring keyboard navigation, and using captions.
Sacrificing Aesthetics for Functionality
Just about every guide on website problems and solutions touches upon this aspect because one common line of thought suggests that you should not choose aesthetics over functionality. However, while a website’s functionality is crucial, there is an equally pressing need for aesthetics as well. After all, your website needs to draw attention and deliver a great first impression, and you typically get no more than a few seconds to do this.
If you don’t want to experience website design problems from the visual perspective, make sure you avoid these mistakes.
Cluttered Layout
A website with a cluttered layout can be difficult to use and navigate, which makes it harder for users to concentrate on the message. Not surprisingly, experts understand the role of cognitivism in the psychology of web design, given that it affects areas like accessibility, navigation, readability, and usability.
It is possible to avoid bad website layouts by using white space effectively, respecting visual hierarchy, and focusing on a grid system to plan the content efficiently. You should also consider cleaning up clutter to improve your website’s UX.
Inappropriate Typography
Users who visit websites with bad typography face difficulty in comprehending content, and this can have a negative impact on branding, too. As a result, you must select typefaces that are easy to read, look appealing, and are appropriate for your brand. Do not try to play with multiple backgrounds and fonts in general, never mind wacky ones.
Lack of Branding
Inadequate or poor branding weakens a brand’s message and leads to disjointed user experiences. You must stick to a defined color scheme, typography, and images across all pages to maintain brand consistency, and ensure that the visual themes are seamless across the website.
Disregarding Visual Hierarchy
Not paying attention to visual hierarchy typically leads to a disorganized and confusing UX. To avoid this web design issue, you must highlight essential information using headings, subheadings, and other visual aids such as colors and buttons to attract a visitor’s attention to where it’s required.
Underestimating the Power of Content
Content comes first in the success of any website, which is why you need to look at common content-related website problems and solutions.
Thin/Duplicate Content
Using thin content won’t do you any favors in the eyes of search engines, and this is true for duplicate content, as well. To drive results, you have to develop relevant, high-caliber, and fresh content that caters to your target audience. Your strategy should focus on providing a unique and useful experience that will attract and retain audiences.
Poor Quality Content
Poorly developed content will create negative impressions around your brand, thereby creating roadblocks in communication channels. If need be, you should hire copywriting experts. This will help populate all the content on your website clearly, concisely, and without grammatical errors. It is crucial that all the content on your pages is representative of your brand.
No CTAs
Not having calls to action (CTAs) on your pages leads to a loss of opportunities. With suitable CTAs, you can stop the inertia and take advantage of the normalization process to drive visitors to the goal, whether it’s making a purchase, submitting a form, or signing up for a newsletter. Remember that using actionable vocabulary and strong color contrast buttons helps drive conversions through CTAs.
Technical Glitches
Website design issues in web technology can compromise the performance of your website, and they can contribute greatly to delivering a poor UX. Here are some of the common problems you need to avoid.
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Broken Links
Broken links lead to pages that no longer exist and disrupt the user experience. This requires finding and eliminating broken links displayed on your web pages during standard audits on a regular basis to ensure that you leave the best possible impression.
Old Technology
The use of outdated technology increases security risks and leads to performance vulnerabilities. As a result, make sure you develop your website using the latest web technologies and frameworks.
Poor SEO
Not getting search engine optimization (SEO) right can limit your website’s visibility in search engines. You must incorporate SEO best practices throughout the design and development process, from keyword research and on-page optimization to the gearing up of backlink construction and submission of the sitemap.
Not Partnering With a Web Design Agency
For business owners and executives with many responsibilities, creating a website can be a daunting task. In such cases, choosing to work with a professional web design agency can be beneficial. Backed by experience, you may count on it to have a firm grip on all types of website design problems and solutions.
Besides, a skilled agency brings expertise from UX designers and visual artists to content creators and SEO specialists. While it can help you identify and avoid common website design issues, it can also ensure that your online presence and branding remain visually appealing and functionally effective.
When you hire an agency, you also get a team of professionals to work on an online marketing strategy. There is assurance that these experts will focus on design and functionality to promote your business when necessary, and they will even keep updating your website to protect your business’s branding.
Conclusion
Your website is your most valuable marketing tool in today’s competitive digital landscape. By using the services of a professional web design agency to avoid common web design issues, you can create a website that captivates your audience, drives conversions, and elevates your brand.
Remember that your website is an investment for your future, and it will help represent your brand and set you apart from the competition. As a result, you need to make the right decisions to watch your online presence grow.
