7 Surefire Ways To Make Sure Your Website Turns Out Terrible
We’ve all seen websites that are immediate turn-offs. Sometimes, the horror-factor is a little bit more on the subtle side (but still a viable threat). It doesn’t really matter whether they’re built by the pros or by the determined do-it-yourselfer—either way, here are 7 surefire ways to make sure your website comes out terrible. Avoid them at all costs!
1. Skipping the planning.
Sometimes it’s tempting to want to jump right in and start the development of a new website without proper planning. Having a big-picture vision of how things might come out is really great—but it’s not enough to create a site that works well (and oftentimes only leads to an endless game of scope-creep when the plan isn’t well thought-out and implemented).
2. Forgetting to focus.
A website shouldn’t be just a carbon copy of your “all-about-us” print brochure. Just like a tuned and targeted direct marketing sales letter, it can and should have a specific focus and goal in mind in order to be most effective. Keyword and content play a big role here. In other words, it’s not just about the design, but also about what’s behind the design.
3. Overwhelming your visitor.
This is a very broad category of odds and ends to avoid—things like a clashing color scheme, the use of flashy animated graphics, putting too much information in front of the visitor all at once, and so on. Another thing that many forget about is that the text of the site’s content itself can often be quite overwhelming; maintaining whitespace (room for the eyes to breathe) is very important. Questioning the overwhelming-factor of your site? Just remember, 99% of the time, clean & simple is better.
4. Using sub-par images.
Let’s face it, the stock photography that your organization has had on file for 25 years now just won’t cut it on the new website; it’s time to update. Same goes for the boring old stock photos that are widely overused on the web—you know, the images like a team of business-suited professionals holding hands around a globe. File size, quality, and even quantity also play a role here. To stand out and make a good, lasting impression, avoid imagery faux pas.
5. Relying on gimmicky navigation.
Perfect navigation is vital not only to the look and feel of a website, but also when it comes to accessibility, functionality, and even SEO. To be on the safe side, always stick to standards-compliant, traditional navigation elements. Avoid navigation that isn’t at the top or on the side—leave the experimental or artistic navigation up to the trendsetters to prove on their websites first.
6. Neglecting to stand out.
Blending in and looking just like all of the other corporate websites out there accomplishes just one thing…mediocrity. Your website needs to custom-designed to fit your message and your own unique brand (yes, everyone should have a vision of “brand” in mind). Unless you want to be treated like just another lackluster big corporation, avoid copying their bland web design strategies.
7. Being elusive.
A website that neglects to provide any substantial trust-ability might receive some degree of use on the surface, but visitor interaction almost always drops off significantly at the more critical stages of the process. How to avoid this situation altogether? Provide your full story on your about page; provide a complete contact page and reply to inquiries faithfully; make sure the website’s security certificate is up-to-date and working flawlessly. It’s all about building trust with your visitors and customers—hiding behind a veil of transparency ultimately gives terrible results.
Ensure your website turns out to be successful and attractive by avoiding these 7 visitor turn-offs. And remember, more usable and functional websites always produce better results!
