5 Biggest Web Design Mistakes

1. Hiring an Unqualified Web Designer

It is very common for a small company to hire a friend or a relative of the company's owner for the web design job. Many business owners consider their web site no more than an online business card and any computer geek would know how to put it together. Such a mistake can cost a business more than it can afford.

Would you give your brother-in-law the marketing director's job if he never worked in marketing before?  Would you ask your nephew to lead your sales team if he never sold anything before?  Web design is about marketing. Don't hand such a critical job to someone simply because he can put up a goofy-looking profile at MySpace.

Not all web designers are the same. Many use outdated techniques that make it difficult or impossible for search engines to understand. Some companies hire a college student who has no long-term commitment. You may get a web site that is okay for now, but after the student graduates, who do you call on for any updates?

Web design is a serious job, so treat it seriously! Hire a web designer or a web design company that has a track record of building visitor-friendly web sites and deliver results for clients.

2. Violating Web Design Conventions

Web visitors have certain expectations when they land on your web site. Based on their web surfing experience, they know where things should be, such as navigation menus, search box, contact info, etc. Some web designers use their client sites to show off their "creativity". Your web designer's creativity can translate into low or zero conversion. When you go to a site where you can't figure out how to navigate, what would you do?  Most likely you would leave for another site within 10 seconds.

Many business owners want to impress their prospective customers with some "cool" effects. In the real world, nothing drives visitors away faster. Over 80% of web sites are built by following the same conventions. 3 out of 4 visitors expect that web sites follow the same rules. Web sites that look "cool" require more effort from visitors who have to find out how to get to where they want to go. Such a "cool" web site often does more harm than good for the business.

3. Using Tiny Fonts and Poor Contrast

Do you spend much time reading web sites that are cluttered with tiny texts and distracting background pictures? Many business web sites look unprofessional because they are so hard to read. Business owners often have a difficult time understanding why their web site isn't readable. The reason is that they and their web designers have been looking at the sites for a very long time and their eyes adapt to the tiny fonts and the lack of contrast.

Another main reason why many web sites are impossible to read is that the web designer only tests the site on one computer monitor. Web users have a wide range of monitor settings which make texts and colors appear very differently. It is important to ensure your web site is test on several monitors.

Don't Let Your Web Designer Register Your Domain Name

Letting the web designer or web design company register your domain name is like having your realtor sign the deed of your house. Whoever registers the domain name has 100% control of the web site, plus the email accounts associated with the domain name. Here are a few problems that you might encounter if you let the web designer register the domain name:

  • If you are unhappy with the web designer or design company, you can't easily fire them.
  • If the web designer fails to renew your domain name, your web site will disappear and your email will stop working.
  • If your web site goes off-line often, you can't switch the web hosting without the web designer's consent.

4. Not Being Clear About What You Do or What You Sell

If your web site isn't clear about what your business is, do the visitors take the time to explore your site? No, web users are well-known for their short attention and impatience. As a business owner yourself, have you ever spent half an hour to figure out what a confusing web site is all about?  If you don't, neither do your visitors.  20 seconds is all the time you have to catch a visitor's attention.  If the visitor becomes confused or disengaged within this short time window, he won't hesitate for a second to leave for your competitors' sites.

Almost every business owner thinks they provide the best products or services. Therefore, people should stop, pay attention and find out who they are or where they are. If this is what you believe, you may be disappointed as most visitors only care what your company can do for them. Browsers only begin to pay attention when they think you have what they are looking for. So, don't play this guessing game with visitors!

5. Providing Useless Web Content

The internet has no shortage of web sites filled with useless information or empty hype. There is no magic formula on what to publish on a web site. However, if you invest your time and effort to find out what your prospective customers look for, you can create the content that your customers love to read. Most business owners choose the easy way out.  Instead of writing for their customers, they write for themselves and about themselves.

Endless self-promoting, cute buttons or fancy Flash animations don't drive up web conversion, solid content does. Smart business owners start by asking:

  • What problems do your products or services solve?
  • What do prospective customers expect to see at your web site?
  • What would bring first-time visitors back for the second, third or fourth visit?
  • Is my content up-to-date and technically accurate?

Cute buttons or fancy Flash animations don't impress your audience much. Solid content does!