4 Common Web Design Mistakes
When you start a business, paying for web design is often an added expense that you may not want to pay. DIY-ing a website is easier than ever these days, and while it is possible to do it on your own, it often also comes with overlooked mistakes. Here are four common web design mistakes to avoid.
Not optimizing for mobile.
When you build out a website, you do it on a desktop or laptop computer. Because of that, it’s easy to forget to check what your website looks like on a tablet or mobile device. That is a mistake.
Over 50% of website traffic comes from mobile devices these days, so it’s imperative that you double check what your site looks like on mobile before it goes live. You’ll find that you may have to adjust padding, image sizes, stacking, and headlines. Pay attention to how your assets appear as you are building your site so that you don’t have to go back and fix everything later.
Causing slow load times.
How frustrating is it when you visit a website, and it takes forever to load? How often do you give up and go to another website? Don’t let that happen to yours!
There are 3 big reasons websites take a long time to load. The first is large file sizes for photos. JPGs are typically a smaller file size than PNGs, so saving your image as a JPG will help. If your file is still too large, you can run it through a photo compressor like TinyJPG. Just make sure you don’t ruin the image quality!
The other two issues are large video files and excessive animation use. Limit how you use these features for a smoother, faster loading experience.
Posting broken links.
Sometimes when you click a hyperlink, it takes you to the wrong page or a 404 page. If you have an online shop, a broken link can be detrimental to your revenue stream. If you offer services or information on your website, a broken link can make users search elsewhere. Double and triple check all of the links on your website before going live!
Using too many fonts.
Fonts are a place where you can get creative and have fun, but too many people go overboard. Using several different types of fonts can make your website look busy and hard to read, and it keeps you from being able to clearly brand your business. Pick 2-3 font styles, decide which font you want to use for headings and which font you want to use for body copy, and stick with it!
Avoiding these mistakes will make your website look more professional. If you don’t have the time to invest in building your own website, we can help! Whether you need a refresh or a site from scratch, we can customize something that you and your customers will love. Check out our web services here.
