Web Design Mistakes Damage User Engagement

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Mistakes in web design are never good, however, some of them can be safely ignored if you have more important things to consider. There is another error - one that immediately leads to a sharp drop in the conversion rate, actively prevents visitors from using and returning to your website.

In this article, I will talk about the mistakes that you can make when developing and promoting your site, and what you can do to correct them.

Confusing site navigation is the first sign of a web design error.

People visit your site not to admire it amazing design. People visit websites to achieve a specific goal, and they want the search to take as little time as possible. Therefore, their journey through your site from the moment they first open your web page to reaching the goal should be as short and convenient for the user.

Ideally, your site visitors shouldn't spend a second thinking about how they should do what they've done - their actions on your site should be completely intuitive. When it doesn't and visitors are confused, expect high bounce rates.

Why is this happening

Of course, no one makes their site's navigation intentionally confusing. This is usually because the web designer has spent dozens of hours working on the site and knows every detail of its layout and navigation by heart. They move between and within pages with great engagement and little objectivity.

What may seem like a matter of course to a web designer may well be a stumbling block for a novice visitor who has never seen a site before.

How to fix

You need a fresh look at your website design and UX. Ask random people to try out your site, perhaps your friends or colleagues. Find out their impressions. Were they able to find what they wanted? Was navigation easy and clear? How many clicks did it take them to get to their destination?

You can do this on a larger scale with specialized platforms that allow you to hire random people to test your user interface.

Unclear or missing call to action on website

Again, people don't visit your site because it's beautiful. They are looking to satisfy their need. This means that your design not only needs to look good (although that helps), but it also needs to clearly show visitors what steps they need to take to find the information they need on the site.

If you want people to buy your product, subscribe to your newsletter, or leave their contact details. In this case, you need to include a clear and prominent call to action. If your CTA is vague or non-existent, the likelihood that your website visitors will convert drops dramatically.

Why is this happening

An effective CTA needs to stand out. Some web designers might find a bright, bold CTA button to stand out like a sore thumb. This can lead to lower CTA!!! Design it in such a way that it fits easily on the web page and visually gets lost in the process.

How to fix

Review all CTAs on your site. Do they have a clear message? Do they attract attention? Are they getting the results you want?

Do not put style and creativity above the main content

Interesting design choices... well, interesting, but do they serve any purpose? Adding design elements simply because they are cool and unusual. This will lead to confusion among visitors precisely because they are not used to them.

Why is this happening

Sometimes web designers can get carried away with design choices that feel exciting and original. It may well be true, but many aspects of web design are fairly standardized for a reason: fame. If you stray too far from the expected UX, your website will be too original and therefore incomprehensible - and the user experience will suffer.

How to fix it

Start with the core content and functionality of your website, and only add to it after you make sure all the elements work well together. You can then customize or add new design elements to the page without straying too far from its main purpose.

When it comes to website design, it can be difficult to describe how to get it right. The next best thing is knowing what not to do wrong. Avoid the three web mistakes listed above and you'll be well on your way to maximizing user engagement on your site.

Common Web Design Mistakes - Leading to Business Disaster

The Internet world is like a living, shape-shifting organism that never stops evolving. User behavior and fashion trends are not eternal, and in this evolution, the right approach can quickly become wrong.

See how many websites have been upgraded over the past few years with great new design features like parallax scrolling and the spread of mobile browsing.

But it also influences many web design failures, errors that prevent clients from fully connecting with a brand. We all know that an attractive website is important, but you can't justify countless bugs, weak content, or bad navigation.

Your website is the cornerstone of your reputation with readers, clients, and investors, so it needs to be clean and functional.

It's an impression of your products and services, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't care about the design of your products as well.

Your goal is to show your readers and clients that you care about them, so the main goal of your design should be to meet their expectations and needs, no matter what structure you use.

WordPress users may think they can manage everything on their own, but choosing a theme is critical.

If you want to develop the perfect marketing strategy, you must focus on your audience. Since the human eye distinguishes shapes and images down to words and their meanings, colors, images and fonts are your primary storytelling tools.

There is a lot of advice on the internet on how to make your design look beautiful and user friendly, but few talk about the pitfalls along the way. Errors in the design of the site play an important role in its subsequent operation.

1. Responsive web design

The pace of our modern life is rapidly increasing. Entangled in the clutter of numerous daily responsibilities, people search anytime, anywhere. As a result, more than 50% potential customers are browsing the site from their tablets and smartphones.

This means you can't just focus on your desktop layout - if users need to swipe or zoom so they can view all the content, they will leave your site without thinking about implementing a responsive web design site.

Your site should work equally well on desktop and mobile devices. Even though Google has started penalizing non-responding sites in mobile search, over 80% sites in the world still don't use this design. If you are among them, it's time to correct this mistake.

2. Use of confusing metaphors

You are not in the film industry, in the business world, customers are not ready for a guessing game - they are here to find and buy.

As cool and fresh as metaphors look, you need to understand that they are actually like a code that the client is being asked to decipher.

I was talking about the fast pace of life, so you need to find another creative way to present your products in a simple way.

3. Mistakes of ignoring the importance of written content

Although we are more visual, this does not mean that written content is not important. Text and visuals should go hand in hand, especially since high-quality content is a determining factor in search engine ranking criteria.

If the actual writing is just an afterthought, all the money you spend on making your site look nice and stylish will go to waste.

Ignoring the importance of written content is a common web designer mistake, and you can further enhance its value by setting up a separate blog with WordPress.

I already mentioned in the introduction that the design of the product itself is equally important - it's impossible to put it into words here, so your images must be top-notch.

Before you create an open source marketplace, make sure all of your products tell a compelling and understandable story.

Avoid using too many features as they are not synonymous with value. Too many unnecessary features detract from the main purpose of the product.

Never skip the prototyping phase as you will end up changing design elements after the product goes to market, but also don't think of design as a linear process - sometimes you will have to step back from your steps, so don't get too attached.

Stay away from assumptions - do proper research, create a collaborative environment, and engage users in the process.

4. Don't create a creative maze

Creativity is important, but in metaphors we've seen how creativity can backfire. The most vulnerable is your navigation.
Hidden contacts, hidden menus and hidden buttons may look primitive, but they are definitely not practical or convenient. Your main message should not be hard to reach.

The home page should have clear links to FAQs, store hours, shipping details, directions, return policies, and more.

Product descriptions and blogs should also have their submenus in the sidebar, and the search bar is a must.

You have to be creative to help your customers easily browse and find the information they need. I know this is the third time I've said this, but your design must respect the user's time.

5. Don't lure the user too actively

We all know that social media is a very effective way to promote your brand in the digital world, but they can easily backfire just like your creativity.

Consider how many times you've been harassed on Facebook - you can evoke the same feeling in your customers.

While your website needs social media icons, you can't place them in annoying pop-up dialogs or create multiple buttons at the top of the page. They are effective as long as they are unobtrusive and invisible.

Nothing irritates users more than the element of surprise. Maybe you think it's a good idea, but they don't expect pop-ups and automatic music and video playback.

If they want to see or hear something, they will click on it. Adobe Flash is the best scare because it's popular with hackers and no one wants to take the risk.

Don't look at the stars and don't fall into the well like the astrologer in the fable. With new design possibilities, beautiful images also harbor new bugs.

You must be able to respond to the needs of your customers and maintaining open communication is critical.

Your brand story is only complete if the writing and design complement each other, and until the idea turns into an imaginative guessing game, be creative. Try not to annoy them.

Thank you for reading Nicola Top