Does Your Website Make these 5 Mistakes?

The 5 most common mistakes that most websites make and how to avoid them.

Written Oct 15, 2008, read 289 times since then.

In the last six years I have analyzed over 500 websites. It is incredible how the exact same mistakes keep appearing time and time again.

The main reason for this problem is that a great percentage of web designers forget that a website is a way of communicating and growing a business. They feel they need to shock their clients with animations and cool graphics.

Don't get me wrong. Clean and professional graphics are a very important component of a successful website. But they are not everything.

I've put together a list of the seven most common mistakes that website designers make and how you can avoid them.

Overlooking the goal of the websiteEvery website has a goal. You probably sell products online. You probably offer professional services and want your visitors to fill out a contact form or find your phone number. You probably sell software and want your visitors to download a trial version.

No matter what your goal is, you have to make it easy for your visitors to take the action that you expect them to take. As a rule of thumb, you need to use contrast to emphasize the element that you want your visitors to see (add to cart button, download now button, contact us link, etc.)

Make it obvious for your visitors and you will convert many more of them into actual leads or customers.

Not writing excellent copyA clean, professional, and easy to navigate design is very important. But it is not enough.

When people visit your website you have less than 30 seconds to give them a good reason to stay or they will leave. You have to be able to communicate why your business is better than the competition and why should your prospects give their business to you and not to someone else.

You know your industry better than anybody else. Think about the major motivation that moves people into buying the product you sell. Is it product quality, price, reliability, duration, company's reputation? Find out what prospects are looking for and give it to them.

This one drives me nuts. It seems like some website designers try to put as much stuff as they can fit on a page. There are two main problems with that. It makes everything hard to read and it is difficult for the important elements to stand out.

When it comes to website design, less is more. Use blank spaces. It makes the text easier to read and the information easier to find. Don't clutter your pages. Please don't.

Not understanding the basic design principles

Alignment: every element has to be aligned with other elements. Don't just place elements randomly on your websites.

Repetition: use the same fonts, colors, and elements across your website. If you use red Times New Roman text for your headline on your About Us page, don't use a different color or type on the Contact Us page. (And please never use Times New Roman for a headline!)

Contrast: I've seen so much black text on dark blue background that it has made me sick. Make the text contrast with the background and the most important element of the page stand out.

Proximity: put together similar elements. Let's say you have 6 sections on your website: cars, trucks, RVs, Home, Contact Us, and About Us. You don't want to put cars between About Us and Contact Us. You want to group cars, trucks, and RVs. Maybe even put them under a new menu item called Our Products.

Not making the website intuitiveHow many times have you been browsing a website looking for something and couldn't find it even though you knew it had to be there somewhere?

You have to make things easy to find. If most of the people who go to your website contact you by phone, put your phone number right in front of them, big and above the fold.

Not testing the website on different browsersIf you are not a web designer, you might not know this, but almost all the websites look different on different browsers. Maybe your website looks great on Firefox but not on Internet Explorer. Or maybe most PC browsers display it well but some Mac browsers show it all broken.

A professional website designer will run a cross-browser compatibility test to make sure that every visitor can see your website correctly.

What is the 7th mistake?There are clearly more than seven mistakes that most website designers make. I don't want this to be an article but more like a cool discussion about common web design mistakes. So what do you guys think? What other mistakes web designers make frequently?

If you need advice about your new website, please let me know and I will be happy to help. No commitments, no strings attached. Just sincere advice from one entrepreneur to another.

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur. The Outsourcing Company, his 6th endeavor, is a creative web design and internet marketing agency with offices in Aspen, CO and New York.

Check out Zeke's blog at www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog.

Learn more about the author, Zeke Camusio.

Comment on this article

Posted by Otilia Gaidos, Redmond, Washington | Oct 21, 2008

I agree with you, Zeke, especially when it comes to the issue of clutter. Cluttered websites make me want to exit as quickly as possible and never return. Also, you brought up an important matter: testing finished websites on multiple browsers - this is something new for me, and I'm eager to communicate this idea to my web designer in order to polish my web page. Thanks for sharing your insights with us, Zeke!
Posted by Laurel Black, Port Angeles, Washington | Oct 22, 2008

I can understand why you see these same mistakes over and over, Zeke. The reason is because many web "designers" have little or no knowledge or training in visual design. They think design is all about the code. That is why I prefer the term "web developer." I am a graphic designer who does not code. I went through a number of developers who were impossible to work with because they didn't think visual design was important and didn' t understand why I insisted on certain things. They thought I was a pain and/or overly anal. Then I found my current developer. He is amazing at what he does, and he appreciates the team approach to crafting web sites that work both visually and technically. We each understand our own limitations and each other's strengths. We respect each other and learn from each other.

The mistakes you describe in your article are for the most part the kind that new design students make in their first year at school. My advice to web developers who want to build successful sites is to team with a visual designer - don't try to do it all yourself. But if you insist on being a one-person show, do your clients a favor and learn at least the rudiments of good design. Otherwise poor Zeke is going to be condemned to looking at another 500 ugly sites.
Posted by Jim Carney, Bellingham, Washington | Oct 22, 2008

I would love feedback on our site. It is rare to find someone who will take the time to comment.

We too look at a lot of websites and also see the nature of what Zeke is speaking of. Team concept is the way to go!

Virtual Offices at Gateway
Posted by Kristina Nunn, Portland, Or., Oregon | Oct 22, 2008

Hi Zeke, Thanks for your article. Interesting switch from the title of 5 mistakes, then to "a list of seven" and then only posting 4? At the end, you invite us to guess at what some other mistakes are. I found your article to be a bit on the negative side with an overuse of the word "not" pointing out what not to do is helpful, but mostly if it is balanced with hints on what to do instead. "Not" posting enough positives... I would love to see some examples of great, good and not so good websites to understand better. I would love to hear what you have to say about my website too. Thanks for writing your thoughts and experiences.
Posted by Bethanne Wanamaker, Seattle, Washington | Nov 07, 2008

I'd love for you to take a look at my site and see what I'm doing wrong! I know there are ways that I could improve the site, but don't have that expertise!