11 Inexcusable Website Design Mistakes You Might Be Making Unknowingly!
Has your ranking on search engines fallen recently? You might be making these website design mistakes without even knowing!
The digital space is growing rapidly as we speak. It is getting more and more challenging to outrank your competitors on search engines.
For that, you would need a nimble website that appeals to both Google and users.
11 Website Design Mistakes You Might be Making
Website design might be a piece of cake to some, but even the most well-versed web design adept might miss out a few errors here and there. These errors might appear minor, but they could have a detrimental impact on your ranking for various search queries.
You wouldn’t want to be outranked by your competitors – especially in the rigorous digital space. So it is important to identify possible areas of
Are you making any of these website design mistakes?
A. Website Development
The quality of user experience is determined largely by the health of your website health. Ultimately, you would want a website that is free of errors so that users can navigate with ease.
1. 404 Errors
No one likes clicking through a website with anticipation only to be met with a 404 Error.
No one. Not even Google.
If a page returns a 404 error code, it means that the page does not exist on your website and it will be not indexed by Google or other search engines.
In other words, 404 errors are probably going to get you penalized by your target audience and search engines.
2. Slow Loading Speed
Do you like waiting?
The answer is probably not. We sure don’t.
Speed has become a determinant for Google Search and Ads. Its also what keeps your readers engaged when they navigate around your website.
Slow pages tend to get more bounce rates that nimble websites. Click here to read more to find out how else speed can affect your web experience.
Anything that takes more than 3 seconds to load is too slow.
3. Server Crashes
3 seconds is already long enough for most users, but what happens when your website takes more than 3 seconds?
Website crashes are taboo for any business with a presence in the digital space.
While failed servers are fairly common, they could still make you lose customers and leads. Whether the crashes are a result of code errors, hackers, virus attacks or even hosting errors, you would want to limit them as much as possible.
4. Navigation Difficulties
Put simply, if a user can’t find a navigation bar or search bar, they might just head to another website that is easier to navigate.
When developing a website, always keep your users in mind. Try to make information as accessible as possible. This way, you will give them a satisfactory web experience.
B. Content
Content might be an integral aspect of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and yet, little mistakes can make a HUGE difference.
5. Illegible Font
Believe it or not, a font change can influence emotions.
If the font is illegible, however, the only emotions you would be evoke would be annoyance and confusion.
Try to avoid cursive or squiggly font which makes words hard to read. Crazy Egg recommends sticking to modern fronts like Century Gothic or Calibri.
6. Keywords with Little to No Search Volume
The inclusion of keywords might not make a huge difference for your readers, but they sure play a monumental role in optimizing your website.
When it comes to optimizing your content for SEO, you have to be smart about the keywords you choose to leverage. Make use of keywords with low competition but high search volume to rank for various search queries.
7. Content Does Not Cater to Target Audience
If you content isn’t valuable or informative, it is not going to be favoured by your readers or Google Panda.
While looking for keywords can be as easy as ABC for someone with sufficient experience in SEO, its easy to slacken when it comes to actual content creation.
Still, engaging content which educates, evokes emotions and drives action will help you score points with your audience and Google.
In other words, don’t be lazy!
8. Broken Links
Just like 404 Errors, your users would probably be peeved when they click on a broken link to fail to get the information they are looking for.
It might seem pretty mediocre, but believe it or not, it does happen to even the most experienced web developer.
Do your due diligence and make sure all the links are working properly.
C. Images
Unless you are going with a minimalist web design, you are probably going to include some images in your website. But even in that aspect, there are opportunities for errors.
9. Blur Images
Squinting gets tiring after awhile. For obvious reasons, be selective about your pictures and avoid choosing ones that are blur.
10. Using Copyrighted Images
Are you guilty of copying & pasting an image you found on Google?
Unless they are labelled for reuse with modification, its actually illegal copy & paste images and use them for your own website!
Use royalty-free images only. You don’t want to get in trouble for using copyrighted ones.
11. Forgetting to Rename Your Images
Did you know that image SEO could help skyrocket web traffic as much as content SEO?
Keywords matter as for as alt text and image names are concerned. Keep the text concise but try to incorporate a keyword or two. Find out more about Image SEO by clicking here.
Is SEO Still Relevant in 2020?
SEO might be an age-old practice with roots as far back as 1991. Now, nearly 30 years down the road, is it still worth investing time in website SEO?
The fact that you are reading this reemphasizes the grave relevance of SEO in this day and age.
While SEO might be an aged practice, it is constantly changing and evolving. Organic search does still matter in the digital era where SEO dominates. So make sure you don’t make any of these website design mistakes to stay ahead of the game!
Apart from keeping an eye out for website design mistakes, you would also want to stay vigilant about the latest digital developments to stay ahead of the times. We think this Netflix programme has predicted most of them. Learn more here.
