In the current business world, a website is an absolute necessity, however you should avoid bad web design at all costs. The Internet has become the new public square. Just as you need an appealing storefront design for your business’s foot traffic, you need a helpful website for online traffic.
These days, it’s rare to find a company with no online presence. However, having a website isn’t good enough. You need a website that works for your company and draws customers in.
How do you do that, exactly? There are many ways, but the first thing to understand is how to avoid bad web design. Good website design goes a long way to establishing yourself as a reputable source for your customers.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through seven signs of bad web design. With these tips, you’ll better understand how to design a website. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
1. Not Following Trends
If you’ve ever wondered, “What makes web design bad?” this is often your first indicator. If your website seems apathetic to current design trends, it likely won’t lead to substantial leads for your business.
While it is possible to go overboard with following trends, you can’t let your website operate in a vacuum, either. Doing so might give you the reputation for being a rebel, sure enough. However, it will most likely result in a stale, shallow design that appeals to nobody.
We’re not saying you can’t have an individual flair. Always look for ways to make your website stand out! However, incorporate this by finding creative ways to work within trends rather than ignoring them entirely.
2. An Unresponsive Website is Bad Web Design
Ignoring trends is often the first indicator you have a bad website design. However, having an unresponsive website is a feature that will almost certainly turn away customers.
In the old days, you could get away with having a website that didn’t respond on some devices. Now, such an occurrence is inexcusable to most. The market demands websites that work flawlessly across every Internet-surfing device.
Meeting this challenge will often prove difficult. However, if you rise to the occasion, you’ll find you’re in much better circumstances than some of your competitors.
3. Non-Friendly Mobile Websites (UX & Load Times)
Unfortunately, many web designers confuse mobile responsiveness with mobile-friendliness. This mistake is easy to make, but you must avoid it.
Mobile responsiveness means your website is operational on a mobile device. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the design is user-friendly on that device. That’s where mobile-friendliness comes in.
When designing your website for mobile use, you’ll need to make some accommodations for the device. Because the screen is smaller, you need to make some features more prominent and ensure the UX is easy to navigate. These include such functions as buttons, links, and font sizes.
Other desktop-prominent features like the hero image should become smaller for mobile devices. These changes may feel like a sacrifice, but they’ll lead to much greater user engagement.
Above all else be sure to do site speed optimizations to ensure both versions of the website load quickly. You can always check your mobile loading speed with this Google Tool.
4. Ignoring Usability
In the previous section, we mentioned that people often confuse mobile responsiveness with mobile-friendliness. The same mistake occurs between good design and good usability.
A website may have a beautiful and well-organized aesthetic design. However, if users can’t figure out how to navigate the site to find the information they need, the website doesn’t have good usability.
You may hear this referred to as the “user interface.” Without an intuitive interface, your traffic could quickly become frustrated. This frustration will lead them to look for their information on another site.
5. Abandoning Accessibility
There is a time and place for gatekeeping with your traffic. For example, let’s say you’re working on an email marketing campaign. After you’ve spent a few emails introducing yourself and your services to your readers, you include an email with a link to a landing page.
On this page, you ask the reader for decisive action. Often, this may include purchasing a product or a subscription. Only by giving this money can the customer receive x, y, and z from your company.
This example is an effective use of gatekeeping. However, don’t incorporate such gatekeeping into your general website.
Instead, your website should be accessible to all people. Unless necessary, don’t hide any information behind a paywall. Such a practice makes you seem less reputable in the eyes of many customers.
6. Neglecting SEO Optimization
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can put your website ahead of many others if utilized correctly. With the effective use of keywords, you can ensure your website ranks much higher on several search engines.
Many businesses forget about SEO because it operates from the back-end. It’s not something that your customers see from their side of the screen.
However, without effective SEO, you drastically lower the number of people who will find your website. Instead, spend time investigating how to incorporate SEO to improve your business performance. In the long run, you’ll see an attractive ROI.
7. Neglecting Security
One universal feature of good website design is an emphasis on security. With the proper security measures, a website can make itself appear reputable in the eyes of your customers.
The opposite holds as well. If your website neglects security, it will make an enduring difference. Thousands of scams populate the Internet, along with every kind of virus.
If a prospect opens your website and suspects it will infect their device, they’ll click away before you can blink. Don’t let that risk happen to your business. Instead, invest in robust digital security to keep your website safe and sound for use.
You Don’t Have to Work Alone
As you can see, it’s easy to stumble into bad web design. Finding ways to make your website stand out among the millions of others online is an incredible challenge.
Fortunately, you don’t have to do this work alone. Instead, consider working with web design specialists. These experts know all the current tricks to let your website thrive.
To get started, check out our free guide today. All you have to do is give us your first and last name with your email address. From there, you’ll receive a helpful guide that explains five key elements to incorporate in your web design.
