A solid online presence is vital to your success. You want to make sure your website is designed in the best possible way so visitors can easily find the information they need. Many business owners make common mistakes when designing their websites, leading to poor user experience and decreased conversion rates. Here’s what you need to know about bad website design and how you can avoid it.
Why Do You Need a Business Website?
A website is often the first point of contact between a small business and its potential customers. In today’s increasingly digital world, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to have well-designed, fast-loading, mobile-responsive, and secure websites.
A user-friendly and informative website can help a small business earn search engine authority, generate leads, and nurture clients for repeat business.
However, a poorly designed website can be off-putting to potential customers and may even lead them to take their business elsewhere. Small businesses need to create a high-quality website that serves as an asset for their business.
DIY or Professional Web Design?
Deciding whether to design your website or have a professional website designer create one for you is a big decision.
On the one hand, if you take the DIY approach to your website, you’ll have complete control over the look and feel of your site. You can also save money by doing it yourself. On the other hand, there are some drawbacks to designing your website yourself.
It takes time to learn how to create a website that looks professional and is easy to navigate. Unless you’re an experienced web designer, it’s likely that your site will have some technical glitches. And without a professional touch, your site may not be as impressive as you’d like.
Consider hiring a professional website designer if you’re not sure whether you have the time or skill to design your own website. With a professional design team on your side, you can be confident that your site will be well-designed and easy for visitors to use. Plus, you’ll free up your time to focus on running your business.
Even if you have your site designed by a professional, there are some red flags to watch for to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
20 Signs of Bad Website Design
Bad website design can be costly for your business. It will turn away potential customers, but it can also damage your reputation and make you look unprofessional. Here are 21 signs of bad website design to watch out for:
One: Lack of Security
When someone visits your website, you want them to feel safe. If your site is not secure, visitors risk having their personal information stolen. Make sure your site is SSL-certified and has a valid security certificate. You can also add trust seals to your website to show visitors that their information is safe with you.
Two: It’s Not Mobile Responsive
More people are accessing the internet on their mobile devices than ever before. If you haven’t designed your website to be mobile responsive, you’re losing out on significant potential traffic. Make sure visitors can easily view your website on all devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Three: Slow Load Speeds
No one likes to wait for a website to load. If your site is slow, meaning it takes more than three seconds to load, visitors will likely leave before seeing what you have to offer. Make sure you design your website for fast loading speeds.
Four: No Structure or Organization
Lack of structure and organization is one of the most common signs of bad website design. You should organize your content and make sure it’s categorized and tagged so that it’s easy for users to find what they need. Your website’s structure is also valuable to search engines that index its content.
Five: No Search Engine Optimization
If you’ve not optimized your site for search engines, it will be difficult for people to find it when they do a keyword search. Make sure your site includes relevant keyword phrases and that your content is well-written and informative.
Six: Too Many Distractions
Flashy banners, cluttered images, GIFS, background music, and other distractions diminish the quality of your website. Stick to a simple design that is easy on the eyes and doesn’t overwhelm visitors.
Seven: Background and Text Colors That Clash
You want your text to be easy to read, so avoid using background and text colors that clash. Use a light background with dark text. It would be best if you also used high-contrast color combinations for links to stand out from the rest of the text.
Eight: Hard to Read Fonts
The font you use on your website should be easy to read. Steer clear of fancy, decorative fonts that are difficult to read. Stick to simple fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, or Verdana.
Nine: Lack of Whitespace and Cluttered Content
Whitespace is essential in web design. It gives your content room to breathe and makes it easier for visitors to digest. Too little whitespace can make your site look cramped, cluttered, and overwhelming. It can also be hard on your readers’ eyes.
Ten: Bad Image Choices
Another contributor to bad website design is bad image choices. Be careful of using too many pictures, photos unrelated to the content, and large image files that will slow down your site’s loading speed.
Eleven: Confusing Navigation
You don’t want viewers getting lost in your website, unable to figure out where to go next. A well-designed website will have straightforward and easy-to-use navigation. Users should be able to find what they’re looking for in just a few clicks.
Twelve: Outdated Branding
Your website should reflect your most current branding. If you’ve updated your logo or color scheme, make sure those changes are reflected on your website. Outdated branding makes you look like you don’t care about your image and could turn potential customers away.
Thirteen: Auto-Playing Videos and Music
Auto-playing videos and music are some of the most annoying things a website can do. It is intrusive, disruptive, and can quickly cause people to leave your site. If you must have videos or music on your site, give visitors the option to watch or listen to them without making them auto-play.
Fourteen: Poor Quality Copywriting
Your website’s copy should be well-written, free of grammar and spelling errors, and relevant to your business. Don’t try to stuff too many keywords into your content to improve your search engine ranking. This will only make your content difficult to read and could get you penalized by Google.
Fifteen: Irrelevant or Outdated Blog Posts
If you have a blog, make sure the posts are compelling, valuable, relevant to your business, and up to date. No one wants to read a blog post written two years ago that is no longer relevant. Irrelevant, outdated, or disengaging blogs might make you look like you’re not keeping up with your industry.
Sixteen: Lack of a Clear Message
Your website should have a clear purpose. Whether you’re selling products, promoting a service, or sharing information, make sure your message is clear. Your site’s design, content, and overall tone should all support your central message.
Seventeen: No Calls to Action
Your website should have a clear call to action (CTA). A CTA tells visitors what you want them to do next. It could be something like “Buy Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Learn More.” Without a CTA, visitors can’t or won’t take the action you’d like for them to take.
Eighteen: No Contact Information
A website with no contact information is a huge red flag. If you’re not providing visitors with your email, phone number, or physical address, they’ll likely assume you’re not legitimate. Make sure your contact information is easy to find and up to date. If you have social media profiles, include those as well.
Nineteen: Broken Links and Buttons
If visitors click on a link or button and nothing happens, it’s frustrating. If they click on a link that takes them to an error page, they’ll likely assume your whole website is broken. Check all your links and buttons regularly to ensure they’re working properly.
Twenty: Lack of Updates on Software and Plugins
If your website is running on outdated software or plugins, it could be vulnerable to security risks and malfunctions like broken links or buttons. Always update your software and plugins to the latest versions to keep your website running smoothly.
Twenty-One: An Overload of Ads
Ads are necessary for many websites, but too many ads can be overwhelming and intrusive. If your site is overloaded with ads, it will be difficult for visitors to find the content they’re looking for. Find a balance between monetizing your site and providing a good user experience.
Track and Measure the Success of Your Website Content
Once you’ve published your content, it’s important to track and measure its success. There are a few key metrics you can use to gauge how well your content is performing:
New visitors: Track how many new visitors your content brings to your website.
Return visitors: Track how many visitors return to your site to read more of your content.
The number of page views: This metric tells you how many times your content has been viewed.
Time on page: This metric measures how long visitors spend reading your content.
Bounce rate: This metric measures how often visitors leave your site after viewing only one page.
The number of social shares: This metric tells you how often your content has been shared on social media.
The number of comments: This metric tells you how engaged readers are with your content.
By tracking these metrics, you can better understand which content is performing well and which content needs to be improved.
How to Audit Your Website
There are several site auditing tools you can use to assess the condition of your website. These programs can help you analyze your site’s design and user experience (UX). It will find technical errors, gauge the success of your website content, and create a checklist for you of issues with your website and recommended fixes.
Some of these site auditing tools include:
What to Look for in a Quality Web Design company
Bad website design can be costly to your business. It can lead to lost customers, decreased sales, and a poor reputation. By avoiding the 21 mistakes listed above, you can create an effective and user-friendly website. If you need help designing or improving your website, consider outsourcing the job to a professional web design company.
When choosing a web design company, look for one with a well-designed website, a portfolio of past work, transparent pricing, and good references. Be sure to read the contract carefully before signing. You can find a great web design company that will create an effective and user-friendly website with a little research.
Conclusion
If you’re a real estate agent, you know that generating leads is essential to your success. And one of the best ways to generate leads is to have a steady stream of valuable content published on your blog.
These ideas will help you provide valuable information to your readers and generate leads simultaneously.