Five Serious Web Design Fails and How to Avoid Them

If you have spent any time using the Internet for work or personal enjoyment, chances are you’ve run across a website or two that was a “hot mess.” In most cases, the intention of the website owner was good, but the execution of the site failed—sometimes miserably. So, what constitutes a serious website fail? We’ve gathered five of the most common and show you how to avoid them.

• Font Fails – Too many fonts or hard to read fonts are a major design problem. Your visitors will become overwhelmed by too many different fonts. If you choose an overly-fancy or ornate font, you may run into trouble with guests not being able to read it on smaller screens. Avoid font fails by selecting one simple font (Sans Serif fonts are best) for the main text and perhaps utilizing one other option for headings or graphics. This will create a flow that works for all visitors.
• Keyword Craziness – You want a website that will rank well in the search engines. No one is arguing that quality SEO isn’t a necessity for your marketing plan. However, if you are stuffing keywords everywhere, you may turn off “real” visitors. Plus, Google and the other engines may even penalize you for keyword stuffing.
• Too Many Options – If your goal is to get visitors to buy, sign up or contact you, focus on making THAT the highlight of the page. By putting too many buttons, forms and call-to-actions on a page, you run the risk of it looking too busy and causing a feeling of overwhelm in your customers.
• Auto-Play Music and Video – You may think these elements look high tech and professional or that they will enhance your appeal. However, they can be an annoyance to your guess and may not show up correctly on all devices. If you want to offer video or audio, let your guests be the ones who decide when to play (and pause) the action.
• Image Issues – Are you using poor-quality images, pics with borders where they don’t “fit”, or even stolen pictures? Images are one of the most remembered parts of your site, so put some work into making them stand out—in a good way, of course. If you can take your own high-quality photos, great! Otherwise consider investing in a photographer or a good package of stock images to round out your website.

While it is possible to get a website up and running on your own, for business owners today professionalism is key. Your customers expect an attractive, functional website that looks good on mobile AND a computer screen. Working with an expert is often the best solution and may be more affordable than you think. Search online for “web designer Tennessee” and find someone to help you with your project. As always, if you would like more information about web design and development in Franklin, TN or the greater Nashville region, reach out to us at JLB Works. We would love to help you avoid website fails and allow you to represent your firm in the best possible way online.