Whether you’re using a website builder platform or have someone building your website for you there are a few faux pas that businesses should look out for and avoid to give visitors a great website experience.
- Design is too busy
Visitors don’t know where to look and get frustrated. Remember to use the F-Shape pattern The F shaped layout mimics our natural pattern of reading (left to right and top to bottom). An effectively designed website will work with a reader’s natural pattern of scanning the page.
- Having a poor mobile experience
77% of web traffic in South Africa is on mobile devices and so having a website that is not responsive can lead to a poor user experience and affect your site performance. Websites that aren’t responsive can often feel clumsy and outdated and make navigation difficult. Rather look at responsive website platforms like Squarespace.
- Hiding your navigation
Your menu should be visible on the desktop version of your website, not hidden in a hamburger menu. While this might not look as clean, it’s better for SEO (because Google will read it as soon as it scans your site) and it’s much easier for visitors to find where they want to go.
- No clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
Tell your customers what you want them to do (e.g. SHOP NOW or CONTACT US) and make it really easy to find and click by putting it in a box or underlining it so that visitors know that it is clickable.
- Not allowing enough whitespace
Whitespace, or the space around your content, is the key to good design. All the best websites you see have plenty of whitespace and use it effectively to provide separation, highlight what’s most important on a page, and give visitors room to breathe.
- Hidden contact information
This may seem obvious but this is still a very common mistake. Make it easy for visitors to your site to engage with you and keep the dialogue open.
Need help with designing or updating your business’ website? Connect with us connect@clickeddigital.co.za
