You simply cannot have a business in this day and age and not have some sort of web presence, even if that means going with a basic website that simply outlines what it is you offer. If you have a small business, you may not have the budget to go with a high end web design professional. The good news is that there are plenty of tools online to help you get a site up and running quickly, but whether or not it looks professionally made will depend on your avoidance of the following mistakes:
Poor navigation – If you have a website that has more than one page, you need to have some sort of menu that visitors can access. If a visitor to your site cannot find what they need in a matter of 2 or 3 mouse clicks, they will quickly move on to your competitors.
Flash – There are those that think a website with a ton of moving parts looks great, but it is not so great if you design the entire site in Flash. The problem here is that people tend to overdo it and cause a distraction, not to mention that the search engines have difficulty finding Flash-based sites.
Advertising – A few ads here and there are a good thing, as they can be a solid source of income. If you are going to have ads, make them look as though they are an organic part of the site, and avoid using pop-ups and other forms of advertising.
Color and font – The information on your site may well be fantastic, but if it cannot be read, it essentially becomes useless. Always choose a font that is easy to read, and try to stick with basic black and white as much as possible.
Screen resolution – People rarely stay at home and surf the internet on their PC’s and laptops anymore. Mobile devices are being used on a more regular basis, which means that your site has to fit across a variety of different screen resolutions. The best way to achieve that is via responsive web design, which means that your site will automatically adjust to fit the screen on which it is being viewed. If you would like to understand this better just contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Consistency – A website should look the same from page to page so that the visitor does not get the sense that they may have left your site and landed on another. The basic layout and design should be consistent throughout every single page.
Video and sound – Modern website owners are now well aware of the important role that embedded video can play in the success of their website. The mistake that is made is setting it up so that the video starts to play the moment someone lands on the page. People like to have choices, so allow them to play the video of their own free will and don’t force it down their throats.
There are many more mistakes that can be made besides the 7 mentioned above, which is why it’s always a good idea to look at professional designers when you want a business website made. But if you’re just starting out and don’t have the budget, hopefully this will help get you on the right track!
