Right now, millions upon millions of websites are being published online. They are all being put up by people that think that they have a good grasp of internet engineering in one way or another. Whether it’s the DIY crowd or starting web development students trying to put together a portfolio piece for their first major design undertaking, the web publishes millions of sites every hour. Within the many sites, you’ll find that people still use 3 terrible design choices and they don’t realize that it’s going to cause a great deal of pain for the end user to navigate their page. The following are just a few of the crimes that designers commit, and you should avoid.
Auto play Video/Audio
This is a standard on a lot of sites, and it not only gets annoying, it can ruin someone’s day at work. Many times people are trying to find information, and they have their speakers on. If you auto play a video you will not only force the loading time on a page to increase, but you will shock a person trying to get information from your page. Auto playing videos is not only annoying, it serves no immediate reason.
Mystery Meat Navigation
The navigation of a site has to be overt. You cannot hide it, don’t think you’re doing anything new or artistic. Have a distinct hierarchy of where to go on your website, or you will have a revolt on your hands. Mystery meat navigation may not be something new, but it’s every so important to the structure of your website. It’s this basic mistake that is made all the time, and it’s annoying.
Lay Off Flash and Shockwave
There’s nothing wrong with FLV files, but if you post a lot on one page, and then force a browser to work with Shockwave as well, you’ll find that your website will become a scourge for those that are surfing the net. You also run the risk of alienating mobile clients who are unable to view Flash or Shockwave on their devices.
These awful web design choices are just a few starting points. There is a lot of other infractions that you will want to avoid, especially when it comes to putting up a personal, business or affiliate marketing site. The above are egregious errors in the world of web development and design and if you want to get more attention through SEO and other marketing means, you’ll need to remember not to do the above.
