Designing and building a website is an exciting endeavour, but it's important to avoid certain pitfalls that can hinder its success. In this article, we'll discuss five common mistakes that people make when creating their own websites and provide practical tips to help you steer clear of them.
Avoid Cramming in Too Much Information: Less is more when it comes to website design. With the average attention span of website users being 8 seconds or less, it's crucial to quickly capture their attention. Focus on providing essential information such as who you are, what you do, and your contact details within the first few seconds of a visitor landing on your page. Use concise and engaging content, accompanied by images and bullet points to break up text. Additionally, ensure optimal readability by keeping line lengths between 50 and 75 characters.
Maintain Consistent Design: A visually appealing and consistent design is essential for a professional-looking website. Pay attention to aesthetics by using high-quality images and maintaining a consistent font and colour scheme throughout all pages. Limit the use of fonts to a maximum of three, ensuring they are legible and appropriate for different elements such as headings, subheadings, buttons, and body copy. Similarly, choose a cohesive colour palette of up to three colours to create a harmonious visual experience.
Check for Broken Links: Broken links can harm user experience and have a negative impact on your website's search engine optimization (SEO). Regularly check your website for broken links, particularly when using templates or demo sites. Ensure that all buttons and links are functioning correctly to avoid frustrating your visitors and increasing your bounce rate. Monitoring and maintaining link integrity is vital for a seamless user journey.
Prioritize SEO: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a critical consideration when building a website. Incorporate SEO strategies from the outset to improve your website's visibility and attract relevant traffic. Start by researching keywords relevant to your target audience and optimize your content accordingly. Incorporate the chosen keywords in important elements such as URLs and headings, ensuring a natural and user-friendly implementation.
Optimize Website Loading Speed: A slow-loading website can be a major turnoff for visitors and adversely affect your SEO efforts. To improve loading speed, address the main culprit: large image file sizes. Evaluate the necessity of each image and consider removing unnecessary ones. For essential images, compress the files using online tools or photo editing software like Photoshop. Aim to keep image sizes around 300-500kb before uploading them to your website for optimal performance.
By avoiding these five common mistakes, you'll be well on your way to designing and building an effective website that engages visitors, performs well in search engine rankings, and showcases your brand in a professional manner. If you're considering a new website but prefer expert assistance, Spi-des-ign offers flexible and bespoke web design and development services tailored to your specific requirements. Contact our team today at enquiries@spi-des-ign.co.uk or call us on 01359 518060. We're here to help you succeed.
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