COMMON WEBSITE MISTAKES
Below are some of the most common mistakes found
with websites
1. Legibility Problems
There is nothing worse than visiting a website
only to find that either you cannot read the text or doing so requires the same
amount of concentration as performing heart surgery!
There are a number of factors that can make text
difficult to read but the two biggest ones are:
- small and/or bad fonts
- low contrast between text and background.
2. Non-Standard Links
Following are the main guidelines for
links:
- Make obvious what's clickable: for
text links, use coloured, underlined text (and don't underline
non-link text). Differentiate visited and unvisited links.
- Explain what users will find at the other end of the link, and include
some of the key information-carrying terms in the anchor text itself to
enhance scannability and search engine
optimization. Don't use "Click Here" or other non-descriptive link text.
- In particular, don't open pages in new windows (except for PDF files and such).
Links are the Web's number one interaction
element. Violating common expectations for how links work is a sure way to
confuse and delay users, and might prevent them from being able to use your
site.
3. Flash
Flash's main purpose is to provide useful user interfaces. It is there to
offer users additional power and features that are unavailable from a static
page. Flash should not be
used to jazz up a page.
4. Content That's Not Written for the Web
Writing for the Web means making content
- short,scannable, and
- to the point
Web content should also
- answer users' questions and
- use common language rather than 'technical jargon' etc (this also improves
search engine visibility).
5. No Contact Information or Other Company Info
Even though phone numbers and email addresses are
the most requested forms of contact info, having a physical mailing address on
the site might be more important because it's one of the key credibility
markers. A company with no address is not one many people feel comfortable about
giving money to!!!
Summary
People who visit your website expect the
following:
- text they can read; content that answers their questions;
- easy to use navigation that help them find what they want, and
- no bugs, typos, or outdated content.