How NOT To Design Your Website (And How To Fix It)
A website redesign can be a good thing, but if you do it wrong, the whole Internet might stop working for visitors. Here are seven things to avoid when planning your redesign.
Forgetting To Keep Key Pages Intact
When you're redesigning your website, make sure that your most important pages stay intact, such as your main services and products pages. If you completely redesign them, you could confuse visitors to the point where they quit trying to use your site or even take another company's services. You should also consider keeping your contact page and an about us page available in a different location than usual (so that visitors can find it without too much trouble) and still easily accessible to the public.
Making Your Site Mobile-Unfriendly
This is a time when you need to make sure your website is mobile-friendly . The statistics for mobile device usage are pretty staggering: as of June, 2013, 59% of smartphone users accessed the Internet only through their devices (rather than laptops or desktops). Also, 70% of tablet owners used them to access the Internet. If your website doesn't have a mobile version , it will be nearly useless for all those users.
Forgetting To Consider Your Search Engine Optimization
As you're designing your website, don't forget about search engine optimization. The company should keep the design current so it still looks good in a few months, but remember to use the same keywords and phrases that attracted visitors in the first place.
Building Something That Is Too Complicated To Use
Planning a website is definitely not easy, but you might be going overboard if your new design includes features that no one has ever heard of before.
Forgetting To Make Your Site Faster
How long does it take for your website to load? If it's too slow, you might lose visitors. Focus on your site's speed as you redesign it, and try some of the tips offered by Google on their developer page , which includes using JavaScript responsibly, making sure images are compressed, minifying files, and more.
Using Too Many Pictures Or Not Enough Pictures
One of the biggest mistakes to make when redesigning your website is to use too many pictures or not enough pictures. When you have too few images, it looks amateurish — some might even say boring . However, don't go overboard with images either, since they can slow down the loading time of your website.
Using Too Many Ornaments And Other Heavy Distractions
When you're redesigning your website, avoid adding too many ornaments and other heavy distractions to the design; they can take away from what you're trying to communicate , and distract visitors from what is really important.
We consider all your needs and desires, not just what we want you to see or do on your website. Give a specific example from our list that resonates with your audience so they can get an idea for how these mistakes can affect conversion rates. Finally, don’t forget about mobile optimization! If you need help redesigning your website or crafting a marketing plan that will leave both customers and search engines satisfied, give us a call at Sharp Tack Media today! Let's chat!
