Most Common Mistakes In Web Designing

Web designing is an art in itself. Therefore, you are bound to go overboard or ignore certain aspects which will give your website a bad look. There are are certain things a designer must keep in mind. The most important factor is that while designing, the user’s point of view should always be the focus. The designer should not design for himself but for the user, therefore, do look at the website from the user’s eyes and not just his own. Here are a few mistakes which can be which are common and can be avoided if enough attention is given to them while designing.

1. Cramming the Web Page: A webpage should be such that the visitor can easily identify the website’s purpose and search what he is looking for. If you try and put too many elements in on one webpage then chances are your web page will end up looking untidy and difficult for the eyes to scan through the page quickly. That is why it is suggested that you should not make a particular page too long. The key is to have a precise and concise page, so that people don’t get confused and stay on the website to explore further. Do not make a site which ends up making the visitor feel claustrophobic.

2. Fonts: While using fonts, do not mix different fonts in the same body text. If any of these two vary constantly in the same body text, then the eyes are bound to find it hard to read and the user may get irritated. But you should keep a different font for the heading and the body text. The font size should be fixed accordingly. Usually CSS is used to determine the font size either by using percentages, pixels or ems. Text is supposed to be read and therefore should be as comfortable to the eye as possible. Do not try to make your text too flashy. Also, contrast should be kept in mind. The font colour should be such that it contrasts with the background. The problem occurs when you choose the wrong colour palette. Always keep CONTRAST in mind and you are good to go.

3. Music: Many websites have a background music which plays as soon as the website opens. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we would suggest that adding music to your site is a definite no-no. Not only does it look tacky, but it will also slow down your website. Also, it is not necessary that everyone will like the music. There are many websites where the music keeps playing till you are logged on. To this we would say, atleast let the user have the choice to turn off the music. Another factor is that not all browsers can support multimedia content. There are chances that the user gets troubled because he/she might already be listening to some music and your site will be an obstruction then. So concentrate on the user’s eyes to make your website attractive and not the ears.

4. Cater to the Eyes: Whenever anyone visits your website, they should be able to scan through it 4 simple seconds. If it takes more than that, then your website is not good enough. No one has enough time or cares enough to wait and then understand what your website is all about. So your web page should be such that anyone can have one look at it and understand what your site is about. If you are creating a website on one theme, say food products, there are numerous other such sites on the Internet. If the user can’t figure out what your site is all about, he/she will close your site and go look for a better one. The web page should cater to the eyes and should be such that it can be easily scanned.

5. Alignment and Spacing: Alignment is the position of an object with relation to other elements on the web page. This is very important while designing. Decide one alignment; do not keep one element on left and another on right. If you do this you will ignore the “easily scannable” rule. Assign an easy grid system and stick to it while posting any element on the web page. Also while posting a paragraph, always keep in mind the spacing between the lines and follow that spacing pattern on every web page. Do not squeeze the elements because that will give a shabby look and will be hard to read. Then again you should not keep the spacing so wide apart that your page ends up looking like it has been made by a ten year old.