Website Building Mistakes You Should Avoid	Visited: 3919 1.0/5.0 (1 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Chris Walker October 31, 2006

If you happen to have a website (or plan to build one shortly) this is a must-read. A website should offer customers with useful information that can actually help find solutions to their problems. When I used to search for home businesses, I got sick and tired of poorly designed websites shoving awful products and countless links down my throat; there was no explaining on their behalf and no advice given… all I saw was an “order now” button. A website should offer customers value and convenience because that is what they are looking for.

So you must keep in mind that you are designing a website to help people; not to deprive them of their time and hard earned cash. Many people make the mistake of not having high quality content on their site—and instead they litter their site with links and clunky banners.

Bottom line… quality information comes before all.

Questionable Navigation

Too many sites have dismal navigation setups. This is a huge mistake. Never make the error of having poor navigation on your site that would even make Sherlock Holmes scratch his head. It makes it confusing and hard to surf through (most likely forcing the visitor to leave). Just take a look at my website; it may not have fancy graphics or a slew of irrelevant pictures, but it gives you what you need: valuable information presented with a simple setup. Simplicity ultimately allows visitors to easily find what they are looking for.

I was once (and still am) a customer, so I know what it feels like arriving on a website flooded with link after link… you just don’t know where to click next. You feel paralyzed and never find what you’re searching for.

Unnecessary graphics

You should also try to avoid using graphics unless they are absolutely necessary. Fewer graphics soak up less bandwidth, allowing for faster load times. So unless you absolutely need it, don’t place too much graphics on your page. While heavy pages may not be a problem for those who have broadband, you can’t assume everyone has broadband services--some still have high-speed dial up, and for them it is a pain.

Make them come back for more

Give the customer a reason to come back to your site. You must make every reader of your website remember your site’s uniqueness. Show your personality and make it a great experience for them. Avoid the mistake of coming across as being “too formal” and “boring.”

Other common mistakes Web designers make that should be avoided…

It’s important for you not to spam—this can get you banned from the search engines. You should also keep good records and remain well organized. Always make sure your income (i.e. affiliate commissions, reseller sales, Google Adsense) exceeds expenses (Internet bills, pay-per-clicks, the cost of the computer you own, products you buy to grow your business, web hosting, domain name, etc.).

Never lie to your readers: honesty is the only option.

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