Designing a website is a fun and engaging process to do; coming up with a template, structure, content, etc, demands a lot of creativity. But, in some cases if you direct your creativity in the wrong way, you can end up with a website that is non functional and unappealing to your audience. If you want to develop a website that is able to maintain an engaged and interested audience, there some common pitfalls you should avoid, which include:
Using colors that don’t compliment your text:
One thing you should avoid is to select background colors that make your text illegible or difficult to read. Make sure to pick a color scheme that is attractive, but also complimentary to your content.
Using unreadable fonts:
Some times it is easy to forget that other people may not have the perfect sight, which you may possess. To make your text clearly visible to a wide audience, make sure to use text that will be legible to all.
Taking control of your audience’s web browser:
There are certain programs that can assist you to guide your audience on how they can experience your website. You should be very careful while using this type of software, since most audience would rather prefer to interact with your website on their own volition.
Using too much Flash and multimedia technology:
Flash media, if used properly, can give your website a sleek and cutting edge look. But, if used excessively can make your website slow to load and difficult to navigate. Therefore, the less flash or other multi media types you use, the better will be your website.
Test your website on multiple browsers:
There are a variety of browsers out there, such as internet explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc, that will render your HTML code somewhat differently. This effect may affect the layout of your web page(s) in a bad way, and affect the structure of your content. Therefore, it would be wise to take the time to test out your website, on the major browsers, and confirm its consistency across the board.
Too much SEO:
It one thing to search optimize your website and another to clutter you content with key word phrases. This is just away to add spam to your website, and over time search engine have been designed to recognize this fact, and avoid those types of websites. So keep your Meta tags clear and focused, without too many keywords.
If you avoid these common pitfalls you should be able to develop a website that is fully functional and very appealing.