Good design does not necessarily mean graphical design. If you seek advice from professional web designers, they will tell you that there are many things that can be attributed to good website design — usability or accessibility design, user experience design, layout or interface design, and then also the graphic design of your website.
Here are 3 design features that can be construed as bad web design practices. If you have already created your own website, you can use it to compare the design of your website and correct them before you start losing visitors and possible buyers.
1. Illegible text and font sizes
Your website visitors should be able to read the text on your web pages without any trouble. Do not use very small text that will cause your visitors to strain their eyes. Font sizes like 10 or 12 are fairly legible but if your website focuses on older readers, you should use a bigger size. Fonts like Arial, Tahoma, Georgia or Verdana view best in nearly all browsers. Limit the size of different fonts to no more than three (actually two is better) on a web page and refrain from using dark backgrounds with text that does not contrast sharply and makes it difficult to read the contents. In most cases dark text on a light background stands out more and is easier to read. Remember, even the best content won't keep your visitors on your website if they have difficulty in reading it so make a point of it to use text and fonts that is suitable to your content and ensure that your visitors stay on your website.
2. Background music
Playing background music on your website can totally put off 99% of your visitors. They may not share the same taste in music as you do and if they are irritated by continuous background music when they try to navigate your web pages, they would normally not even try to find a way to mute the sound but actually leave your site. Visitors who are on dial up connection will also have to wait quite a long time for your pages to load so that they can view them. When this happens, they usually leave before having a chance to see what you can offer them. If your site is not music related, stay away from looping background music or if you feel the need for music, at least provide your visitors with a way to turn it off.
3. Popup windows and other excessive advertisements
So many companies use popup windows to display their advertisements that the whole purpose of this kind of advertising has lost its value. Popup blockers have become very popular so it is not really worth it to display your products in a popup window. People also tend to close a popup window without even looking at it and will even leave a website if there are too many of these windows appearing on their screens. The same can be said about the excessive use of banners, flash ads or other kinds of intrusive advertisements that can annoy your visitors and defeat the whole purpose of your website. If you are still in the process of creating your own website and are serious about your online business, you should avoid these kind of advertisements or keep it to the absolute minimum.
As a webmaster, you should concentrate on creating a website that is easy to read, provide valuable information and products and do not put off visitors with fancy technology and tricks. Your main purpose should be to find visitors who will turn into buyers and come back often.
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