Don’t ruin your website

You may have run into a few websites in the past that didn’t make sense, confused you or even hurt your eyes. Most of these websites probably wanted to be original and creative but failed to consider the user experience which lead to just annoying and confusing the users.

To help you make the right decisions when having your new website built here’s some tips to help you avoid ruining your website:

1. The user must understand the website within seconds:

If the user can’t find what they are looking for within seconds, they will just go elsewhere. The window to catch the users attention on the internet is very small so make sure your website isn’t cluttered or confusing.

2. The content must be scannable:

Content on the internet isn’t like content in a book. People like to scan through the text to find what they are looking for as they don’t have time to read every detail.

Avoid large blocks of texts. Instead use bullet points, headers, subheaders and lists to ensure it’s an easy read for the user.

3. Don’t use fancy fonts that are unreadable:

We know you want your website to look cool and unique but font that is difficult to read will lose your audience. Ensure you make the reading process comfortable for them.

4. Avoid any kind of intro page:

The number of steps required for the user to access your content actually matters for both user and search engine. Once someone lands on your website they should land on the homepage with the content right in front of them.

Don’t force the user to watch or read something before they can access the real content. This just slows down the process.

5. If you MUST play an audio file let the user start it:

This is just one of those trends that won’t die. Having music or an audio file start playing as soon as you enter a website is very annoying. In some cases an audio file may be needed but give the user the option to play it.

 

If you follow these tips you won’t destroy your website from day one. People like fast, easy and clear websites that don’t require much thought to find what they are looking for.