A good website is now crucial to the success of almost any business as the world moves ever more online. The best websites are unique and aesthetically pleasing, while remaining user friendly and quietly efficient. There is no one single method of building a great website; the point is that it should be designed from the inside out with the user first at all times.
A badly designed website puts off visitors and generally makes their life hard work. In such a competitive online environment, this means that they will soon click away to a rival website. The worst offenders tend to have a few factors in common with the design, build, layout and content. Here are some of the most frequent web design mistakes to avoid.
No defined purpose
When a user clicks onto a website, they should be able to tell instantly what it is for and what products, services or information is on offer. First impressions count, and a website that makes a user search for clues about what it is for will make no impact.
The content on the homepage should be clear and to the point, with any jargon or vague company mission statements. A very minimalist approach might seem cool and contemporary but if it is difficult to find out how to take the next step, the bounce rate will be high.
The user isn’t at the heart of the design
Websites exist to serve the user, not to show off the skills of the designer or developer. Like a high performance car, the skill and engineering works quietly but perfectly under the bonnet, while the driver enjoys a smooth and efficient journey.
Common mistakes include poor navigation that makes a user take too many steps to accomplish a goal, menus in unexpected places or with too many options, and the most frequently searched for products or services being hidden in a sub menu with no shortcuts from other pages.
At each stage of the journey, the user should be prompted to take the next step and never have to resort to using the back button or abandon their journey because they are at a dead end.
A high irritability factor
We’ve all clicked onto a website and clicked away immediately because something is obstructing our use or enjoyment of it. This could be an intrusive pop up that is difficult to minimise, too many ads, animated videos that start unprompted, text that is too small or difficult to read, a harsh background colour, or annoying music that plays automatically.
These features might seem like a good idea to attract attention, but if you want to convert visitors to customers, give them as much control over their experience as possible.
Outdated design and content
A dated design and content that has not been refreshed in over a year will be off-putting and raise doubts about the credibility of the business for the user.
This is not just a superficial issue; outdated designs carry a security risk and may be slow to load, meaning that Google will not rank them highly.
If you would like some help with e commerce pharmacy website design, please contact us today.