Just what is the difference between a bad site and one that is truly outstanding? You'll know when you see them. I'm sure you've seen examples of several great websites on the internet - and also remember examples of those you'll never want to revisit. If you want your visitors to come back then you've got to do a lot to impress them in an extremely short time. First impressions are really important. You only have about 20 seconds to make that first impression count so you want to do the best that you can.

Many people often decide to design and build their own websites. Without proper experience or website design background many mistakes are made. If you are a beginner then there are several things you should keep in mind to avoid before designing your website.

There are several common web site design mistakes which should be avoided when creating your new web site, and here they are.

1. Slow Loading Pages

Problem: Have you ever visited a website and waited forever for it to load?

Solution: Optimize your images at a lower resolution to achieve faster loading pages. Keep your page sizes well under 60 KB.

2. Page Layout

Problem: Websites that have the navigation in different places throughout the site. It looks cluttered and unprofessional.

Solution: Be consistent and be organized in your websites layout. Make sure all your web pages look the same and the websites navigation is in the same location on each page.

3. Wild and Crazy Color Schemes

Problem: Have you ever visited a website that has a background with a bright, neon color and can't read the content because the colors are so loud? What's the point?

Solution: Think "easy to read." Avoid dark backgrounds with light colored fonts. White background with black text is best for the general public.

4. Spelling and Grammar Errors

Problem: Spelling and grammar errors just jump off the page.

Solution: Always spell check.

5. Text on the Page

Problem: Most people on the internet don't actually read web pages - they scan them.

Solution: Make sure your page is easy to read. Break text into manageable pieces, use sub-headings, short paragraphs, highlighted keywords and bullet points.

6. Font Styles and Sizes

Problem: Serif fonts such as Times New Roman are more difficult to read on a computer monitor. Also, text that is too small or way too big are hard to read.

Solution: It's a good idea to use non-serif fonts such as Verdana or Arial for web pages that will be read online. Your page will look much better, more professional, and will be much easier for your visitor to read.

7. Not Enough "White Space"

Problem: It can be overwhelming to have too many words on a page.

Solution: It is a very good idea to make your page easier to read by breaking all the text into smaller, more manageable pieces. Sub-headings and bullet points are good to use.

8. Cheesy Music that the User Cannot Control

Problem: Bad background music on a site. Next, not being able to shut it off.

Solution: If you think you need to use music on your website for some reason, then make sure you offer your visitors the option to turn it off, or on, quickly and easily.

9. Poor Layout and Design

Problem: Have you ever been to a website that is simply just "too much"? It's like they are trying to fill every available pixel of space on the entire page.

Solution: Don't overdo it when designing your pages. Just because you can add something doesn't mean you have to. Leave plenty of white space between your text and images.

10. Overly Long Pages

Problem: Ever been to a website with a page that just scrolls down forever?

Solution: Most visitors will never scroll down to the bottom of a really, really long page. It's better to have several short pages vs. a few really long pages.

11. Non-Standard Links

Problem: You go to a website and aren't sure which words are really links because the link colors have been changed.

Solution: Don't confuse your users. Keep the link colors as they are.

12. Under Construction signs

Problem: Have you ever been to a website and found a page with no content of any type but a big "Under Construction" sign instead?

Solution: Don't use "Under Construction" signs on your website.

13. Didn't Test Your Web Site

Problem: Ever been to a website that just looks like a mess? Maybe you saw text overlapping images, weird alignment, etc.

Solution: It is important to always check to see what your website looks like in many different web browsers and make any changes before uploading your site to the web.

14. Unclear Navigation

Problem: Broken links, error pages or too many moving objects are not signs of good website design on any website for your visitors. If navigation is too difficult to follow, visitors won't return.

Solution: Make sure that your navigation is easy to read, find and to follow. Also, make sure that it is in the same spot on all of your websites pages.

15. Sloppy Web Site Copy

Problem: Have you ever visited a website with missing words, bad grammar, or it just didn't make sense?

Solution: Always remember, "Content is King" on the internet, so make sure there is plenty of good, focused information for your visitors.

16. Never Updating Your Site

Problem: Ever go to a website that hasn't been changed at all over the last few times that you've visited it?

Solution: You should always update the content on your site frequently.

17. Too Many Clicks

Problem: Have you ever visited a website, found something you were interested in checking out further and then had to click, click, click before you found that item. Or did you give up first?

Solution: Don't test the patience of your visitors. Make sure that everything can be found on your site within 3 clicks or less.

18. No Privacy Policy

Problem: No Privacy Policy page listed on the website.

Solution: Post a Privacy Policy on your website. Make sure that your customers know that you will not share their addresses with anyone.

19. No Company Contact Information

Problem: A company with no address or contact information is not one you necessarily want to give your money to.

Solution: Email addresses or phone numbers are most often seen as contact information on websites, however, having a physical mailing address on your web site adds another key credibility factor.

20. Using Free Web Hosting

Problem: Ever visit a web page from one of those free website hosts with a name (URL) so long you'll never remember it.

Solution: If you want your internet business to be taken seriously avoid using free web hosting. This all adds to the issue of credibility.

21. Using Free E-mail Addresses

Problem: Ever try to send an email to a website, only to find out that the email addresses they use are not the same as their domain name.

Solution: Using a free email address, such as Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail, is never appropriate for your website. On your website it is a good idea to always use an email addresses that is associated with your domain name for your business.

22. Advertisements

Problem: You've come to a website where the pages are cluttered with a lot of different advertisements.

Solution: A lot of people are using advertisements to earn extra money. It is okay to do that if you want, just don't over do it.

23. Bad Images

Problem: I'm sure you have seen a web page with missing graphics or funky shaped images more than once?

Solution: Always optimize your images and use the height and width attributes of the image tag. Also, you will want to save the image files in the right formats: GIF for artwork and JPG for Photographs.

24. This Website Best Viewed on .....

Problem: This is often seen on many beginner websites.

Solution: Best advice, don't use this on your website.

25. No Prices

Problem: Websites that don't have product prices listed clearly.

Solution: If you're selling a product on your website, ALWAYS include a price with the item description.

Last but not least, here's a list of things that you should just avoid, simply because it's the right thing to do concerning website design. And here they are:

Frames, Hit counters, Orphan pages, Anything "Cutesy", Pop ups, Fancy Fonts, Don't overuse Flash, Avoid Javascript links, Blinking text , Animated GIFs, Missing Meta Tags, Horizontal (sideways) Scrolling, Don't underline or color normal text, Don't forget functional links on your footer, Don't forget about your Marketing Strategies, Don't forget to include anchor text on your links, Never subscribe a visitor for anything without his consent, Don't leave the home page title as "Welcome to Mysite.com", Avoid using all the "Bells And Whistles" simply because you can, Not Taking Advantage of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on your website

Whether you have created your own website or are working with someone else on creating your website, I hope all these ideas above will help you build a better website that steadily attracts visitors. I hope the tips above help you design the best site that you possibly can and help you to avoid all these bad design issues in the future. Knowledge is critical.

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