Web Design Mistakes That Somehow Still Happen
One of the great things about the Internet is how things on it can theoretically last forever. If no one makes the decision to tear it down, it can last indefinitely, like some kind of digital museum oddity.
However, it is much less fun when websites today use these types of elements. The hundred different fonts, the terrible backgrounds, and the small, low-quality images. How crazy to imagine a website in 2018 still using these skins. However, it happens, and much more often than you think.
With that in mind, here are 5 terrible web design mistakes that even a talented web design expert will make from time to time. Suffice to say, if your website uses any of these aspects, it may be time to think about an upgrade.
- garish colors
I’d like to think that web developers have learned a lot about color theory in the last 20 years, and for the most part, they have. The use of complementary colors, often subtle or pastel shades that help add visual flair to a design, is now the norm.
Then there are the websites that think that color is the most important aspect of a website, more than the content. These websites go and put it in your face. Websites with designs in bright red or bright green. These websites are a visual nightmare and no web design expert would make these decisions so we can only hope they are caused by pushy clients.
- too many fonts
The right choice of font can do a lot for a text. It can be presented in a professional way (Arial), perhaps with more character (Papyrus), or it can be cartoonish to appeal to children (Comic Sans), while Sans Serif fonts are theoretically easier to read on screen.
With all these possibilities it can be difficult to know which one to choose. What if you want a different meaning for each piece of text on the screen? Why, use 30 different fonts of course!
No do not do that. She was using sarcasm to illustrate a point. Too many fonts on screen can be confusing to look at, as each style struggles for attention. The text itself loses its flow as your eyes jump from one font to another, instead of focusing on the content itself.
- Music
Music on websites is one of the most memorable aspects of websites in the early 2000s. MySpace was the most prominent of the offenders, with the ability to add your own song to your profile. The idea was to help give visitors an idea of who you are and what your personality is.
People did this for years, despite knowing that every time they went to someone else’s profile, the first thing they did was turn off whatever horrible music was playing. Adding music to your website is distracting and anything you choose is unlikely to attract all (or any) of the visitors you receive. However, the most important thing is that it changes the first thought of users:
“What a beautiful website. What should I look at first?” within
“How the hell do I convert this awful music?”
That’s known as “Starting off on the wrong foot.”
- Background
As I mentioned on the Space Jam website, it has a terrible space background, with bright stars that distract you. Well guess what? That type of background is still used. The space theme is certainly less common, but the dark background with repeating patterns still exists on a multitude of websites. They are distracting and even if the pattern is made from the company logo, it ruins the design and theme and looks unimaginably youthful.
A background should generally be a block color, usually pastel or faded. This then highlights and complements the content, rather than fighting with it for attention.
- Confusing navigation:
Augmented Reality Games (ARGs) are played online, often on seemingly innocent websites. ARGs are a story that spans multiple websites. Readers must interact with websites, investigate, and solve puzzles along the way to continue the story. For these games to work, navigating the website is intentionally awkward as it creates a challenge for players to solve.
Unless your website is running an ARG, and I highly doubt it, then you should have clean and simple navigation. Your users are not yet engaged with the website and will find no pleasure in struggling to find the section of your website that they want. Any self-respecting web design expert should be able to create a simple website design that accentuates a simple and enjoyable user experience.