When you are setting up a website, you need to know what to avoid. Chances are that you will be hiring a website design professional, and you want to make sure that you have given them clear specifications on what you want and do not want on your website. Web designers often use a number of features that need to be taken into consideration when setting up a website. Here are the main things to keep in mind when you are setting up a website:
A) A website must have a good website design meaning graphics, a good interface, a good layout and it must be accessible through multiple browsers;
B) A website design must include text that is easy to read, and have a website design that intrigues people to say on the site;
C) A good website design includes a site map for easy navigation to make it easy for readers to find information.
With these things in mind, you also need to know what aspects of website design should be avoided when you set up your website. These include:
1. Automatic background music - Naturally if you are promoting a music site, you can use music when doing your website design. However, in most cases, it is a good idea to avoid background sound as it can get quickly annoying to your users. Stop and think about what happens as a user navigates from page to page and they hear the same annoying sound starting over and over again. Chances are that rather than turn off their speakers, they will simply navigate away from the page and not come back. Also keep in mind that users who are on dial-up connections may have difficulty navigating your site at all;
2. Text size matters - Unfortunately, some website design includes a small text size, under the theory that the smaller the text, the more content they can fit on it. While this may be true, readers do not want to spend their time squinting and straining their eyes to read your content. No matter how good that content might be, a small font will send people running. On the flip side of that over-sized text screams bogus sales sites and will likely drive readers away as well;
3. Pop-up windows belong in the past – There was a time where the latest and greatest was taking advantage of pop-up advertising windows to get your point across. Website designs that include pop-ups still existing and many people are still using them. Oddly enough, with the number of plug-ins available, some people never get to see them. Those that do tend to hit the “X” and cancel the advertisement in a pop up long before they ever look at it. When you are setting up your website, avoid pop-ups as there is an excellent chance that this functionality is moot as most people will never look at it;
Remember that you want to attract new readers and you want people to feel comfortable sharing your content with others. The more user friendly your website design is, the more likely readers are to stay on your site and to share it with others. When designing a website, make sure that you do not fall into these website design traps and know what to avoid.
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