In today’s digital age, a website serves as the virtual storefront for many businesses. It’s the first point of contact for potential customers, which is why it’s essential to design a website that’s both visually appealing and user-friendly. However, there are some bad practices that amateur web designers often engage in, which can negatively impact a website’s SEO and user experience. Here are the top five common bad practices in website design and why they will damage your website’s overall performance, which will in turn drive away customers online.
1. Ignoring Responsive Design
Responsive design is a web design approach that ensures a website looks great on any device, whether it’s a desktop, smartphone, or tablet. This approach has become increasingly important as more people are using their mobile devices to access the internet. However, some web designers still create websites that are not optimised for mobile devices. This can lead to a poor user experience and negatively impact your website’s SEO as Google considers mobile-friendliness a ranking factor.
2. Slow Loading Speed
A website that takes too long to load is frustrating for users, and it can negatively impact your website’s SEO. Google considers loading speed as a ranking factor, and a slow website can lead to lower search engine rankings, which means less visibility and fewer visitors. Web designers should optimise images, minimise HTTP requests, and use caching techniques to ensure a website loads quickly.
3. Complicated Navigation
A website’s navigation should be intuitive and easy to use. A complicated navigation system can lead to a poor user experience as users struggle to find what they’re looking for. Web designers should keep navigation simple, use clear labels, and organise content logically. It’s also important to ensure that the website’s navigation is consistent across all pages.
4. Poor Content Structure
‘Content is king’, but if it’s not structured properly, it can negatively impact your website’s SEO and user experience. Web designers should use headers and subheaders to organise content, use bullet points and numbered lists to break up long paragraphs, and ensure that the website’s content is easy to read. A website’s content should be written for the user, not the search engine.
5. Ignoring Accessibility
Accessibility refers to the design of a website that’s usable by people with disabilities. Ignoring accessibility can negatively impact your website’s SEO and user experience. Web designers should use alt tags to describe images, use descriptive link text, and ensure that the website is keyboard accessible. Ignoring accessibility can lead to legal issues and a loss of potential customers.
Takeaway
In conclusion, these bad practices can damage your website’s SEO and user experience, which will in turn drive away new online business. If you want to let the professionals take care of your new website, or make improvements to your existing one, then get in touch with ITM Digital today!
Our qualified and experienced Kildare team offers a range of cutting-edge services including; Website Design, Search Engine Optimisation, Google Ads, logo Design and Branding.
Call us now on 045 409984 or email info@itmdigital.ie.
