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3 Annoying Web Design Mistakes

As a digital marketer, I come across countless websites on a daily basis; some are great and provide inspiration whilst others are simply annoying!

A few days ago, I was searching the internet for some work related information (of course) when I came across a website that can only be described as [insert expletive here]. Many of you may be wondering which website it was but I’m afraid I can’t name and shame as it would be very unprofessional of me to do so (please don’t send me private messages to tell you either!).

I couldn't believe a designer would actually “design” something as bad as that so I decided to write this post in an attempt to deter others from making the same mistakes. After making an initial list of web design flaws, I managed to narrow it down to a list of the three most annoying mistakes using a very scientific method – things that annoy me the most!

1. Page Load Speed

It surprises me how some designers and developers fail to understand the importance of page load speed. Not only does a slow loading site cause visitors to leave, it also impacts directly on your search engine rankings. The funny thing is improving page load speed isn’t always as complicated as many people think. Sometimes, all that’s needed is a good old image optimisation exercise.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights is a very useful tool for identifying aspects of your website that may be slowing the site down.

2. Poor Navigation

Put it this way; if you owned a physical store on the high street, you wouldn't create a maze for customers to go through before getting to the checkout, would you? So why do it on your website?

The best websites are those that simplify the journey visitors take to get from A to B. If you can’t navigate around your own site then your visitors most definitely can’t! Keep it simple and logical so that even the most basic user can perform the action that you want.

Here’s an example of a website with poor navigation. Yes, the orange circles are the things you use to navigate. Now, to figure out which circle takes me to the Services page…

3. Horizontal Scrolling

Yes, horizontal scrolling can be used to great effect if your site is image based as demonstrated on Future of Car Sharing but if you’re simply using it because you can’t fit text vertically on to the page then please don’t.

Although there are many reasons why it can be bad, the main one is that internet users around the world have become accustomed to vertical scroll bars. Any change from this can cause confusion amongst visitors which will most likely result in them leaving your site.

The World’s Worst Website Ever demonstrates just how irritating a horizontal scroll bar can be if not used properly.

By Arham Khan