Tips for website design - features to avoid
Every business owner wants their website to look nice and professional. They also want the website to show up at the top of online searches. However, some of these "nice" features could actually turn your website visitors away from your site and cost you in revenue. Many of these features will cause pages to load slow or even crash unless the visitor has the latest version of Java. Keep it simple and you'll find that your conversion rates will skyrocket, get a better return on website investment. Following up on our previous blog about "Characteristics of a good website", here are some features to avoid on your website.
Overdone flash/splash screens
Splash screens gave the web users of yesteryear something to marvel at. Today (or I should say since the advent of Google.com) it is all about fast loading, simple and purposeful website. Users have become more sophisticated and less impressed by a page spinning and sparkling and flying around than they once were. So save the flash for where you really need it and concentrate on getting users to where they need to go.
Video/Sound files that start up when a visitor arrives at your site
Talk about unprofessional! What if your customers speakers are turned all the way up? You'll be sure to annoy them as you blast them out of their chair and possibly wake up the baby! Be considerate to your audience. People coming to your site may be at work themselves and aren’t necessarily interested in broadcasting their current activities to the office. They may not share your musical tastes. They may already be listening to their own music. Finding the volume controls on your site could be the last straw.
Javascript functions that load mini windows on the page
You might add these mini windows to pop-up to highlight a special discounted pricing or an advertisement. However, unless it is something that your website visitor is expecting (as in confirmation of a payment), all other pop-up windows are an annoyance to the user. Not only that, sometimes these can crash your visitors computer!!! What better way to ensure that they will never return to your website!!!!
Long Scrolling Pages
No one will read your text if it takes forever to download! Also, if a Web page contains too much text or if the text is too verbose, visitors may be loose interest and leave. Brevity and clarity are as important as how your Website is organized. Your message, on each page, should be written concisely; and all critical content and navigation options should be on the top part of the page.
Some business owners think that the "cool" factor overrides all of the issues that can be associated with these things. While it may be "cool" for the web designer and web site owner, I can tell you that it's far from being "cool" to the site's visitors. Not only are many of these things a hassle for your visitors, having a home page that is made up only of Javascript, a video or music can also hurt you when it comes to being found by search engines. Keep it simple and you'll be far better off in many aspects. Plus, save a tone of money in the website design and development cost - can't beat that!