the 10 biggest mistakes in web design
1. Using Frames
Splitting a page into frames is very confusing for users since frames break the fundamental user model of the web page. Suddenly, you cannot bookmark the current page and return to it (the bookmark points to another version of the frame set), URLs stop working, and printouts become difficult. Even worse, the user actions go out the door. Who knows what information will appear where when they click on a link? Perhaps the biggest problem is when a person has found your site in a search engine and find themselves with only a third of your page.... and usually without a menu bar to take them anywhere else on your site. Why not have EVERY page show up in search engines in complete format? Forget frames!
2. Abuse of the Latest Web Technology
Don't try to attract users to your site by bragging about use of the latest web technology. Your site is not about the cool things your web creator knows, it's about your company! You may fascinate a few "newbies" to the web, but mainstream users won't care. Serious users want useful information and customer service. Using the latest animatronics before it is even out of beta is a sure way to discourage users: if their system crashes while visiting your site, you can bet that many of them won't return to you. Unless you are in the business of selling Internet products or services, it is better to wait until some experience has been gained with respect to the appropriate ways of using new techniques. Too much java scripting will also add greatly to download time and many browsers won't understand the codes. Never use Java scripting for menus, they are just too unpredictable and the search engines won't find the links beyond your opening page. Stay clear of all this cuteness.
3. Complex URLs
Even though machine-level addressing like the URL should never have been exposed in the user interface, it is there and we have found that users actually try to decode the URL's of pages to infer the structure of web sites. Users do this because of the horrifying lack of support for navigation and sense of location in current web browsers. Thus, a URL should contain human-readable directory and file names that reflect the nature of the information space. Also, users sometimes need to type in a URL, so try to minimize the risk of typos by using short names with all lower-case characters and no special characters (many people don't know how to type a ~).
4. Orphan Pages
Make sure that all pages include a clear indication of what web site they belong to since users may access pages directly without coming in through your home page. For the same reason, every page should have a link up to your home page as well as some indication of where they fit within the structure of your information space.
5. Using Shopping Carts to Design Web Pages
Some websites are actually designed through shopping carts. You can spot some of these sites because the pages often have an MV suffix. In most cases, the index page is the only page the search engines will see. When they see the MV suffix, they will stop and go somewhere else. MV pages to a search engine means your site is a shopping cart and nothing more, and that does not qualify as information to them. Most shopping carts are also secure, which is even a bigger reason the search engines don't want to look at them. Never use a shopping cart as a web design tool. Keep your shopping cart behind HTML pages, where they belong.
6. Poor Navigation
Don't assume that users know as much about your site as you do. They always have difficulty finding information, so they need support in the form of a strong sense of structure and place. Start your design with a good understanding of the structure of the information space and communicate this structure explicitly to the user. Provide a site map and let users know where they are and where they can go. Also, you will need a good search feature since even the best navigation support will never be enough.
7. Scrolling Text
Marquees, and constantly running animation make the pages slow to load and what's worse, it is visual "noise." Never include page elements that move incessantly. Moving images have an overpowering effect on the human peripheral vision. A web page should not emulate Times Square in New York City. A web page should not be an attack on the human senses: give your user some peace and quiet to actually read the text. If not, they will simply leave to another website that will present their message in a pleasing way.
8. Outdated Information
Budget to hire a web "gardener" as part of your team. You need somebody to root out the weeds and replant the flowers as the web sites changes but most people would rather spend their time creating new content than on maintenance. In practice, maintenance is a cheap way of enhancing the content on your web sites since many old pages keep their relevance and should be linked into the new pages. Of course, some pages are better off being removed completely from the server after their expiration date.
9. Overly Long Download Times and Music Intros
I am placing this issue last because most people already know about it; not because it is the least important. Traditional human factors guidelines indicate 20 seconds as the maximum response time before users lose interest. The standard is to assume everyone has a 56 k modem and get your page to load under 20 seconds in that environment.
One huge problem is music on web pages is that music adds greatly to download time. It can clog or confuse many browsers. Another problem is many users listen to their own music while browsing and will click off websites with annoying sound, thus never viewing what your site at all. The most experienced web users already know that when music pops into a web sites when it loads, the page was probably created by an amateur. Go to any high-end retail or serious business web site and you will soon see they simply do not contain music. If music is part of what the web site is about, music should be available as downloads only, keeping control in the hands of your viewer. They will appreciate that.
10. Useless Flash
Those new to the web are dazzled the first time they see Flash and animation. But in today's "PC savvy" society it is estimated only 1 in 30 people will sit through a Flash animation entry page of a web site! Use Flash carefully, if at all. NEVER use it as an "entry" page and NEVER use Flash for site navigation (buttons), since there are still many computers that simply cannot see it or see it differently on each type of system or browser. If you absolutely must use Flash, give the viewer an alternate "HTML only" version to view or use it in non-vital and non-distracting ways. On this website, you may notice our flash opening is a non-vital area which doesn't affect the navigation or content of the page. We use it because we design it and must show it to our clients.
Many who view your site on AOL, WebTV, Opera, and some older and European browsers will thank you for allowing them to actually see your site. Having said that, the biggest problem with using Flash, both as "entry page" or navigation, is the major search engines. They will rarely list a web site where Flash is used for navigation or information. In plain English, the engines were built for finding information. Only pure text set in the page can be read by the search engines because that is what they are programmed to read as "information." Many disreputable, amateur and adult web sites use an excess of Flash, so unfortunately, many search engines have simply stopped spidering sites with more than a small about of Flash content. Another drawback is if you are using a PC, you will find that your viewer cannot print a webpage with flash. Those areas of the page remain blank. If you want to have Flash, and it's appropriate for your site, simply use it within an HTML page as one element of the total design.
