10 Common Myths about Website Design
Words cannot describe the significance of websites in online marketing efforts. It reaches customers 24/7 and helps to sustain them with valuable information. Most consumers will evaluate a business based on its website design.
Yet, such a significant component often gets poorly planned or executed. A significant portion of companies doesn’t pay any close attention to the performance of their site. One can even say that they make poor decisions based on a host of myths and misconceptions.
A solid understanding of these myths is essential to avoid the waste of time and money invested in a website that rarely yields any results.
How do web design myths hurt a website?
First, planning and executing a web design based on common misconceptions will lead to unrealistic assumptions and serious design flaws. It will affect the performance of a site online significantly. Especially, beginners and novices come across the worst of misconceptions that will affect their brand in the long run.
What are the common myths about web design?
1. Linear creation process
The most common myth persisting among people is that web design is a linear process. Similar to humans, websites are also evolving constantly. The design elements should be fluid enough to accommodate new changes and updates. Therefore, instead of a clear beginning, middle, and end, the actual process is ongoing. Designers have to keep reinventing and redesigning the site to compete with other modern websites online.
2. Post-launch needs
People often underestimate the amount of work a website needs to perform at a required level. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance are vital to integrate relevant features, fix performance bugs, and deter security threats. Most importantly, ongoing maintenance is an indispensable part of driving traffic and leads to a website and growing a business.
3. Personal preferences
It is natural to prefer personal design choices and styles when designing a website. However, prioritizing a design capable of enticing the target audience is necessary to thrive as a brand. Many designers believe that their personal design preferences can lead customers on the conversion journey. But it will only leave a site one-dimensional and overwhelming in aesthetical senses. Hence, understand the persona of the target audience and choose design elements that will resonate with them better.
4. Minimalism
The field of web design is witnessing an increasing stride towards minimalism. Sleek, de-cluttered designers are seen as the future by many. But minimalism is not the ideal choice for every website. Most businesses need an optimal level of content to attract and engage with their customers. Therefore, a hyper-minimal design can make their website less functional and affect conversions.
5. Overloading features
New website features are coming every second, and they will not be suitable for every web design. Cluttering a page with widgets, parallax windows, chatbots, or QR scanners will only affect the visual appeal. Most importantly, users will have a hard time navigating around the page and may even ultimately quit it. Hence, designers should only include features that will improve the user experience or increase conversion rates.
6. Homepage
Simply stated, the homepage is the most visited page of a website. However, it is not the most important one. Reports show that home page views are decreasing drastically because other pages are contributing their part in providing value. Therefore, putting too much focus on the homepage design is another mistake to avoid.
7. Design is everything
Another popular myth that is surfacing around the internet is the role of design. A fancy design is not always the best practice. Web design consists of several other elements that can make a site appealing. Essentially, web design practices aren’t just limited to making the site look good. It is more about improving performance and efficiency.
8. Traffic rates
A new website doesn’t automatically translate into thousands of customers pouring in on a daily basis. Bringing in a greater volume of traffic and conversions is an entirely different process and has less to do with attractive designs. It is essential to build a solid marketing strategy and constantly monitor the results to ensure search engine success.
9. Mobile website
Even in this era dominated by smartphones, most designers believe they don’t need a mobile responsive site to get visitors. The consequence of this decision is losing millions of potential customers and possible revenue. Even Google is prioritizing websites with a scalable mobile version because mobile users drive the majority of global web traffic.
10. Budget
Lastly, the cost of designing and building a website will vary from one project to another. But, it would be beneficial to work with a budget and research for companies that can promise results in the long run.
