While there are literally hundreds of different mistakes made by web designers, knowing what some of the most common are can help you ensure they are avoided on your site. These mistakes not only work against your business, they can also make visitors bounce off the site to never come back again. Don’t let that happen to you.
Eliminating Use of the Back Button
Long ago, site authors learned how to break the back button on the browser so that when a visitor pushes it, several, undesirable things may happen:
• An immediate redirect to an unplanned destination.
• The browser stays in the same location since the “back” button has been deactivated.
• An entirely new window opens and takes over the screen.
It is important that you NEVER do this. All that it will accomplish is annoying your visitors and ensuring they do not return to your site.
Opening Entirely New Windows
In the past, using a number of frames to display your content as your visitors clicks through the site was considered innovative – a brand new feature for web design. However, modern web users do not like this since it ties up their system, making their computer slow and complicates the entire user experience. While this tool is simple for Sacramento Website Design professionals to use, it is one that should be avoided.
Hiding Contact Information
If you are selling something, you need to ensure that your viewers have a number of different ways to contact you. The best option is to create a “Contact Us” link that will lead to all of your information including email address, phone and mailing address. This link needs to be included on each page of the website. Even if you never receive the first call, the presence of this will provide a real-world transparency and legitimacy to the website.
Using Bad or Broken Links
A bad hyperlink, that does absolutely nothing when it is clicked, or that leads to a “404” error screen, are hated by anyone surfing the web. You should test your site on a weekly basis to make sure that all the links that are present are working properly. Also, include a “Contact the Webmaster” link in the footer section of your website so that your visitors can let you know if they find a broken or bad link, or any other type of mistake on the site.
