What Website Designs Say About Designers
Have you ever heard that saying, "your work should speak for itself?" If you are in web design, this should hold a much deeper meaning for because no matter if you have a good or a bad website design, it will tell the audience something about you, the designer. There are some functions and layout choices that stand out, though.
If a visitor runs into a lightbox or a modal window on your site, this may let them know that you are only interested in their money. Pop-up ads are annoying and intrusive. They make the joy of visiting a new website short-lived by interrupting the user experience. This interruption can make people leave your site as quick as they arrived.
If you have a site that has a lack of web accessibility, then this says that everybody is not important to you. It does not consider those that are disabled, those with older phones, or those with slower Internet. While a designer can choose to exclude people that choose a certain browser, it's not right to exclude those with conditions they cannot help, such as color blindness. It's also very easy to add web accessibility features to help boost your web design practices.
Too little white space in a website can tell viewers that you don't care about the readability of your content. Sufficient white space can be the fine line between a pleasant and easily readable content and visually strained and cramped content. If you take the time to create great content, you should take time to make sure the message isn't lost due to insufficient white space using some CSS.
Making your own custom 404 pages if an incorrect URL is entered can make your audience think that you care about keeping them on your site. It shouldn't just state that they made an error, it should have a search bar to find what they need, some auto-suggested pages that may be related to their query, and links to other pages that contain your content. If you don't provide ways for viewers to find what they need, then they have no reason to stay on your site.
Poor contrast between the foreground and background can tell the viewer that legibility isn't as important as aesthetics. This is bad for viewers with low vision. You are failing at the form over function mentality since you care more about your design than your content. A bit of CSS can help you with this, too.
When your site lacks engagement features, it can express to your audience that you don't care what they think. When you give ways for them to contact you, it shows that you care about their site experience, no matter if their comments are negative or positive. This could be any communication venue like email, contact forms, social network forms, live chat widgets, support forums, etc. If there is no way to contact you, it looks like you don't care what others have to say. Audience feedback is essential for making the user experience and interaction better, so keep communication lines open.
Taking time to craft a great website design not only make your business look good, but yourself, too. The more you plan and consider your choices, the better an experience you can create for both your users and you.
