{"id":21176,"date":"2023-02-13T15:46:07","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T07:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/?p=21176"},"modified":"2023-03-09T23:26:51","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:26:51","slug":"9-website-ux-design-mistakes-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/blog\/business-marketing\/9-website-ux-design-mistakes-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"9 UX Design Mistakes to Avoid When Designing Your Website"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For web designers or website owners, there\u2019s nothing like seeing your site go online. But one mishap in your website\u2019s UX<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">design and you\u2019ll be seeing high bounce rates and low conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, the last thing you want is to have your hard-earned website go to waste. So in this guide, we\u2019ve prepared all the UX design mistakes you should avoid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>First Things First: <\/b><b>What is User Experience (UX) Design<\/b><b>?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s start by defining UX or user experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">User experience, as the name implies, refers to the overall experience a user has with a product or application. In the context of web design and development, it describes how a user feels when interacting with your website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX design, on the other hand, is the process of optimising your website\u2019s design elements to<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> positively i<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mpact user experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peter Morville, who many people attribute as the \u201cFounding Father\u201d of information architecture, devised the <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"http:\/\/semanticstudios.com\/user_experience_design\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX honeycomb<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that breaks down the elements of good UX design:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Usable:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A product or app needs to be simple and convenient.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Useful: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the design should promote ease of use, it must fulfil the user\u2019s needs as well. Users must quickly find a feature they\u2019re looking for and it\u2019s expected to work every time.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Desirable: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where aesthetics come in. The overall design and interface must be pleasing and elicits positive emotions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Findable: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When users encounter a problem, they should be able to find a solution right away.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Accessible:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Users come from different backgrounds. Your design should not discriminate and should be accessible to everyone, including users with disabilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Credible: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In regard to websites, you need to ensure that your site is secure and boosts trust and credibility.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Valuable: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It should provide value, not just for your users, but to your company or organisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good UX design is all about creating lasting impressions. From the moment visitors land on your page to when they decide to check out \u2014 you need to make each interaction simple and hassle-free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your website falls short of expectations, your prospects won\u2019t think twice about looking elsewhere. So keep conversions high and bounce rates low by avoiding these<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> UX design mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>9 <\/b><b>UX Design Problems and Their Solutions<\/b><b><\/b><\/h4>\n<p><b>1. Focusing too much on aesthetics instead of function and vice versa<\/b><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good-looking website is a great tactic to invite users. But to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">really <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make them stay, your website needs to actually work and fulfil a need of the users. When designing a website, find a balance between the two.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A functioning and aesthetically pleasing website isn\u2019t like a piece of artwork. You should not leave the user trying to interpret what they should do next. Take Google for example. Visit Google.com and you\u2019ll be instantly directed to the site&#8217;s purpose: the search engine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>2. Dismissing responsive design\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Responsive web design is about creating web pages that render properly on different devices, windows, or screen sizes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People use a variety of devices when browsing. So having a responsive website isn\u2019t a trend, but a must if you want to win users over. And while you\u2019re at it, don\u2019t just design a website to fit into mobile or tablet screens. You need to consider different browsers as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>3. Overdoing the pop-ups<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding pop-ups on your website is a great way to increase your email subscription list, gain qualified leads, and encourage demo sign-ups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But adding <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">too many <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pop-ups can easily turn a potential customer away. Rather than giving up information, they would leave your site completely. So be mindful when adding pop-ups to your page.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep the following tips in mind:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stick to one pop-up per web page<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make the close or \u201cx\u201d sign visible to the users so they can easily close your pop-up<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A\/B test your pop-ups to determine what\u2019s driving conversions and what is turning visitors away<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure that your pop-up does not fill an entire page<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>4. Focusing on search engines instead of the user<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">common mistake web developers make<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is obsessing over SEO.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure, optimising your website for search engines is a great way to get Google and other major search engines to notice you. But focusing too much on search engines and paying less attention to your users will cost you in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So you might be wondering, how can I tell if I\u2019m over-optimising my website? Here are some surefire signs:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You point all external or internal links to top-level navigation pages (your homepage, contact us page, etc.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You excessively use keyword-rich anchor texts for internal links<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You use non-relevant keywords in your website content<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You link to untrustworthy websites or sites with low domain authority scores<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, while SEO is essential to drive to your site, websites should always be designed with the user in mind. So make sure you put out a site that\u2019s responsive, contains engaging content, and is easy to navigate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking of good content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>5. Putting content aside<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s been 25 years since Bill Gates coined the phrase, \u201cContent is king\u201d. Even with all the website advancements, the content will continue to reign supreme in 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content that resonates, engages, and meets the user\u2019s needs is not only good for improving your website\u2019s UX design, but also for your brand. You can have the best themes installed or design a good pathway to purchase. But if your content is poorly-written and untrustworthy, it directly impacts your website\u2019s user experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few content guidelines to deliver good UX design<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add keywords across your content (but DO NOT overstuff)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pay attention to quality: Fix your sentence structures, polish spelling and grammar<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Publish new blogs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revisit and revise old content<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understand the role of headers, use H1 for critical titles, H2 to divide your content into sections, and H3 for subsections<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure that your landing pages have clear CTAs (Call-to-Action) to boost conversions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like aesthetics and site functionality, you need to create content with the reader in mind. At the same time, follow SEO guidelines to ensure that your site ranks high on search results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>6. Misleading CTAs and misplaced links<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Links and buttons that don\u2019t perform like they are supposed to can spell bad news for your website\u2019s user experience. Your site visitors will instantly flag this as misleading and won\u2019t hesitate to leave.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It goes without saying that you\u2019ll need to check if your links are working and lead to the correct page. For example, the Contact Us button should lead users to the contact page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using heatmap or analytics tools helps you determine what CTAs are frequently clicked on and if users are bouncing right off as soon as they land on the page.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>7. Failing to optimise the in-between pages<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX design isn\u2019t about leading customers from Point A to Point B on your site. Instead, look at it as an entire journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure, you should pay attention to optimising key touchpoints like your checkout process or homepage navigation. But do not ignore the in-between moments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, a user keys in a search on your website. What happens when the query comes up empty or there is no data to show?\u00a0 Plan out these in-between phases to ensure there are no gaps in the UX design.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>8. Jumping into design trends<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A quick Google search will tell you all about the web design trends of 2023. Do the same thing mid-year and you\u2019ll get another list of web design trends for 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The thing about trends is that they come and go. So if you\u2019re running a site, think really hard if you want to adopt the latest UX design trends because everyone else is doing it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take flash content, for example. At one point, it was all the rage. Fast forward to today and websites that went overboard with their flash designs had to scramble and redirect old pages since browsers no longer support them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A better strategy would be applying evergreen designs to your site. For example, simple flat menus are here to stay. Gone are the days when designs would pin links to the sidebar. These days, designers prefer keeping core links at the top of the page.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>9. Ignoring the importance of quality hosting<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What happens while browsing a website largely impacts user experience. But not everything is about design or content.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your website is like an engine, while your web host fuels it to perform its tasks each day. If the fuel is insufficient or low quality, then expect your website\u2019s operations to falter. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, when setting up a site, ensure that you put <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quality web hosting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as a top priority. If not, your visitors will abandon your site and no amount of good content or design can save it.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While on the market for a reputable web host, you might want to look for the following features:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Security. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Web hosts are in charge of implementing proper cybersecurity measures on your site. You need a web host that guarantees that your files and data are safe. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So you might be wondering what this has to do with UX design. Well, users, like yourself, expect privacy and security when browsing online. No one wants to run into malware or scam. The more trustworthy your website is, the more users are willing to engage with your site.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Speed. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your website speed and performance depend largely on your web host. So, make sure that your hosting plan can handle large amounts of traffic and provides sufficient storage for your growing website.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may also want to look for a web host that uses a CDN or Content Delivery Network to decrease the distance between users and servers, therefore improving site speed for visitors around the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Uptime. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your web host can\u2019t assure 99.9% uptime, then look elsewhere.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine having customers proceed to checkout an item only to run into an error informing them that the website is down. The more this happens, the more they get turned off and abandon you for your competitor.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, look for a website host that provides excellent after-sales support. Not every web designer or developer has the skills to fix websites. Focus on what you do best while leaving server maintenance and upgrades to an expert.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Bonus: Leaving the work to an inexperienced designer<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Say you happened upon this article while looking to work with a web designer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One common mistake site owners make is placing their website\u2019s design in the hands of an inexperienced designer. They do this often to save money and don\u2019t consider how this can end up compromising their site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t make the mistake of trusting anyone with your site. Think carefully when assembling an in-house team or <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/blog\/business-insights\/top-3-ux-design-companies-in-singapore\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">outsourcing the work<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You would want to check out their portfolios and their experience working with clients.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Put These <\/b><b>UX Design Mistakes <\/b><b>in the Bin<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you are bound to run into some mistakes when designing your site, it\u2019s important to keep learning from them. Follow the advice we covered above and keep tracking to see what\u2019s working and what can be further optimised.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For web designers or website owners, there\u2019s nothing like seeing your site go online. But one mishap in your website\u2019s UX\u00a0design and you\u2019ll be seeing high bounce rates and low conversions. Now, the last thing you want is to have your hard-earned website go to waste. So in this guide, we\u2019ve prepared all the UX [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":21177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21176"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21929,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21176\/revisions\/21929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}