When making a website, it is advisable to first find a user-friendly website hosting company to make the technology invisible. A personal website by 1&1 allows you to focus on the purpose and design of the website without having to worry about any of the numerous technological aspects of a website ranging from knowing HTML to creating the right frames.

Despite how easy it is to make websites, here are 10 common pitfalls when designing one.

  1. An unclear purpose
    A website is useful as a place for people to contact the website owner, a place for customers to find out the location of a brick-and-mortar business, a place to sell e-commerce, a place to get new leads, or a place to inform people about the business. It’s very important to define the reason for the website.
  2. No call to action (CTA)
    A website needs to ask the reader to do something – like buy a product, order a service, make a call, join a mailing list, or ask for more information through an inquiry form.
  3. Difficult to navigate
    Sometimes websites can offer too much information. A simple navigation bar and just enough information to persuade the reader to take some form of action will be much more effective.
  4. Generic images
    Using stock images can create a generic look. There is little personality in the website because the reader will probably have seen the image many times before. Unique, relevant graphics will make a website much more attractive to a visitor.
  5. Poor text
    When choosing the wrong font, font color, and font size, a page can be difficult to read. The best font should be easy to read, have a suitable color, and be large enough for someone with poor eyesight to read. Additionally, articles should be well-written and properly edited and proofread.
  6. Too Busy
    It’s possible to have too many graphics, forms, articles, boxes, and other things on a website. This clutter does not encourage a reader to take action. A clean look will make a website much more usable.
  7. Mobile Unfriendly
    Since a large proportion of Internet users are now using tablets and smartphones to access a website, a website that is not mobile-friendly will be losing a huge piece of the available marketplace.
  8. Search Engine Unfriendly
    A website with no search engine optimization (SEO) will be hard for those interested in the theme to find. SEO is the science of finding the best keywords and placing them strategically in the website.
  9. Stale Information
    A business must keep fresh inventory to stay in business. Similarly, a website should remove old pages that are no longer relevant. This might include merchandise that is now out of stock or it might include articles that don’t provide the latest facts and figures.
  10. Old-Fashioned Design
    A website should have a trendy design, not something that worked well a few years ago, but now has some anachronistic elements.