You might have the best intentions for your website design, yet when it comes to designing the actual website those great ideas often end up being complete fiascos. Here are seven common website design errors that will create havoc with your traffic.

Using too many different fonts

Nowadays there are so many great different fonts available that it can be hard to pick only one or two fonts to use. Let us be honest, it will be difficult not to use more than five different fonts. Though, at the end of the day your visitors will be only too grateful that you have only used three fonts max.

To ensure that your website design is effective you can use a bold font for all the headings and then another font that is not difficult to read (in other words nothing that is too small or showy) for the rest of your content. Also, be sure to pick fonts that will work well with the rest of your company’s branding.

Using the same keywords over and over (and over) again

Search engine optimisation (SEO) can do wonders for your website getting discovered. You have probably already spent some time selecting the right keywords that best describe your business and its products or services. Perhaps you are so excited about these keywords that you have used them repeatedly in your website content?

There are many tips to make sure that your website design and SEO are done correctly and here is one such tip. If you use the same keywords too often it can have the opposite effect on your website’s ranking. This is called “keyword stuffing” and it is something that Google and the other search engines despise.

So, just be sure that you write in a natural way. Basically write for your potential customers instead of writing for the search engines.

Including too many call-to-action buttons

All websites should include call to actions that will encourage potential customers to complete specific actions such as signing up for a mailing list or subscribing to your blog. However, refrain from asking people to complete too many actions. If you ask those who visit your website to click too many times, the chances are good that they will just pop on over to another website that has easier processes. In short, use one clear call to action and make sure that your visitors can complete that action in one or two mouse clicks.

Including non-professional photos

You want your business to appear professional, right? It is real simple – do not use blurry photos or any photo, for that matter, that looks like it was taken with the first camera phone. That being said, do not think that this means that you should only incorporate stock photos in your website design. You want your brand to appear authentic and sincere, so it pays to get high-quality photos of your own products, employees and store.

Revealing too much on your home page

You do not have to include all the information on the home page of your business website. The secret is to ensure that your home page remains simple. You can add one or two high-quality photos, one call to action and a skillfully written passage that gives a detailed account of what your business does. The other particulars of your business and the products or services that it offers can be described on the other pages. If you are scared that potential customers will not find this information, navigate your visitors to this info by linking the key points that you mention on your home page to the inner pages. Clear navigation is one of the ways your website design can boost the user experience.

Using too many interactive messages

Interactive messages can be a useful tool to get people to sign up for your weekly newsletter or “heart” you on Facebook. Though, just like with fonts, you should not overdo it. Even though your intentions might be good, the attention of visitors can be diverted away from your website.

Including music

You want your website design to wow all your visitors right away, but including music that starts to play automatically whenever someone lands on your home page is definitely not the way to achieve this. Whenever music starts to play suddenly and unexpectedly, finding the mute button takes more time than simply just leaving the website.

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