Good user experience is crucial for the success of any website. But far too many businesses make the same common mistakes that impact the usability or appearance of their site to the point that it turns potential customers away. In our UX/UI design auditing work, here are some of the biggest issues we find—and how you can avoid them.

01. Ignoring Function for Aesthetics

One of the most common mistakes businesses make is valuing aesthetics over function. How often do you come across a website that looks fantastic but doesn't provide much information?

While it is vital to put some creativity into your website to attract interest, this can backfire if it impacts the overall user experience. When it comes to website design, the best practice is to have a healthy balance of form and function to set yourself apart from the competition without alienating any potential customers.

Imagine if you logged onto a weather app and encountered all sorts of fancy design features like carousels, pop-ups, and videos—this would likely turn you away. When all you want is a simple answer, too much design can become an annoyance.

When you design your UX/UI, always put yourself in your customer's shoes. Be creative without making the experience more difficult. A professional UX/UI designer can also help walk you through how to best optimize your site for customers without detracting from the function

02. Too Many Pop-Ups and Ads

Another common problem many websites have is too many distracting pop-ups and ads. While it is crucial to get people's attention, it's better to do so in a subtle way that doesn't become overbearing.

Depending on your monetization strategy, you may have to run some ads or generate a few pop-ups to collect email addresses or advertise a sale. But when creating a compelling website design, the best practice is to gently guide your customers to take action, not overwhelm them with stimuli.

Even if you miss out on a few clicks or responses, you'll likely see more traffic in the long run if you keep the pop-ups to a minimum.

03. Autoplay Videos

Autoplay videos are one of those elements that often seem like a good idea in theory but are a nuisance for many users. Customers may be browsing the internet at work or in a public space. If they click on your website and suddenly a video begins loudly playing out of nowhere, it may cause them to click away and never return.

Even if they are in private, it can often be cumbersome and annoying to track down the video and pause it so that you can search the website in peace. While there's nothing wrong with incorporating video when you design your UX/UI, it’s best to avoid autoplay. For most website designs, the best practice is to allow users to play a video if they feel compelled to do so.

04. Valuing Search Engines Over Users

SEO is important for many businesses who want to be able to generate organic search traffic to their website. However, many fall into a common trap: prioritizing search engines over users. If you want a great website design, the best practice is to provide value to your customers while still employing techniques that search engines like to see.

A typical example is creating content that provides little insight into a topic but comes stuffed with keywords. Or maybe your site is constructed in a way that makes sense to search engines—with all sorts of menus and hierarchies—but becomes confusing to human visitors.

Ultimately, bots don't purchase your products and services—human beings do. So if your goal is to please search engines over people, your goals are backward. Instead, when you design your UX/UI, you should find a way to serve your customers while doing your best to observe proper SEO practices. If you’re not particularly SEO-savvy, a UX/UI designer can help you strike the perfect balance.

05. Disregarding Feedback

Another crucial mistake far too many businesses make is ignoring user feedback about their website design. The best practice for developing a strong UX/UI design is to create an ongoing process where you constantly tweak and update your site based on user responses.

The customer is always right, and if you're getting a barrage of replies telling you that your site is confusing to navigate or a particular element working, you're wise to swallow your pride and make the necessary adjustments.

That being said, you shouldn't redesign your UX/UI in response to every negative comment you receive. But if you notice a consistent trend of customers complaining about your website, it's best to pay attention to the feedback and adjust accordingly. A UX/UI designer can help you create a simple system to collect user feedback and use it to improve your website.

06. Too Much or Too Little Content

Content is king, so if you want the best website design, the best practice is to have a solid content strategy that makes sense for your website.

Content is your way to connect with customers and share tips, thoughts, and insights on what's going on with your business and industry. Minimal content suggests that you aren't putting the time and energy into creating a dialogue with your customers. It will also hurt your website on the SEO front because you aren't giving search engines much to analyze.

But too much content can also hurt you as well. If you're churning out multiple blog posts every day and haven't entirely built the audience to support that pace, you're wasting time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere. Or if you have too much information on your pages to the point that it's overwhelming or filled with fluff, it will negatively impact the design of your UX/UI.

So if you want to create a solid website design, the best practice for developing a content strategy is to find a pace that makes sense for your business. You want to create meaningful content that educates and informs your customers, but don’t overstuff articles with irrelevant information.

07. Poor Navigation

Navigation is a huge part of how you design your UX/UI. It doesn't matter how great your content is or how beautifully your web pages are laid out; if customers can't find their way around the site quickly, they'll eventually leave for a different site.

If you want an impressive website design, the best practice is always to pay close attention to navigation. Be sure that the pages are laid out in a way that makes sense and that users have an easy way to find the pages they want.

A good test is to simply find a coworker or friend who has not worked on your website. Give them a list of five things to find—such as a particular product page, the most recent blog, or your pricing page. Then, see how easily they can complete the task. If they can’t find something within a few seconds, your navigation needs work.

0.8 Improper Font Selection

While it may seem like a minute detail, proper font selection is crucial for a website design. The best practice for any online business is to choose one font or font family and stay consistent across the entire site. You also want to choose a font that makes sense for your brand tone and identity. 

For instance, if your goal is to be fun and playful, you probably won't want to choose Times New Roman. Likewise, if your goal is to be serious and authoritative, you probably want to avoid Comic Sans. You may want to consult a professional UX/UI designer to help you choose a font and keep it consistent across the website. But if you want to design your UX/UI as professionally as possible, it helps to keep an eye on details like font selection.

09. Not Optimizing for Mobile Devices

Another huge mistake many businesses make is not creating a responsive design for mobile devices. A considerable percentage of users today search the web on their phones. So by not optimizing your website for mobile, you are missing out on a huge group of potential customers.

This often occurs when businesses design their own website on a desktop and include videos and text blocks without testing how they appear on a smaller screen. So if you want to appeal to the largest group of users possible with your website design, the best practice is to hire a professional UX/UI designer to make sure your site is responsive on all devices.

If you need further help understanding website design best practices or how to design your UX/UI, Soluntech can help. Book a free pre-consultation today to discuss your project.