1. Bad layout
You need to ensure that your layout conforms to the expected standards of web users all over the world. Users expect to see your website name at the top, the logo should be clickable, and your menu should either be situated horizontally across the top or vertically down the left hand side. Be aware of using long menu item names such as ‘search engine optimisation Cardiff‘ and think about how these will fit and display. Using a shorter title such as ‘SEO UK‘ may be advisable. Never put your menu on the right hand side of your website!
2. Slow and heavy pages
Make sure the code on your pages is well optimised so that it is quick to load. We see this mistake made quite a lot in website design in Cardiff. Don’t pile loads of JavaScript or tables into your website as this will make page rendering far slower. Make sure images are compressed and don’t use enormous high-quality jpg or bmp files as these will take an awfully long time to load on the majority of computers.
3. Mad colour schemes
Be sparing with colour. Although a good splash of colour can be very effective, you need to be careful not to allow your website to look garish or overbearing. Text should always be dark and on a light background in order to reduce eye strain and headaches which can be induced in the reader if you insist on using white text on a black background.
4. Fonts
Only use web-safe fonts. Any other type of font will be difficult to control in terms of size and display. If you use a font which is not web-safe, the vast majority of users won’t even be able to see it. If the font is not installed on their system, they won’t see the website in the same way as you do. Stick to standard fonts to ensure your text is visible and, most importantly, readable.
5. Background music
Please, please avoid using background music! It is extremely annoying and went out of fashion at least fifteen years ago. Any intrusive measures such as this have visitors clicking for the X in the top right hand corner of their screen so you’ll be losing visitors and potential customers in no time if you insist on playing background music on your website.