5 Common Website Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Having a killer website is everything in today's business world. Did you know almost 80% of Americans shop online? If your website isn't on-point, you could be missing out on countless leads and sales conversions.

Many small business owners design and build their own websites, looking to save money. This is totally understandable since most startups are working with a limited budget. However, a non-professional website can not only fail to attract customers, it can also turn people away. 

There are several website design mistakes you need to avoid if you're looking to maximize leads and increase your sales. We're here to provide a little guidance. Keep reading for everything you need to know.

1. Not Using a Solid SEO Strategy

Perhaps the most important digital marketing strategy is implementing a strong search engine optimization plan. SEO is the algorithm used by search engines like Google to find relevant information, products, services, and other content online. 

If your website lacks effective SEO coding, consumers won't be able to find you on the web. To boost your SEO:

• Create a blog for your website
• Publish articles full of effective keywords
• Use internal and external links
• Register your website with Google My Business
• Get backlinks from other websites
• Use multiple forms of media embedded with SEO coding

If you're unfamiliar with SEO, we recommend hiring a website design service to make sure your business has a strong online presence. 

2. Building an Unintuitive Website

One of the biggest website design mistakes is creating a website that's difficult to navigate. An unintuitive website leaves users confused as they struggle to find what they're looking for. They end up getting lost or having a hard time finding products, services, your contact page, your blog articles, and more. 

3. Not Optimizing Your Website for Mobile Devices

Recent data shows that 81% of Americans have smartphones. We use them for everything from texting and calling to social media and online shopping. As such, it's imperative that your website is optimized for mobile devices. 

If you don't have a mobile-friendly website, users will experience slow loading times and improperly sized text, images, and videos. They'll constantly be trying to resize their screens to navigate your website. Most will end up getting frustrated and leaving.

4. Not Creating Engaging and Relevant Meta Descriptions for Each Page

One of the most important aspects of SEO is creating meta descriptions for each webpage. The meta description is the small summary that shows up under each website link on a search engine result page (on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.).

One of the biggest website design mistakes is neglecting the meta description or putting too little thought into it. It needs to encourage users to click on your link. Use engaging and relevant context to entice them to visit the web page.

5. Not Using Internal Links and CTAs

Finally, you need to make sure you're constantly directing website visitors where you want them to go. This includes other blog articles, product pages, service pages, contact pages, and more. The longer users stay on your website, the more SEO credibility you'll gain. 

Additionally, using strong CTAs (calls to action) will generate more leads to your products and services. Your goal is to constantly push website visitors to convert into customers. 

Looking to Avoid Website Design Mistakes?

As someone new to digital marketing and running your own website, it's incredibly easy to make common website design mistakes. Fortunately, there are tons of companies out there, like ours, that exist to help business owners like you. 

If you need a little help, contact us today to request a quote or find out more about our website design services.