We know it. When you create a blog, think of your visitors. When you write your articles, create it primarily for readers and make it accessible to search engines. We think of them all the time. So why have I been seeing web designs that doesn’t seem to care about their readers?
Below are some of the offenses committed by web owners against their readers and I hope that if you are unknowingly practicing them, please reconsider your web design. And if you have encountered other web design mistakes, please share it with us through the comment section below.
Visited Links
We want to know where we are going and we, obviously, want to know the path that we’ve been through. It helps us understand where we are and helps us decide where we want to go next. Not changing the color of visited link is an offense against your reader. When you change the color of visited links, you are helping them to avoid revisiting pages unintentionally. When the color of visited link remains the same, it causes disorientation and bad user experience.
Wall of Text
What else can bore you to death than reading a wall full of text? I had a project before which required me to make an analysis about a report which I can access through the Internet. It was about 20 pages long and it took me two weeks to finish my project. When I read the text, my eyes always got teary that I had to take a break and resume the following day. Before I finished the report, I swear that I have cursed the publisher more than twice in a row.
When you write articles, break it into small paragraphs under headings and subheadings. Use bullet points or numbers. Highlight keywords and use simple writing style.
Font Size
Some web designers think that small fonts give a sleek appearance and more room for other contents. However, small fonts reduce its readability among users who are over 40 years old.
A good web design should look good without requiring the user to enlarge or reduce the size of the text. A font size of 12pt relatively suits most readers.
Page Titles
I know that in order for you to attract traffic, you have to make your title catchy to stand out among the list of SERP. The title is also the first thing that users could discover your page through social bookmarking sites. While it’s important that you create an interesting title, you have to make sure that your reader will not be disappointed once they read the full context of your article.
When your title indicates that you are revealing a secret, make sure that what you have on your page is not something that they read on other websites.
Your title should clearly describe what your article is all about if you want your reader to keep coming back.
Ads
Readers have learned to stop paying attention to advertisements. While they can forgive you for putting banner ads on your sidebar or below your header, do not let it get into their way. They came to your site with full expectation that you will give them the information that they need. Give it to them without annoying them with ads popping up on their face.
Conventions
When things behave the same as it has always been, we don’t worry about what’s going to happen next. When an apple falls from the tree, we know that it’s going down.
When user’s expectations are met, they feel more in control and confident. They will appreciate you for meeting their expectations.
When you contradict other conventions, you make them feel like a child, exploring without knowing what’s going to happen next.
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