The 7 deadly sins of web design: how to avoid them for a high-performance site?
Avoid the 7 major mistakes of web design to deliver a high-performance, clear site that meets users' expectations.
Web design isn’t just about beautiful images. Above all, it must be functional, fluid and optimized for the user. By avoiding the “7 deadly sins” of web design, you can ensure that your site performs well and doesn’t lose visitors. We’ve compiled a list of the most common web design mistakes you need to avoid if you want your website to be efficient, attractive and, above all, effective.
Pride: too much text, too much information!
It’s tempting to want to say everything on the first page. And yet, by doing so, you risk losing your visitors’ attention. The golden rule here is to prioritize the essential. You need to communicate your message clearly in just a few seconds.
Users don’t come to your site to read a novel, but to quickly find the information they’re looking for.
Example
An e-commerce site with endless descriptions for each product. Users won’t take the time to read them all. They’ll prefer concise text that gets to the point:
- the main characteristics of the product,
- its price,
- and a clear buy button.
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Use catchy headlines and bulleted lists to structure information, and highlight the key elements you want your users to remember.
Greed: too many unnecessary features
We’ve all seen those sites that look like digital bazaars. They feature pop-ups that pop up as soon as you click, animated sliders, autoplay videos, overly complex drop-down menus…
In short, everything’s there, except what you really need. The result? The site is slow, difficult to navigate and, above all, frustrating.
For example, do you need a contact form? Okay, but make it accessible without being intrusive. A hover effect on the buttons might be nice, but it’s not necessary to animate every element to grab attention.
Example
The site of a travel agency that multiplies animations and pop-ups for no real reason. If the aim is to sell travel, it’s better to focus on captivating visuals, clear destination information and a fluid experience.
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Keep in mind that sometimes less is more. Don’t overload the site with options that don’t add value.
Envy: copying the competition
Let’s face it! The temptation to copy sites that seem to work well is great.
After all, why not reuse a beautiful layout or a visual concept that works? But beware, this can be counter-productive. Internet users recognize the copy, and this can give an image of lack of personality or confidence. Your site should reflect your identity, not that of your competitors.
If you’re a local company, for example, highlight your values, your specific services, and your team rather than choosing a generic design.
Example
A restaurant copying the design of a fast-food chain. Sure, the design is “modern”, but it doesn’t match the restaurant’s image or values (local products, personalized service, etc.).
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Emphasize what makes you unique in your site’s design, whether it’s color, style or tone.
Anger: neglecting site performance
Great design is great. But if your site takes more than 5 seconds to load, you risk losing a large proportion of your visitors before they’ve even had a chance to see your beautiful interface.
Worse still, a slow site can harm your SEO ranking, as Google favors sites that offer a good user experience.
There are many reasons for a slow site:
- heavy images,
- unoptimized code,
- poor-quality accommodation.
Example
An online store with many high-resolution images that are not compressed. As a result, pages take 10 seconds to load, and customers abandon their shopping baskets before even seeing the products.
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Optimize the size of your images, use tools to compress files, and choose high-performance hosting.
Gluttony: confused navigation
Your site’s navigation is one of the most important elements in guaranteeing a smooth user experience.
If users have trouble finding what they’re looking for, they’ll leave immediately. The goal is to have a logical structure and a clear hierarchy. Menus should be simple and submenus well organized. You don’t want to force visitors to think about where to click.
Example
A site with a drop-down menu that’s too complex, requiring 4 clicks to find the basic information. It’s time-consuming, and visitors will eventually give up.
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Keep your menu clear and visible. Offer a breadcrumb trail so users always know where they are.
Laziness: forgetting your motive
Today, over 60% of web traffic comes from cell phones.
If your site isn’t responsive, it’s a cardinal sin. That means it doesn’t adapt to different screen formats, and your visitors may end up with a page that’s hard to read on their phone. You’ll lose a large part of your audience.
Example
A professional services site with a design that doesn’t adapt to mobile screens. The result: the user has to zoom and scroll horizontally to read the information. Nothing could be more discouraging.
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Make sure your site is fully responsive and works on all screen sizes. It must offer an optimal mobile experience.
Lust: an overloaded design
Too many colors, too many fonts, too many banners, too much… everything! It can quickly become a real visual headache for your users.
It’s essential to keep your design simple, elegant and airy.
Example
A site with flashy backgrounds, multiple fonts and flashing buttons in every corner of the screen. It becomes a visual battlefield.
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Adopt a minimalist design, with harmonious colors, a single clear typography, and quality images. This will give your site a professional look while making it easy to navigate.
Conclusion
Web design shouldn’t just be about trends, but rather about functionality and user experience.
Avoid these 7 web design mistakes to offer your visitors a fast, pleasant and easy-to-use site.
If you’re ready to put in place an effective design that attracts, engages and converts your visitors, we’re here to accompany you on this digital adventure.
Don’t wait any longer to turn your website into a real conversion machine!
Best practices to remember :
- Simplify the text and focus on the essentials.
- Choose relevant and useful features.
- Don’t copy, be unique!
- Optimize your site’s speed to avoid losing visitors.
- Offer intuitive, easy navigation.
- Don’t neglect the mobile version.
- Choose a clean design for a better experience.