5 Things to Avoid in Web Design

Web design can be a convoluted field, filled with pitfalls, strange jargon, and seemingly-unknowable coding languages. But it doesn't have to all be Lovecraftian on the ears-- the World Wide Web isn't as distant as it once was, and there are some great resources out there for beginning designers on both the front- and back-ends of website design. That being said, I find there are 5 major things to avoid in any and all web design.

1. Excessive Fonts

The countless beautiful display fonts available to use can be tempting, especially to new designers, but using too many or too detailed fonts can quickly become distracting or even illegible. Stick to the classics when it comes to body text: simple, web-friendly fonts like Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman are your best options. Don’t get bogged down with too many display fonts or chaotic, conflicting typefaces. Let your content speak for itself.

2. Poor Spacing

Space is essential. Use the built-in margin and padding tools provided in nearly every website creation tool to ensure that your designs don’t get too crowded. This goes double for text. Not only does it need to be big enough to be readable, but you also need to pay attention to the kerning (space between the letters) and leading (space between the lines), in addition to the size of the paragraph block itself in order to ensure that the text remains both legible and appropriate for the design. As a general guideline:

• Limit your lines to about 50–75 characters to keep them engaging and easy to read.

• Most fonts don’t need much kerning adjustment, but you should keep a paragraph’s leading to about 2–4 points bigger than the font size. For example, a 12 point font should have about 14-16 points of leading, depending on the typeface.

• Don’t shy away from white space! Every element of your design needs room to breathe.

3. Neglecting the Copy

Any good designer knows you can’t separate content from design. Keep your copywriting and designing united by planning out your website and pages ahead of time. Know what content needs to go where, so you can maintain a cohesive user flow with a clear call to action. You don’t need to have every little detail planned from the get-go, but be careful not to get too involved in one side of your website without the other.

4. Pop-ups

Pop-ups can be very useful tools. They have an average conversion rate of over 3%, with about 3% of users achieving a whopping 11% conversion. That means that while pop-ups can be very effective if done right, most are not. Few users appreciate an unexpected pop-up, especially not for an ad. If done poorly, they can be distracting, jarring, and take the user out of the experience of your website. Make sure to keep your pop-ups effective by creating them with intention: give them clear context, value, and conclude with a powerful call-to-action that the user can’t ignore. Never allow multiple pop-ups at once, hide the exit navigation, or create any pop-up without a strong reason.

5. Complicated Navigation

The navigation is the most important part of almost every website. It shows the user where they are, where they can go, and what they should be looking for. Your navigation should be clear and simple: no confusing or busy additions to interrupt the user flow. If you can, avoid using unnecessary drop-down or hamburger menus and stick to the basics. By all means, have fun playing with the fonts, colors, or alignment, but for the most part? Save the creativity for your content.

6. Forgetting About Mobile

Okay, so this isn't technically a tip for web design, but it's my secret 6th tip anyway: you can't skip mobile design. These days, a major chunk of users aren't coming to your site from their laptop screens or even tablets: they're coming from their phones. As a result, no website worth its salt can skip this step. You might have a wonderful, beautiful site, filled with perfect interactivity, clarity, and voice-- but if it breaks the second I load it up on my phone, you could be losing over 40% of your audience. So take the time to do your site right, and give it the mobile-first treatment it deserves.