- Gratuitous use of frames is a common mistake of web designers.
Many older browsers do not support frames. They disrupt the flow of the website and can be difficult to anticipate where a page may appear when a link is clicked.
- Where am I and where are the links to other pages?
An easy to use navigation structure is essential to any well designed website! Important information should never be more than 2 clicks away.
- Make your text easy to read.
There needs to be plenty of contrast between the background color and the text color.
- Keep your backgrounds simple.
White or light colors usually work best. Your background should not compete with the content of the page for the users attention. If you would like to use a background picture, select a picture that uses muted colors or format your picture as a watermark. Select text colors which will contrast well with the background picture.
- Constantly running animations can be distracting when used excessively.
There should be no more than one animated object in your view at any time. Also in this category are excessive, large, flashing & obnoxious advertisements.
- Avoid excessive advertisements.
Aggressive pop ups, banners, flash ads and other intrusive ads annoy your visitors, make your site difficult to use and bury your message in a sea of clutter.
- Use background music sparingly!
Usually, it is best to skip the tunes, but if you must add music, be sure you provide a way for them to turn it off!
- Don't use unnecessary technology!
Splash pages which require you sit through a long download and don't offer a 'skip intro' option. Especially torturous on a dial-up connection. Avoid excessive or exclusive use of java script menus.
- Don't use fake error messages!
One of my 'pet peeves' are the fake error messages that trick new computer users into clicking on an ad. A real error message will not scroll up and down with the page. Your pointer will become a hyperlink 'hand' over fake error messages.
- Use spell check.
Misspelled werds and impropr punktuation, make yur web look amaturish, and unfinishd. Awlays run a spel chek befor yu uplode!!!!!! : )
- Don't enclose blocks of text within borders.
- Make sure your pictures load properly.
Pictures which don't load properly could be due to improper uploading of files, improper characters in filenames or unusual formats or file extensions
- Make sure your pages provide a way back to the originating page.
Orphan pages provide no way back to the originating page. These can cause users to get 'stuck.'
- Make sure all your links work.
Hyperlinks that don't work is another problem with poorly designed websites. Click through all your links often and update them regularly.
- Hyperlinks of unusual colors can cause confusion for new users.
- Keep hyperlinks short and name them appropriately.
Hyperlinks which are overly long and don't tell the user where it goes or what it's about is a very poor design
- Make sure all your hyperlinks connect to the correct link you designed them to link.
- Check other browser compatibility.
Internet Explorer may be the most widely used browser, but it is not the only one. Others include Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Opera to name a few. Different browsers may display your page very differently. Check your website in as many different browsers as possible. Check it in both 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 screen resolutions. Using tables may help control the layout. Avoid components which only render properly in specific browsers.
- Keep your information up to date.
If your website contains timely information, you need to keep it updated regularly, or remove the old stuff.
- Keep your download time to a minimum.
Most web surfers will not wait for more than 10-15 seconds for your page to load before they move on. Use pictures sparingly or use thumbnail images. Be sure to save images in .jpg or .gif format.
- Post some sort of contact information.
There should be a link somewhere on your page for users to contact you.
Provide an email link at the bottom of the page.