Common Web Design Pitfalls

Making Visitors Dig
For some reason, people seem to think that since they are working with the Internet, everything needs to be organized in cascades of hierarchical menus, as in a database. This is not a good merchandising tactic. Customers should have many navigational options so that they not only find what they are looking for, but will be presented with products that they didn't even know they wanted. By organizing products into "aisles," and by displaying both products and aisles on the same page, customers can be led through your store without having to dive into endless lists of categories until they finally find what they are looking for.

Too Much on One Page
Since every bit of information your customers will see must be downloaded, don't assault them with more information than they are willing to wait for. This is especially applicable to images, which take much longer to load then text. This may seem to counter the advice given above, but there is a happy medium.

Images Too Big
If your images are too big, people will hit the Stop button faster than you can say "bandwidth." You'll never sell your products if people never get past your main page. See the graphics resource for advice on trimming your graphics.

No Mailto Link:
People are very reluctant to buy from a merchant they have no way of contacting. Your store's footer should contain contact information. A simple active e-mail link (see the HTML guide on how to make one) is a minimum, but you might consider posting your address and phone number as well.

All Caps
Presenting text in all upper case is not an effective form of emphasis. For one, it is difficult to read. Moreover, on the Internet, writing in all caps might be considered shouting, so unless you want to come across like a frantic TV used car salesman, stay away from all caps. Instead, try using boldface and italics, though they should be used sparingly, too. To find out how to use HTML to make text bold, see the section the HTML guide.

Blinking Text
Never use it. It doesn't come across well on most people's browsers, and it draws the reader's attention away from your content.

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