Top Web Development Mistakes

The face of most businesses today isn’t the CEO or the founder or a spokesperson; it’s the company Web site. Given that, one would think that businesses would spend a lot of time and effort putting their best face forward, but that often isn’t the case. Many company Web sites, and the Web applications offered to customers, are riddled with bugs, flaws and outright errors that can make a top-flight business look like a cheap amateur. Here, I’ve compiled a list of the worst mistakes being made by Web developers today. Don’t let this happen to you.

Too Many Click
This is great that someone is at your site, and he’s ready to make a purchase. Here he goes: One click, two clicks, three clicks and just one more! And he’s gone. Maybe if he could have gotten to where he wanted to go right away, you would have made a sale.

Hide Behind Graphics
It’s great that new Web technologies make it possible to add lots of cool new navigation and interaction techniques. But don’t hide access to important features and content behind an unintuitive graphic or icon

Overly Graphics Intensive
Filling your site with Web content that contains massive image files and graphics will put off everyone but those with the fastest possible Internet connections.

Just Plain HTML Link
Scripting languages make it possible to do lots of cool things in Web design. But don’t use it when an HTML link will work just fine and more reliably.

Flashy Flashy
Animation is great when it comes to Saturday morning cartoons. On the Web, too many animations, Flashy graphics, spinning graphs and windows popping in your face is sort of like a sign saying, “Stay away.”

Simple Text Do Just Fine
Here’s a great idea for the budding Web site and application developer there’s this technology that makes it possible to display information to visitors and users. It’s called text! And, unlike images and animations, text will always show up.

Color Your Site
Whoa! I love the way the orange text looks on that purple background. Dude, that financial firm is just going to love this site design. Or not. Unless you’re designing for a jam band or some other client that likes wild colors, stick to color combos that are pleasing to everyone.

Easy Navigation
Users of your Web site shouldn’t need a trail guide. Make navigation clean and simple, and your company’s content will be easy to find.

Set Table for One
Tables are great! They provide so much flexibility when laying out Web content. But often, Web developers design them so they look nice at only one specific resolution and on only one specific browser. At other resolutions, yuck!

Get Sloppy With Text
“Wilcom too my grate neww web apliccatiun.” The greatest coding skills won’t help if your Web content is full of misspellings and poor grammar.

Put Up A Velvet Rope
Browser-specific Web sites and applications are so five years ago. And, on that same note, making your content available only to those who register is like telling people to get lost.

Take The Web Out of Web Site
You want your site to be content-rich, but it should be filled with content that people can actually view with a browser. The occasional link to a PDF or Word document is OK, but don’t go overboard.

Overcrowd Your Site
When someone says, “It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” it’s not a compliment. On the Web, too, many links and other components can make it hard for visitors to find the content they want.