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Top ten web design mistakes of 2005 Here is a back issue of Marketing Booster, the email newsletter that Richard Groom writes and sends free every fortnight to subscribers. You can subscribe here or read over 60 back issues using the back issues index page. The man called 'the guru of web page usability' by the New York Times has published his latest annual list of website design mistakes. Jakob Nielson's list (available with a detailed explanation at www.useit.com) is essential reading for anyone who wants to make sure their organisation's website is easy to use. Here's my summary of the list, with a few comments of my own: 1. Legibility problems The three main things that reduce the legibility of websites are bad fonts (ie those that are hard to read), small font sizes and a low colour contrast between text and background. It should be quite easy to trust your judgement on whether your site is easy to read. 2. Non-standard links This refers to sites that don't make it clear where the links are. To avoid this problem, perhaps the easiest solution is to use the tried-and tested method of text that is underlined and in a different colour than the non-linking text. It's also important that users understand what information they will get when clicking on a link. 3. Flash I often see web designers saying things like 'Flash will give your site more credibility and really help to portray a professional image'. In fact, in many cases it merely delays and confuses website visitors and doesn't add anything positive to the experience. Flash does sometimes have a role to play in websites, but I agree with Jakob Nielsen that it is often used inappropriately. 4. Content that's not written for the web This is something I've written about several times. It's not just me, either: writing for the web is a subject that has been well-researched and so there is no need to simply publish inappropriate brochure text on your website. 5. Bad search functions For all but the smallest of websites, a search function is an important way to help users quickly find the information they need. This really isn't my field at all though, so visit Jakob's full 'top ten' list for more details about techniques to make the search function as usable as possible. 6. Browser incompatibility This refers to the fact that a website may work well when someone is using Internet Explorer to view it, but that doesn't mean it will work as well for users of other browsers. Make sure that your web designer tests your site on other browsers. On a site I worked on recently we found that there were serious browser problems during testing. Eventually we cleared them up, but it was only because we did the testing that we knew about the problems. 7. Cumbersome forms There are several ways to make filling in forms easier and quicker, such as keeping the number of mandatory fields to a minimum. You can also allow for flexible input of phone numbers, credit card numbers and so on, rather that demanding that they are entered with a particular combination of spaces or dashes. 8. No contact information or other company info Some sites still make it hard to find a contact phone number and email address. Users have also said that seeing a physical postal address is very important in terms of establishing the credibility of the organisation. 9. Frozen layouts with fixed page widths This rather technical heading refers to things like the fact that websites can look different on monitors of various sizes, so appropriate design choices are needed to make sure problems like annoying horizontal scrolling are avoided. Also, special attention is needed to ensure that when a page is printed text isn't chopped off from the right-hand edge. 10. Inadequate photo enlargement On too many sites, clicking the 'enlarge photo' button simply brings up a picture of the same size, with no ability to enlarge it. So make sure your site gives people a much bigger picture or a series of close-ups so that users can see the fine detail without having to scroll across one big picture. In summary, this list provides an excellent starting point if you want to re-assess the usability of your web site. It might be worth taking a few minutes to visit your site and check that it doesn't make any of the mistakes on the list. Copyright 2005 Richard Groom |