Mistakes In Web Design

The article in question (Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design) points out some excellent examples of poor design in web pages. The mistakes that are presented are issues that ultimately make a website more difficult for a user to navigate. There are definitely parts of this article that I agree with, while there are other aspects that I’ll admit I've never noticed as annoying or bad when browsing.

The one that stood out to me that I probably agree with the most is the idea of using PDF files for text (#2). This has always bothered me for a couple of reasons. First, it required me to have a PDF reader of some sort. While this typically isn't really a problem on a PC/MAC, it can be a major issue on a tablet or smartphone. Another reason I dislike PDF files as normal text is that I find that they slow down my device, as well as my general experience with the website I’m browsing. Again, this is more prevalent in mobile devices that tend to have slower processors and less memory, not to mention the fact that PDF files can be very difficult to read on screens smaller than a tablet.

Another aspect I agree with involves fixed text sizes (#5). I wear glasses and am near sighted, which means a lot of the time when I’m reading a website (especially on my tablet or phone), I’m doing so without my glasses on. When text is too small (without me having to zoom in), I find it quite frustrating. I’m not saying the site should be entirely in 24 point fonts, but I shouldn't have to constantly adjust the zoom in my web browser to read your site.

One part I had to think hard about whether I agreed with or not was #7, Everything That Looks Like an Advertisement. Now I agree with the fact that some of the aspects of advertisements are not the best options when trying to get a user to view parts of your site. Animations are a thing of the past as far as most websites go. When I took my web design class back in 1997 or ‘98 (it’s been a while), they were all the rage. Since then, I've discovered that they’re mostly just annoying and skip them altogether (and depending on how intrusive they are, possibly the entire site). I also agree that pop-ups have no place on any website, regardless of whether it’s advertising or not. I often associate pop-ups with ad-ware and malware so I avoid any site that uses them, or I use an pop-up blocker (which means I’m not seeing whatever the designer wanted me to see).

I was going to say that I disagreed with the part regarding banner blindness, until I read the article that was linked and watched the eye tracking video. I’ll admit I was amazed as how quickly the user moved through the page, barely acknowledging the Fidelity ad, which was almost immediately covered partially by a drop-down menu. With that additional information, I can see why using banners are part of your regular website design might not be a good idea.

In regards to violating design conventions, I can see where it might be a good idea to do so. An example would be if an artist was looking to show off a particular style. Now, this doesn’t mean that the design should be overdone, what it does mean is that if you’re looking to distinguish yourself from the pack, doing something different may be necessary. With that in mind, the designer still needs to keep the rules of usability in mind, because if the user finds the site difficult to navigate, they will likely leave and look elsewhere.

I’ll admit, there are parts of the article that I have little experience in, such as low search engine visibility and bad searches. I do understand though that these are incredibly important aspects to keeping the user on your site. If they can’t find what they’re looking for (I know I do this), they will look elsewhere. Since the user isn't going to take a lot of time wading through page after page of text looking for their answers it is often faster to just go down the list of search engine finds.

For example, if I’m looking for information on a movie and I don’t find it on Wikipedia in a reasonable amount of time, I will likely next go to IMDB to find my information. That means that for future searches I’m more likely to just go to IMDB since Wikipedia didn't have the information I was looking for the last time.

The article does bring up a lot of good examples, and I definitely feel that they will be useful as I start working on my own interfaces and websites.