So you’ve decided to undertake a website design project – exciting times! You may be a start-up company designing their first website, or you may be completely redesigning an existing site – whatever your reason is we can all agree that you want as little to go wrong as possible, the smoother the better.
But how can you ensure you’re prepared for some of the issues that arise when designing a website? Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most common pitfalls you may encounter and how you can avoid them altogether.
Problem: You Website Designer Hasn’t Considered SEO
Solution: Make Sure Your Web Designer Has a Strong Knowledge of SEO
When you’ve recently designed a site, you want it to appear in search results right? Sometimes a poorly optimised website may fall short in search results if SEO hasn’t been premeditated by the designer. Acquire the help of a professional with a working knowledge of SEO – trust me you’ll thank me later down the line.
Problem: Your Website Looks Different on Your Phone
Solution: Ensure Your Website Looks Consistent Across Desktop, Mobile, and Tablet
Test, test, and test. Make sure your website is responsive on mobile technology and not just your desktop computer. Try different browsers and different platforms and this will help to uncover any issues you will need to fix prior to your launch. You can engineer a website with mobility in mind from the offset, and it helps to explain this to the designer.
Problem: Certain Pages Are Taking Too Long to Load
Solution: Identify What’s Causing the Slow Loading Speed and Resolve
If your website page speed is running slow then your visitors may be all too quick to leave. Slow loading pages are again linked to poor SEO. Low page speed can be a result of the lack of compressed images, too many plug-ins, or bad web building software, amongst many others. You want your visitors to have as pleasant of an experience as possible when they visit your site – so get these niggly issues sorted.
Problem: The Website Doesn’t Match Your Vision
Solution: Create and Provide an Effective and Clear Design Brief
It’s a major worry that your website may not appear how you dreamt and envisioned it in your mind. You can counter this by ensuring you come up with a solid design brief and by giving your designer as much guidance and information as possible. The last thing you want is a website that is set to go live and you’re not entirely happy with it. So chat to your heart’s content and you will have a better chance of success on the first design.
Problem: Taking a DIY Approach with Little or No Research
Solution: Hire a Web Design Specialist That Has Experience Creating Websites
If you have little or no experience in website design, then it’s best to seek the help of a professional. Sometimes if you try to take on everything, mistakes can start to happen and you’ll end up creating more problems your future self will not thank you for. An expert will be able to provide sound digital recommendations and solutions, so get in touch with a reputable designer and share your vision with them!