Web design Ease of use: 43 common mistakes in web design

This is an article on the usability of the site, the author of personal experience about the 43 web site design common mistakes, and undoubtedly these errors will greatly affect the usability of the site. Today's usability has become a trend, but throughout the country's major websites, it seems that ease of use has not become a widely understood concept of designers, so I hope this article will be useful to everyone.

1. The user must know in a few seconds what the site is doing.

Attention is the most valuable currency on the Internet. If a visitor is unable to learn the direction of your site in a matter of seconds, he is likely to visit other sites instead. You must quickly tell your visitors why they want to spend time on your site.

2. Make the website easy to read quickly.

The internet is not a book, so there is no need to use large paragraphs of text. Maybe I was busy with other work when I visited your website, so I had to read all the content quickly. Bullets, headings, subheadings, and lists can help readers quickly find what they want.

3. Do not use fancy fonts that are difficult to read.

Of course, some fonts can make the site wonderful. But are they easy to read? If your primary purpose is to convey information and let the reader read it, you should make the reading process more comfortable.

4. Do not use small fonts.

As mentioned in the previous article, you need to make the reader feel comfortable reading. Although my Firefox has a zoom function, but if I have to zoom in to see a website, I will never visit it again.

5. Do not open a new browser window.

My first website used to do this a lot. The reason is simple, open the external link in a new window, the user does not have to leave my website. Wrong! Let the user decide how to open the link, otherwise the large back button on the browser does not need to exist. Don't worry about users leaving your site and they will come back when necessary.

6. Do not change the user's browser window size.

Users have the right to control their own browsers. If you change the window size, you will lose credit in front of them.

7. Do not allow users to register when necessary.

Frankly speaking, I surf the internet to get information, not for anything else. Don't force me to sign up and leave my email and other information unless it's particularly necessary (such as the information you can provide is very valuable).

8. Do not subscribe to their electronic magazines without the consent of the visitors.

Do not automatically subscribe to an electronic magazine when a visitor registers. Unsolicited mail is not a good way to make friends.

9. Do not use flash too much.

Flash will not only increase the reading time of the site, overuse may even make visitors feel unhappy. Use flash only when static pages cannot express your intent.

10. Do not play music.

In the early years, Web developers liked to integrate music into their sites, and they failed. Remember, never use music.

11. When you must use the sound, let the user start it.

Sometimes you have to use sound files, such as if you want to send a speech to a user, or your tutorials contain sounds. This is OK, but let the user to control, let the user click the "Play" button, do not open the page in the Instant playback sound.

12. Don't let the logo mess up your site.

Social networks and community logos will make your site look unprofessional. Even signs such as medals and honors should be placed on the "About Us" page.

13. Do not use the "click into" page.

The fewer steps a user has to access content, the better.

14. Be careful to leave a contact form.

The worst way to do this is to leave no contact. Not only is it unfriendly to your visitors, but it's not good for you, you'll miss out on valuable feedback.

15. Do not affect the action of the Back button.

This is the most basic concept of website usability. You cannot affect the action of the back button under any circumstances. For example, opening a new window destroys it, and some JavaScript links can damage it.

16. Do not use flashing text.

Do not use blinking text unless your visitor is from 1996.

17. Avoid complex URL structures.

A simple keyword based URL structure can not only improve your search engine rankings, but also allow visitors to understand the content of the page before visiting.

18. Use CSS layout, do not use the table.

HTML tables have been used for page layouts, but there is no need to stick to them, especially after the birth of CSS. CSS is faster, more stable, and can provide more features.

19. Ensure that users can search the entire site.

The reason that search engines bring about the Internet revolution is that it makes it very easy to find information. Don't be a devil on your website.

20. Avoid using Pull-down menus.

Users should visually see all navigation options. The drop down menu creates confusion and hides the information that the visitor is actually looking for.