{"id":7712,"date":"2020-10-04T16:52:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-04T20:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=7712"},"modified":"2020-10-04T16:53:09","modified_gmt":"2020-10-04T20:53:09","slug":"9-common-mistakes-to-avoid-when-designing-startup-websites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/9-common-mistakes-to-avoid-when-designing-startup-websites\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Designing Startup Websites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Now more than ever, having a strong online presence is vital to business success, especially if you’re just getting your business off the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, because virtually every business in existence has a website, it can be difficult to make yours stand out. You want your website to be as close to perfect as possible, as making a mistake when designing startup websites can be more harmful to your business than you might think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because nowadays, if potential customers don’t find your website enjoyable, there are hundreds if not thousands of others that they can go to instead. After all, there are almost 2 billion websites<\/a> across the web!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listed below are 9 of the most common mistakes business owners make when designing their websites. Avoid them all to maximize your online success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. A Busy Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start with one of the most common mistakes made with web design – creating a site that’s far too busy. Yes, you want some design elements, but you also want to look professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A website with too much going on will not only slow it down but will turn visitors off. When you’re listing your website design ideas, one of the first things you should decide on is your color palette. A three-color combination is recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these colors should be white, and the other two should be your brand colors. It’s okay to use fun colors, as long as they’re easy to look at. As fun as lime green is, it can make things difficult to see, especially if elements of your text are in this color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your colors and a tasteful amount of images and text to create an aesthetically pleasing design. When in doubt, err on the side of simplicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A Boring Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A busy website is a design no-no, however, you don’t want your site to be boring either. Web design shares a lot of the same principles as home design. A cluttered home will make guests feel uncomfortable, but a sterile, museum-like environment isn’t good either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s nothing wrong with a minimalistic website, as long as it’s done well. Minimalism begins to go wrong when too little information is given. Your users should be able to get a clear idea of who you are and what you do upon their first visit to your site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Not Making a Mobile-Friendly Website<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s estimated that more than 5 billion people<\/a> worldwide have mobile phones. And with the rise of smartphones, people are doing most of their internet searches from these mobile devices. Take this into account when designing your site!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if your website is stunning from a computer, it will fail if it looks horrible or is unusable on a mobile phone. Your website should load quickly and display correctly regardless of the device, whether that be a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Luckily, many of the most popular templates create mobile and tablet versions of your site automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Not Adding a Blog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even if your articles aren’t the core of your website, a blog is an absolute necessity. Without a blog, you’ll find it much harder to find success on the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your blog to create relevant, well-written articles that show off your personality and give your users interesting content. Your blog should be updated weekly at the very least, but daily updates are preferred. The more consistent and high-quality your posts, the more search engines will promote your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned above, you’re going to have a great deal of competition regardless of your type of business. Your blog can be what separates you from the pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s so important, in fact, that if you aren’t a confident writer, you should consider hiring one to craft your content for you. If you do go this route, be sure to choose a writer with knowledge of SEO – we’ll dive deeper into this concept later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Neglecting a Call to Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s assume that you have writing blog posts down to a science. Your users are reading everything you write to the very last word. Well, if you aren’t including a call to action at the end, you’re making a huge mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that they’ve read your post, what do you want your users to do? Leave a comment? Look at your products? Read another post?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give your users a nudge in the right direction with a call to action, telling them what you want their next step to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Poor Navigation and Speed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your users should be able to find whatever they’re looking for on your website quickly and easily. If a user is unable to get the information they need in a few seconds, they’re likely to close out of your site and look elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good rule of thumb is to use the three-click rule. Your users should be able to find anything they need in three clicks or less. This can mean making tweaks to your navigation. Your navigation menu should be easy to find and self-explanatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, pay close attention to your site’s speed. There are free tools online that you can use to check it and you should do so often. If your users have to wait more than a second or two for your site to load, they’ll become frustrated and leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are a few factors that are out of your hands, the vast majority of your site speed is within your control. If you find that your site is slower than you’d like, consider doing away with any animations, slideshows, or other cumbersome features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Not Factoring SEO Into the Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Designing with SEO in mind is by far the most impactful thing you can do to your website. Neglecting SEO will lead to failure, no matter how beautiful your website design is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are entire websites dedicated to explaining good SEO practices, but here are a few of the main things to remember:<\/p>\n\n\n\n