| When designing a website, what mistakes do most | | | | might need are in the right places. Just dropping all of |
| people make? There's a huge list of mistakes that | | | | the links across the top or down the left isn't the |
| can affect the website, but which ones are most | | | | best idea. When they read to the bottom of the |
| people going to fall for? These are the mistakes I | | | | page, given them the next links there. |
| see most often. | | | | 3. Copy Content |
| 1. Get Too Many People Involved | | | | I am always amazed at how often this happens - |
| This is the big mistake and the one that costs loads | | | | copying text and even images. The most popular |
| of time in development and ends up making the site | | | | seems to be copying terms and conditions from |
| look far inferior to what it could have been. Everyone | | | | other sites, even forgetting to change names and |
| you ask will have their own views, their own ideas | | | | phone numbers at times. I was saw a restaurant |
| and their own input. | | | | website who had copied their terms from an adult |
| The person you ask that just says 'It looks great, I'd | | | | website and it was obvious... |
| buy from there' has done you a favour. But if you | | | | 4. Attempt To Optimise By Spamming |
| ask someone to review it and they start to suggest | | | | It is still a misconception that stuffing hundreds of |
| changes, then you are in for a long haul ride. Some of | | | | potential keywords into the Title and Description and |
| the biggest builds have been those built by | | | | into the alt field of images will move you up the |
| committee where everyone in the company gets a | | | | search engines. At times, it feels like almost every |
| say. They all want to see their input used and in the | | | | website has tried these old fashioned tricks. They do |
| end the colour scheme is extended, flashing widgets | | | | not work and if anything they now go against you. |
| are added and the design goes crazy. | | | | 5. Build And They Will Come |
| I even had to rebuild one site because someone who | | | | Do you think that if you build a website then you will |
| got involved didn't like blue, so blue had to be | | | | get loads of visitors, or if you get a designer to build |
| removed. | | | | a website then even more will arrive? How about |
| 2. Don't Design For The Customer | | | | registering loads of URLs with the keywords in the |
| Along the same lines, concentrate the design of the | | | | titles and pointing them all at your new website? |
| website on what your customers will see and | | | | Stop, just building a website and registering domain |
| experience. Many people will make the site personal | | | | names doesn't do much. This is a mistake a lot of |
| to them, which is great in certain niches, but in most | | | | people new to the internet make. Instead, speak to |
| sites a good looking neutral design is what you need. | | | | a designer and find out what is required to get to |
| Also, make sure that the information that the | | | | the top of some easy keywords. Maybe tackle |
| customer needs is there. Make sure that links they | | | | harder keywords later. |