Every website designer has to stay updated with all the trends. If you lag behind, you are bound to lose out on some opportunities. To boost your business, applying the latest and effective trends is as essential as it is imperative.
So, how to know which design trend is effective and long-lasting? The key is to understand the intent. Every design trend is made to make a website visitor's journey seamless and clutter-free. Moreover, the primary intent of such trends is to get high conversions and more visitors.
However, some common design trends are just popular. They lack intent or any call to action. New designers who are just starting fall prey to such trends, realizing their mistake only later. So why not stay aware from the get-go?
Let us take you through some biggest and most common web design myths and misconceptions that are not in your best interest.
Myth Number 1 - A Site, Once Live, Is A Job Well Done
We often take our feet off of the pedal once a website is live. People believe that their work is finally done. However, the truth is somewhat contrary to this belief.
Surely, after you've put a lot of effort into functionality, visual design, testing, and adding preliminary content, most of your job is done. However, websites need constant maintenance to stay relevant.
The digital market is ever-growing; no trend or content will stay put after months or years. Here are some important aspects of a website that we feel should be checked at regular intervals.
- Update your blogs and newsletter sections consistently
- Keep testing your links, web forms, and navigation menus whenever you can
- Keep experimenting on CTA buttons, layouts, landing pages, colour schemes and fonts to see which yields better
- Monitor the performance and speed of your website at all times
Myth Number 2 - A Website That Works Well On Mobile Is Accessible
Another aspect where many of us go wrong is understanding accessibility. Web accessibility goes beyond user-friendly website design for desktops, tablets, and mobile. Although more than 50% of the search traffic comes through mobile, accessibility still is a vast topic.
Various factors define whether a site is better on accessibility or not. Some of them are,
- Using a good contrast ratio of colors against the background for ease of view
- Making the website keyboard-friendly so that users can navigate without a mouse
- Ensuring the content has high readability
- Adding alt-text to all videos, images, and graphics
- Giving the internal links unique and descriptive names
Myth Number 3 - Focus Heavily On the Homepage
Time and again, somebody has told us that a website should have an attractive homepage. Many believe it is the most crucial aspect. Meanwhile, the reality is far from what we think we know.
Nowadays, users spend most of the time spending on the blog pages, interior sections and about pages of your website. Even during affiliate marketing, anyone will choose to promote their best product on an internal instead of boosting the homepage.
The most significant change why this shift has happened is because users have more options on the google search and less attention span. If you cannot market your product within their short attention span, the user will bounce off.
So, make sure you give your internal links the same importance as you give to the homepage.
Myth Number 4 - CTA Should Always Be Above the Fold
'Above the fold' term is used whenever you visit a website and see a CTA right on the screen without even scrolling. For years, everyone has believed that a CTA should always be placed above the fold to generate better leads or conversions.
This case is true when the users know your product and already intend to buy the same. However, what about those who are looking for a similar product? All they will be able to see in the first go is a CTA that has no context.
A study by Neil Patel shows that a homepage with spaced-out content and well-placed CTA (not above the fold) is 7.6% better than the content crammed up above the fold.
The best way to approach this is to write engaging content and gain user's attention. Then, once they scroll down, provide them with a CTA without any clutter of content around.
Myth Number 5 - Add A Lot of Features
To ensure an amazing user experience, a website needs to have a faster loading speed with clutter-free widget spacing. We often try to add new features that are simply trending or attractive. This should be avoided at all costs.
Every website has its own forte; some blend well with QR codes, some with parallax windows or some with other widgets. The key is to understand what goes well with your website.
Some features will enhance your user's scrolling experience and increase the chances to get conversions, while some will be pointless and just slow down your loading speed. Understand the difference between what you want for your website and what actually your website needs.
Myth Number 6 - Always Stay Minimalistic
A minimalistic website has its own beauty. It works well and is easy on the eyes. However, if you're website is new, you need to avoid the minimalistic way.
The reason is that users are still not aware of your product. They will need to be attracted to the content, design and functionality of your website. You will have to create beautiful and eye-catchy designs to gain more attraction and followers. Going the minimal way is right for websites with a well-set consumer base, like Apple, Samsung, Amazon and more.
Myth Number 7 - New Website Means More Traffic and Growth
A new website with aesthetically-created visuals surely attracts visitors' attention. However, that itself is not enough to get more traffic. You will need a well-placed SEO strategy and different types of content marketing methods to see stark growth. A new website doesn't ensure more traffic automatically.
Conclusion
These are some of the website trends that we have debunked. Make sure you stay on the lookout for such myths and misconceptions to save costs, optimize efforts and generate organic growth for your website.
