When it comes to designing websites, it is very important to stay updated with the latest trends and understanding what it is that people like on the websites they tend to visit often. This understanding of the trends and a keen insight into the preference of visitors will help you to come up with a website design which will help to not only attract people on the site but will also go a long way to increase the overall profitability of the website by increasing the amount of traffic which you get.
However, there are times when designers do not follow that and end up with websites which are actually duds. Having said that, let’s take a look at some of the website design trends that are so outdated that you need to make sure that you don’t incorporate them on your website if you are looking to attract visitors:
Too Much Design
First things first – avoid creating a website that has too much design on it. Trust us when we say that it’s actually an eyesore for the visitor on your website and it actually ends up accomplishing the opposite of what you want to achieve, which is more visitors.
An overcrowded website that contains too much design on it just does not look appealing and though a few years back, that may have been the trend it’s not anymore – so start de-cluttering and do it FAST!
Sliding Screens
Remember those sliding screens that used to be on websites? No right? Because they are so outdated that people don’t even bother including them on their websites but if you are one of those who actually wants to incorporate it on their site – Don’t.
Flat and Boring Graphics
Do you want to know what’s worse than sliding screens? A website that contains flat and boring graphics. In order to hold a visitor’s attentions, a website should look appealing and use designs which are boring is not the way to go.
Hamburger Menu
There was a time when restaurants selling burgers would use a hamburger menu. While that may have been cute back then, it’s not cute now. And while this design may be suitable for a mobile website, it’s not suitable for a desktop website.
Too Much Content
Don’t clutter your website with too much content because it ends up confusing the user instead of attracting them.
Automatically Playing Videos
Videos are a great option to add on a website – but one that starts playing automatically is a big no-no, mostly because automatically playing videos tend to be annoying for the visitor.
Pop-Up Ads
The same applies to pop-up ads. Let’s face it, though you might think that the visitor would appreciate a prompt about liking your Facebook page, they really don’t so avoid it as much as you can.
Auto-Play Ads
We get it, you want to make some profit through your website but incorporating auto-play ads on your website will not work in your favor because visitors tend to avoid these ads like that plague. Because the thing is, if you create a website that has a lot of ads, chances are that users will stop visiting your website, which is something that you do not want.
Not Been Designed to Work on a Mobile Platform
Everyone is using mobile phones for internet browsing and communicating these days. Therefore, a website that has not been designed to work properly on a mobile platform will not win your website any points.
Stock Photos
One thing that websites end up doing is using stock photos. While that in itself is not bad, but using stock photos which are bad will not help to attract visitors to a website.
Skeuomorphic Design
You don’t want to use a Skeuomorphic design for your website. Though it was a hit amongst the iPhone users, this trend was a huge flop amongst the rest.
Too Much JavaScript
Though JavaScript tends to enhance the user experience, the fact is that it makes the website loading time very slow which can be an annoyance to the user.
Sidebar With Options
While there was a time that every website would contain a sidebar with options, the thing is that now they are obsolete and thus should not be added on a site.
Large Texts
We get it – you want to attract the user but using large texts on a website might not be the best idea anymore mainly because that style is obsolete.
Flashy Fonts
There are some texts and style elements that always remain in style but some flashy fonts tend to go out of style as soon as they come in. Therefore, always use the best and popular fonts so that your website looks updated.
Using Flash
While you might think that using Flash on the site is a great idea, it actually is not. It’s outdated plus it won’t do you any good in terms of SEO rankings because search engines such as Google, tend to rate websites using Flash lower.
Never Ending Scrolling
Ever kept scrolling down a website and just kept scrolling… and scrolling… and scrolling without reaching the footer? Avoid that because there is nothing more annoying than not reaching the end for the user.
Using Excessive Colors
Until and unless you are designing a website for a candy factory, avoid using excessive colors because they do not look good. Rather opt for using a combination of two or three colors which will actually help to make your website look clean and classy.
Not Interactive with Its Navigation
Creating a website that is not interactive with its navigation is a huge fail and must be avoided at all cost. Not only does your website need to be visually appealing, it should allow for easy navigation for the user to provide the user with a positive experience when they are browsing your website.
Using Too Many Trends
Creating a trendy website is a good thing, but using too many trends is a major website design fail waiting to happen. Therefore, you need to be careful that in your zest to create a hip and trendy website, you don’t actually end up doing the opposite of that.