15 Things You Should and Shouldn't Do When Designing a Website.

When designing a website, there are many factors to consider in order to deliver a user-friendly experience. Here are 15 tips that will guide you in this process:

1. Don't Resize Visitors' Browser Windows Yes, although it is technically possible to resize the browser window, most users don't like this. In some browsers like Firefox and Opera, the page can't be resized anyway, so you shouldn't attempt this.
2. Don't Keep Visitors Waiting, Especially on the Home Page People generally make their decision about a website within the first 10 seconds. If your page doesn't open in 5 seconds, users will probably leave the page. Therefore, avoid using heavy Flash, JavaScript, or applets on your home page.
3. Don't Make Different Versions Offering your website in different versions like HTML and Flash is a waste of time. Use only one version and greet the user with a real entry page. This prevents you from spending double resources when updating your site.
4. Shut Down Sites That Use Only Flash If your site is built entirely with Flash, redo it. Flash is a nice tool, but making the entire site with Flash is something that neither Google nor users like.
5. Don't Reinvent Navigation on the Web You can place the navigation bar at the top, on the left, or on the right, but deviating from familiar locations can negatively affect user experience. Providing comfortable navigation using a sitemap and submenus is more efficient.
6. It's Hard to Move Forward Without Written Content For the web, we can say "Content is King." While cute pictures and designs are important, your site must contain real written content that allows users to find the information they're looking for.
7. If Your Site Doesn't Work in Firefox, Change It As Firefox usage increases, sites focused only on Internet Explorer are turning into old technology. A real website should work properly in browsers like Firefox and Safari as well.
8. Be Careful with Music Use If your site is going to have music, it should be designed to be turned on and off at the visitors' request. Avoid low-quality music and copyright issues.
9. Make Menus as Text, Not as Images Using CSS, you can design menus as text and obtain a stylish and fast solution without the need for images. This reduces your site's loading time.
10. Keep the Menu Simple and Understandable Avoid creating unnecessary clutter in the menu. Use main headings and subheadings to avoid confusing visitors about what they're doing.
11. Don't Rely Excessively on On-Site Search Search engines are generally useful, but using your site becomes even easier with a comfortable sitemap and an understandable menu.
12. Choose Your Domain Name Carefully Rather than hosting your website on a free platform, choosing a proper domain name is important. This increases your site's reputation and helps you achieve a better position in Google's rankings.
13. Clearly State Your Site's Purpose On the entry page, clearly state what visitors can expect from your site. Avoid confusing people, so you ensure an easier user experience.
14. Publish Videos Embedded Videos play an important role in content, but you should not ask visitors to choose video format or speed. Adding videos through services like YouTube and similar makes your site more professional.
15. Don't Use New Technologies Unnecessarily New technologies are evolving rapidly, but they are not always usable. Instead of using new technologies just because it's technically possible, keeping the site simple and functional will be a more correct approach.

Finally: Avoid Small Annoying Things Avoid small annoying details such as flashing text, pop-up windows, broken links, and spelling errors. Such elements can negatively affect the user experience. This article was translated from josiahcole(.)com.

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