Outdated Website Design Practices to Leave Behind

In the rapidly evolving world of website design, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and practices is crucial. What may have been cutting-edge a few years ago could now be considered outdated and even detrimental to your website's performance.

For small businesses, it's important to know which old-fashioned methods to avoid and replace with more up-to-date options. This article discusses five website design practices that are no longer effective and offers helpful suggestions for how to revamp your strategy.

1. Cluttered and Complex Layouts

Gone are the days when cramming as much information as possible into a webpage was considered good practice. Today, users prefer clean, visually appealing designs that are easy to navigate. A cluttered and complex layout can overwhelm visitors, leading to a higher bounce rate and lower engagement.

Practical Advice:

1. Embrace Minimalism: Simplify your design by removing unnecessary elements and focusing on essential content. Use white space strategically to create a sense of balance and highlight key elements.

2. Prioritise Mobile Responsiveness: You've heard this a million times before, but with the ever-increasing use of mobile devices, ensure that your website is responsive and optimised for smaller screens. A mobile-friendly design will enhance the user experience and keep visitors engaged.

3. Streamline Navigation: Implement a clear and intuitive navigation menu that allows visitors to easily find what they're looking for. Limit the number of menu items and organise them logically to avoid overwhelming users. If you have many pages and can't limit the menu items, try using a mega menu or organising your pages into folders to keep the top of your website uncluttered.
   
   

2. Flash Introductions and Autoplaying Media

Remember those flashy animations and auto-playing videos that greeted visitors when they landed on a website? While they may have been impressive at one point, they are now considered intrusive and disruptive to the user experience.

Practical Advice:

1. Focus on Page Load Speed: Users expect websites to load quickly. Optimise your website's performance by minimising large media files, utilising caching techniques, and choosing a reliable hosting provider. This will improve the overall user experience and encourage visitors to stay on your site.

2. Use Video Sparingly and Thoughtfully: Instead of autoplaying videos, give users control over the media they consume. Use videos strategically to enhance the content and engage users, but avoid overwhelming them with excessive or irrelevant videos.

3. Consider Alternative Engagement Techniques: Explore interactive elements, such as subtle animations or interactive infographics, to engage users without overpowering their experience. Thoughtful use of these elements can add depth and interest to your website.

3. Non-Responsive Designs

We've said it before, we'll say it again! In today's mobile-driven world, a non-responsive website design is not only doing a disservice to your reputation, but we can almost guarantee it's costing you sales. With a growing number of users accessing websites on various devices, providing a seamless and enjoyable experience across all platforms is crucial.

Practical Advice:

1. Adopt Responsive Design Principles: Build your website using responsive design frameworks, such as Squarespace, WordPress or Shopify, that automatically adjust the layout and content based on the user's device. This approach ensures a consistent experience for all visitors, regardless of the screen size they're using.

2. Test Across Devices: Regularly test your website on different devices and screen sizes to identify any responsiveness issues. Make adjustments as needed to ensure optimal viewing experiences for your visitors. Testing can be as simple as navigating through your site on your mobile phone.

3. Optimise Typography for Readability: Pay attention to font sizes and spacing to ensure legibility on smaller screens. Avoid using small or illegible fonts that strain the reader's eyes and discourage engagement.
   

4. Stock Photography Overload

Using generic stock photos excessively can make your website appear impersonal and unoriginal. In an era where authenticity and personal connection matter, relying too heavily on stock photography can create a disconnect between your brand and your audience.

Practical Advice:

1. Invest in High-Quality Visual Content: Consider using original, professional photography or commission custom illustrations that reflect your brand's identity. Authentic visuals can establish a deeper emotional connection with your audience.

2. Showcase Real People and Experiences: Use real photos of your team, customers, or products to convey a genuine and relatable experience. This personal touch helps build trust and credibility with your visitors.

3. Explore Illustrations and Graphics: Incorporate custom illustrations, icons, or graphics to add personality and uniqueness to your website. These elements can help communicate complex ideas and create a visually distinctive brand presence.

5. Lack of Accessibility Considerations

Designing websites without considering accessibility can exclude a significant portion of your potential audience. Creating an inclusive online experience should be a priority for every website designer.

Practical Advice:

1. Follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): Familiarise yourself with WCAG guidelines to ensure your website is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Implement practices such as providing alt text for images, using proper heading structures, and designing with colour contrast in mind.

2. Provide Text Alternatives for Multimedia: Accommodate users with visual impairments by including text alternatives, captions, and transcripts for multimedia content such as images, videos, and audio.

3. Test with Assistive Technologies: Utilise assistive technologies, such as screen readers or keyboard navigation, to evaluate and improve the accessibility of your website. This hands-on approach will help you identify and address any potential barriers. We use Accesibee on our website to ensure that all visitors can enjoy our website.
   

Conclusion

Whether you're a website designer, a small business owner or someone building their own website, keeping up with evolving design trends and practices is essential. You can create modern and user-friendly websites by leaving behind the outdated design practices listed above.

Embrace minimalism, focus on performance, prioritise responsiveness, use authentic visuals, and ensure accessibility to provide an exceptional experience for your visitors. By incorporating these practices into your design process, you'll be well on your way to building engaging and successful websites.