Over the past several years, the complexity and capability of web design has increased substantially. It was not too long ago that an average website consisted of solid colours, basic HTML layout and standard resolution imagery. In today’s world of high bandwidth and an ever increasing amount of competition in every web niche market, web designers have had to up their game and produce bigger and better websites to maintain relevance. Unfortunately, some fail to get the message that certain design elements are a big no-no. The following five mistakes must be avoided if you want to provide an aesthetically pleasing and functional website to your visitors.

Using Solid Colour Backgrounds

While it will depend on just what exact subject or audience your website is appealing to, having a full page background on your website that consists of solely one colour is no longer considered acceptable. Subtle design elements may make the difference between any given visitor choosing your website or another from which to make a purchase or subscribe for more information about a certain topic, so it is important to pay attention to these elements. If you do not feel comfortable using a full page image as the background, then consider at least using a gradient theme to liven things up a bit.

Failing to Accommodate Mobile

If you were turning away twenty percent of your customers at a brick and mortar store, people would think you are either crazy or ill prepared to be in business. Why then would you do it with your website? Mobile traffic accounts for one in five users, and the failure to establish a mobile-friendly version of your website is simply inexcusable in the age of smartphones. People pinging on iPads, Android devices and tablets will go somewhere else if not accommodated.

Using Too Many Elements

While you want to go for an aesthetically pleasing layout, there is a fine line between good web design and overly complicated web design. You will want to keep your colour scheme simple (no more than 3 main colours) and avoid using too much imagery that distracts from the functionality of the website. Glossy is not always good; sometimes, you need a bit of simplicity in a well-packaged form in order to achieve the best results.

Bland Typography

Are you still using standard fonts like Times New Roman, Tahoma and Georgia in your web design? If so, then you should seriously consider cutting that out of your web design. Customized typography and fonts are increasingly popping up on websites all over the internet, and it is a wise move to consider investing in one of these custom fonts for your own website (people pinging with iPads and other mobile devices may have trouble viewing them depending on the exact font, but backup fonts will be displayed if this is the case).

Using Flash

What once used to be cutting edge in web design is now considered an non-functional nuisance; Flash is a big no-no and will keep select mobile users from being able to view your content. Most websites are replacing Flash elements with JavaScript, CSS and even HTML as all of these languages are becoming more versatile in delivering dynamic content directly to any website’s users.