In the 1990s, things like AOL and GeoCities dominated a large part of the internet. However, web design has evolved since its inception and has become more focused on user experience (UX) and usability. The evolution of web design even gave rise to companies that deliver more polished website design services.

Additionally, there is no dearth of studies examining a site’s speed, typography, content layouts, etc. The latest research works on web designing and related trends have a few interesting findings to share. So here they are.

Research works and findings point toward an interesting anomaly

Both research works, which are analyzed in this post, come from one of the most respected UX consultations on the Earth right now — Nielsen Norman Group. This company is in the business of researching web-designing UX and allied stuff for two decades.

One of its earliest studies — published in circa 1996 — studied the drawbacks in the designs of websites of that period. These designs were problematic, but the errors were justified; that is because the field was still fresh, and there was a lot to be explored. However, will those slip-ups be permissible in today’s web design? The answer is a simple “no.”

Today, many businesses and designers think two decades must have taught designers new things, so they must be making fresh mistakes. But as far as mistakes go, that is not the case. The truth — Web designing has become more sophisticated than ever; the sad truth — the designers still make mistakes that their predecessors made.

A large-scale study on usability from the same Nielsen Norman Group was taken in 2016, and the study found that the opposite was true. Instead of learning from their past mistakes, the designers have consistently repeated them.

The reason why a designer has repeated the same set of mistakes time and again is because the person has ignored the basics of web designing blatantly. Which is why this post shares the top two web-designing mistakes that have become nearly immortal? However, first, here are the basics of good web designing.

What are the basics that web designers should remember before beginning their workdays?

Before going through the top two errors, let us just read the things that designers should remember.

• Empowering the visitors to fetch information easily and quickly
• Enabling the visitors to go through the content without much scrolling and typing
• Allowing the visitors to know where to click, when to click and where the click will take them

The two wrongs that should be undone to make better designs

Designing error number 1 — lacking the basic element: clarity

Unclear designs continue to be the most stubborn error that a website designer makes today. The designers, it seems, do not sympathize with a site’s users or visitors; that is why they create websites having unclear designs. The analyzed study found that the most common mistakes that led to unclear web designs included:

• Competing categories and links
• Unexpected location of content on the site
• Hidden prices and fees

Designing error number 2 — UX problems should never be overlooked

Every web designer should aim for making a simple, eye-friendly, intuitive design. For that, the site should create stellar UX. However, the study found five common UX-related mistakes that nearly every second designer commits. These mistakes comprise:

• Giving islands of information on a webpage’s tight real estate
• Creating link repetition
• Making users stranded on microsites
• Giving inadequate search results
• Having flawed facets and filters

So here are the top two web-designing mistakes that webmasters commit unknowingly. However, every leading web design company worldwide has already taken note of these errors and is doing its bit to undo the wrongs and make web surfing pleasant experience for everyone.

Web development

Incorporating effective web development practices is crucial for addressing the identified web-designing mistakes and enhancing user experience. Web developers play a vital role in optimizing website performance, ensuring seamless navigation, and implementing user-friendly features. By prioritizing web development alongside design efforts, businesses can create websites that are both visually appealing and functionally efficient, ultimately delivering an exceptional user experience.