The Most Common UX Mistakes Site Owners Make

4 Common UX Mistakes

We’re always getting asked, “what are some of the of worst UX mistakes that people make?” Susan Weinschenk, of UX Magazine, recently wrote an article on the worst UX mistakes websites make, and her points are spot on. Weinschenk’s list includes:

1. Getting lost in the big picture

Weinschenk calls this “paying too much attention to Macro and short-shrifting the micro,” and we see it all the time. Many website owners get all caught up in the big-picture issues like navigation and site design, but forget to focus on the small interactions that actually make up the digital relationship. UX design looks at every aspect of the user experience, and just like Grandma told you, attention to the details can be key.

One of the main UX strategy mistakes Weinschenk describes is that, “When organizations are tight on UX staff they sometime have the UX people do the high level design and then leave the “lower level” interactions to people who are less experienced, or just don’t have time to take care of the UX details: often a costly mistake.” We agree.

2. Overemphasizing the homepage

Most people have been trained to view websites as digital versions of books, magazines or brochures, where the flashy cover hooks a user and brings them in. That just isn’t true. Most traffic will be pulled in to some other corner of your website, either through a search result or social media link that directs the user to the exact piece of content he or she wants. Sure, homepages are important, but user experience and design encompass all channels that might guide users to your site, not just the cover-to-cover approach where the homepage is dominant.

3. Designing for the wrong generation

We’re big fans of user testing across demographics because your website is likely targeted at a wide range of individuals. The baby boomer interacts with content with a far different level of assumptions and set of skills than a millennial. Make sure that you’re offering a good user experience for the right crowd at your site.

4. Ignoring responsive design

It is no longer safe to assume how people will interact with your content. Just a few years ago, it was safe to assume that the vast majority of users would have a similar desktop screen presenting content in one particular way. Now, the same user alone might access your site from a laptop, tablet and mobile phone. Responsive design incorporates your content into any user experience, and is vital to a successful site design in today’s world.

User experience and design are complicated issues. When your UX design strategy calls for giving the best experience possible to your users, make sure you avoid these common UX mistakes to avoid losing on the ROI of UX, or look to experts who are trained to do it for you.

DOOR3 is an expert in UX design, design thinking and UI design to create a clean layout, stunning visuals, and a responsive design that looks beautiful across all platforms.