The internet is a competitive environment. New entrepreneurs spend so much time trying to get visitors to their website that they forget about an even more important task – how to keep visitors engaged while on their website.

Internet users have very short attention spans so if you don’t get their attention quickly; then they will simply leave.

You also need to take it even further, providing visitors with a reason for returning and sharing your site with their social media followers.

There are not any magic pills that you can take to magically create an outstanding website. But there are several steps you can take to improve the conversion rate of your next website.

There are also several mistakes that are all too common.

We’re going to look at some of the common mistakes that are made in web design and then look at what you should be doing.

Don’t Build a Slow-Loading Website

Remember, internet users have short attention spans, so they are most likely not going to wait for a slow website to load. It might seem like a good idea to include all of those fancy animations on your landing page but always remember that gimmicks always come at a cost. That cost is usually performance.

Do This Instead

Performance should be considered part of the design. The usability of a website is far more important than all of those flashy gimmicks. If you create quality content, then visitors are going to be impressed. Visitors see performance as the most important aspect of their web experience.

Don’t Clutter Your Website

This would probably be considered one of the top pieces of advice to follow in all aspects of business but let’s focus on the web design side. Cluttering your website with too much junk is a sure-fire way to lose visitors.

Using all of those fancy elements to try grabbing the attention of a visitor might be doing the exact opposite. The fact is that if you make too many areas stand out, then visitors won’t know where to click.

Remember, they have short attention spans so if you confuse them, they will leave. Another type of clutter that I see far too often is putting valuable content behind eye-catching sign-up boxes and flashy gimmicks.

Do This Instead

Content should be at the forefront of your user experience. It must be easily accessible for all visitors. Your goal should be to create content that meets all of the following criteria:

• Simple: What can you remove from the website that does not help it achieve its goal?

• Consistency: Is your website consistent across the board? Make sure that you avoid page-to-page changes in the layout and theme of your website.

• Spacing: Leave whitespace round all text and design elements so that content doesn’t bleed together.

• Organisation: Content should be divided into different categories. Don’t cram a lot of content into one place.

Don’t Include Poor Call to Action

Your website should have a purpose. They should guide visitors to moving toward that purpose with as little resistance as possible. That’s where your call to action comes into play.

The mistake that I see so often is that designers place their call to action in an unremarkable location or they write a call to action that doesn’t direct the visitor. Instead, it confuses them.

Do This Instead

Your call to action must be placed in a prominent location. Don’t make visitors have to guess. You have to tell them exactly what you want them to do. You’ll need to do some research in your niche to see the best location for your call to action. For most niches, the more effective location is above the content.

The website indeed is the reflection of your business and the services you are offering. This is also a medium to interact with your customers by discussing the problem areas, the benefits of your services and how the customers can get in touch with your executives to know more about the services.

For an impactful website, the layout, color, theme, and font should be in perfect harmony so that your site visitors have soothing reading experience.

Moreover, if you avoid the above-discussed web designing mistakes, certainly your website will be simple as yet appealing enough to retain the site visitors which will eventually lead to the conversion.