Take Control Away from People Using the Website
Any site which takes power out of the user’s hands at any point should be avoided as much as possible.
Having a site which essentially takes users on a magical mystery tour will not endear either you or your creation to them. This will not only lose you the immediate custom of the user, but may also lose you more custom in the future as they tell other people and businesses of their bad experience.
Having a site which takes the decisions out of the hands of users will lead to them giving up and leaving. A site which goes around in circles, keeping users from their main goal, whatever that is, or even from trying to find a page which will help them with the problem of being lost, is a site which will quickly become irrelevant because it annoys people too much.
Design the Website to be as Decorative as Possible
Any website you design should be kept as minimalistic as possible, both because this looks more professional than one which is too ‘busy’, and also because the design will affect the loading time of your site. Everyone has tried to use a site which is overloaded with complicated graphics or too much text, and eventually given up because it takes too long to load. Another consideration is the changing technologies of this century. Technology which evolves beyond the abilities of most customers to keep up to date may mean that a graphic-heavy website, instead of merely taking too much time to load, may crash their system.
Keep your B2B web design streamlined and professional in order to keep load times low, and customers happy.
Don’t Have Anywhere that Offers Help
It is important to offer help in navigating and using your website.
Websites can be confusing, particularly if there are multiple pages to be navigated, or the user is looking at several different products or services. It is simple enough to add in clearly marked buttons which allow users to move around the site more easily, and it isn’t much harder to add in a few lines for a phone number or email address through which the business itself can be contacted.
Not having these things will simply lead to a situation where users will give up and leave the site in frustration at its lack of usability, which will lead to a lack of custom for the business.
Don’t Keep the Website Updated
If people come across a website which is out of date, they are much more likely to pass it by. Websites exist in the world that surrounds them, so they should use the vocabulary and nuances of it. Out of date material will make it more difficult for people to use the site, and will most likely make them wonder if it is still in use.
Inconsistency in Language and Standards
Inconsistency in both the language used and the building standards of the site will have a negative effect on people who are trying to use it. This is much like having out of date information on your site: potential users may have difficult navigating the site, or may simply pass it by due to it not meeting the standards they want to see.
Inconsistency may be labelled as unprofessionalism, and a website which is sloppy in some areas and sharp as a tack in others will put people off, making them think that the designer didn’t put any effort into the construction.
