Even though good user experience is one of the most important factors in building a successful website, there are still sites out there with bad usability. A lot of these websites are out to create clickbait or to get you to sign up to something you don’t really want. But to ensure you don’t fall into the bad UX trap, here are 6 things to avoid for a better UI.
Tricky navigation menus
How annoying is it when you are trying to click on a link in a navigation menu, but the padding around the text isn’t clickable. So annoying. You have to direct your cursor directly over the text, which when the text isn’t very big can drive you crazy. Guess what? It will drive your users crazy too. Go on, be a sport, make that space around each block of text clickable.
Paginated articles
Listed articles are great for your blog. I mean, we’d be hypocrites to say they weren’t – just look at this on. But what’s not so great, is when each item or section of a listed is article is only accessed by clicking ‘next’. No one really enjoys going through a list one item at a time like this, then having to click, wait for a new page to load, and so on. This is usually done to generate more ad revenue, but if you can avoid it, listing everything on the same page, one after the other, please do.
Guilt-trip copy
So many websites write their copy in a way that guilt-trips the user into signing up or clicking through to something they wouldn’t have bothered with otherwise. For example, a modal might pop up on an e-commerce site suggesting that if you don’t buy a certain pair of trousers it’s your own fault for not looking fashionable this summer. Copy like this may get you conversions and sales, but it won’t make your users feel good.
Unnecessary Modals
Not all modals are on the naughty list, but unnecessary modals that pop up at certain points in the user’s experience, like when they move their mouse or scroll to a certain point on the page, or modals that pop up after timed duration are no fun for anyone. These types of modals have their use in terms of marketing but that doesn’t make them any less annoying.
Screen-size interstitials
Similar to modals, looking for you to sign up or click through, only these UX nightmares cover the whole screen and are often very difficult to close with the ‘x’ hidden in a corner, or the opt-out text so small the user can barely see it. They’re a whole load of nope, nope, and more nope.
Slide-in ads and offers
When they don’t slide in as so that they get in the way, and they are done subtly and sparingly, these aren’t so bad, otherwise they can quickly become irritating and lose you visitors. Often a website will use this technique for feedback or social media links. If you feel they would be wise on your website then make them as painless as possible.
If you’d like a team of professionals to take over and design you a website that avoids all of these UI irritants, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to help.