Font and Design Mistakes on Websites

Do your eyes get tired when you read a lot online?

Mine do. I spend about 8 hours a day online. Yes, that's a lot, but every day I'm writing and/or reading for information or entertainment.

I've found that websites with difficult fonts and/or backgrounds make my eyes feel as if acid has been poured into them.

In fact, I've got where I avoid websites with those problems.

(Image at left by magnetme from Pixabay!)

Plan your website well and always with consideration for those you hope to attract to it.  According to website design experts, readability is of primary importance.

10 Things to Avoid in  Website Design

1. Website themes with black or dark backgrounds and white or other light colored fonts.

Some think a dark dramatic background is evocative. Have pity on those who spend a lot of time reading online. This white text on black tires the eye.

2. Run from fonts in fluorescent orange, yellow, lime, etc. Those colors make the font seem to pulsate before the viewers' eyes.

3. Please don't use different fonts for everything on the virtual page. That's simply not good design. In fact, it looks "busy" like plaid or stripes on broadcast television. Pick 1 font. Use bold or italic of that font for specific elements on your website.

4. Avoid using weird fonts like 28 Days Later, Black Adder, Old English, or Vivaldi. Those fonts are difficult for most people to read.

Rather than be glued to your virtual page, a web visitor will simply move on to an easier to read website.

5. Use a sans serif font like Arial or Open Sans so that those with reading disabilities can access your content.

6. Use a resonably sized font like 12 or 14 point because not everyone online is under the age of 30.

7. Make use of white space. Content with huge text blocks tend to look like a gigantic page stretching from top to bottom. Web readers' eyes glaze over.

8. Break up your text into short paragraphs because web readers read "vertically" with their eyes scanning for the salient points.

9. Use relevant images to break up the text and add interest to the content.

By the way, I frequently finding myself using eyedrops. The eyedrop I've found that works best for me is Systane Gel Eyedrops. They're pricey at the drugstore so I've been ordering from Amazon. 

Takeaway Truth

Make your website easy on the eyes and appealing to the brain, and you'll have plenty of website visitors who return often.

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