Common Myths About Web Design

Once is happenstance, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern. A bit changed Auric Goldfinger’s phrase perfectly reflects people’s reasoning that causes myths. False beliefs are everywhere, and the IT industry isn't an exception. So, here is your martini. Shaken, not stirred.

It’s a very perpetuated belief that leads to classical cases: eco websites are in green tone and premium websites with golden font. Clients have a conviction that makes them think that their customers wouldn’t understand what the website is about if its tone, font, or colors weren’t directly related to the industry. Knowing your target audience will eliminate that conviction of not being understood.

There are a few ways the client reaches your website. For example, super-eco-natural-cosmetics target audience:

1. They've reached you thanks to outdoor advertising;

2. They've reached you thanks to the Word of Mouth;

3. They've seen you in the search results;

4. They've reached you via Google Ads etc.

The super-eco-natural cosmetics target audience is people that sure what they are looking for, and the website they visit is not an accident. So, would that person have any doubts if the logo wouldn’t be green but orange? Probably not because all those pictures and information won’t let us forget what is that place. If a website looks not like any other website from the same industry, it won’t push your clients back because they know where they are and what they are looking for.

Quite a dangerous myth that doesn't take into account the designer’s qualifications. Just like all humans, designers are also different. Some are fast and furious but with low quality. Some are unhurried but pinpoint. Some are fast and pinpointed, and some are unhurried and with low quality. Time isn't an indicator. Each website is like work on a painting: it’s custom-made, and some of its sections need more time and precision, and some sections are trouble-free.

The danger of this myth arises when the client is convinced that the result was achieved too easily. This belief leads us to senseless fixes that don’t improve the design in any way because the client just wants the web studio to work his money off. Moreover, these fixes could shake things up, and the design would not suit your business purpose.

In the case of shaking up, a psychological effect of sunk costs takes place. The client on the ship named "Fixes” is swaying and sailing away with the stream of seeming certainties. When the client discovers that he is in the middle of nowhere and there is no sight of land (project’s end), would he return to the place he set out from on his ship (before fixes)? In reality, ships don’t turn back often as well as clients because the road consumes too much effort. So, the project ends just like the Voyage of Columbus: not in India (real website purpose) but in America (real wrong result).

Sometimes it is just worth believing in the first result and not implementing unnecessary fixes, even if it was made in the blink of an eye.

The appearance is only an initial part of the work, and it’s not enough for the website to perform what is supposed to perform. If the website has to play the role of a passive seller, the client has to make an analysis and prepare for the project.

We need to build a bridge between SEO, UX, and design. For that, we need to create a prototype. A prototype is a system where the content is structured, and the navigation is performed. Making a big content website for the client is a tough row to hoe because we need to overthink every possible path that the client will walk. We can compare it to the airport. In the airport, people shouldn't be roaming around, and they must have everything at hand if they want to solve any problem.

Only when the website prototype is well done, we can add visual navigation and some website elements. The website means not only an appearance, but also how it feels, performs, and whether it is understandable.

All too often, clients want the website to be not like any other. Imagine the airport from the previous topic. How would you feel if it would look like Howard Lovecraft’s city R’lyeh?

Bizarre, right? And these Ctulchu tentacles… It is an example of something not like any other. You probably would need a map to figure it out or some instruction on how to walk in four-dimensional cities. The website must be understandable without instruction. The menu, navigational panel, text, and illustrations shouldn’t be confusing to the user.

The further we go with untraditional navigation, the more chances of being misunderstood we have. The button is a button till it looks like a button. If it was sophisticated, we would need instruction.

Epithets are subjective. You never know if the website is beautiful because quantum physicists like Plank, Bohr, Dirac, Heisenberg, and Feynman showed us that subjectivism is everywhere.

The website must do what is supposed to do, and not only be a subjective reflection of the beauty of a few persons. In web design, we have a rule: good design is never seen. When the website is clear, effective, and convenient for users, it will be beautiful in its own way. That’s the most important thing.

But still, we believe that thanks to compromises, the client’s subjective design can be matched with perfect navigation for the users. That's what we do in Unikorns.