Joe Putnam is a growth marketer at iSpionage and previously helped companies like Rejoiner, SlideShare, KISSmetrics, and Crazy Egg with their content marketing. He’s been doing internet marketing for 5 years now and dabbles in everything from content production to conversion rate optimization and PPC marketing.
1 Web design is challenging ○ Fonts that are too small ○ Rotating sliders/carousels ○ Low contrast fonts ○ Poor line height for text ○ Line lengths that are too long ○ Improper use of accent colors ○ Violating common design principles 2 7 deadly sins of web design 3 Table of Contents
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1. We’re still learning how to best design for the web. 2. A lot of people need to be on the same page. 3. We now have to design for multiple devices. 4. Most people copy other sites when that’s not always a good idea. 5. There are so many options when it comes to fonts, typography, layouts, etc. Reasons Why Web Design Is So Challenging
7 Deadly Sins of Web Design
1
Fonts that are too small
www.feedthebot.com/mobile/legible-font-size.html Make sure your fonts are easy to read.
Headline: 41 px; Proxima Nova Sub-headline: 16 px; Proxima Nova Body: 14 px; Helvetica
Body Font: 16 px; Helvetica Sidebar Font: 14 px; Helvetica
2
RULES TO FOLLOW ○ Be sure your fonts are easy to read. ○ Make sure your fonts have a good hierarchy. ○ Never use a font smaller than 14 px.
Rotating sliders/carousels
“We have tested rotating offers many times and have found it to be a poor way of presenting homepage content.” — Chris Goward from Wider Funnel “Rotating banners are absolutely evil and should be removed immediately.” — Tim Ash from Site Tuners
1% clicks on slider 84% of those on slider #1 “I didn’t have time to read it. It keeps flashing too quickly. TWO STUDIES
RULE TO FOLLOW Don’t use moving sliders unless there’s a convincing reason to do so.
Low contrast fonts
Example #2 Example #1
http://contrastrebellion.com/
http://evernote.com
www.hubspot.com
www.lakepointervresort.com
http://www.helpscout.net
RULES TO FOLLOW ○ Always use high contrast fonts. ○ Think twice before using reverse type and only use it sparingly.
Poor line height for text
www.pearsonified.com/typography
RULE TO FOLLOW Use the Golden Ratio Typography Calculator to find the best line height for your font size and line length.
Line heights that are too long
http://baymard.com/blog/line-length-readability
http://blog.marketo.com
RULE TO FOLLOW Make sure your line length doesn’t become too long causing your content to be difficult to read.
Improper use of accent colors
http://grasshopper.com/
www.c12recoverydrink.com/
RULE TO FOLLOW Be sure to use accent colors for what it’s meant for—drawing attention to calls to action.
Violating common design principles
Found by @ascho mueller www.weta.me
http://neilpatel.com/
RULE TO FOLLOW Think twice before attempting to reinvent the wheel when it comes to common web design conventions.
3. Joe Putnam - @JosephPutnam – www.ispionage.com
Joe Putnam is a growth marketer at iSpionage and
previously helped companies like Rejoiner, SlideShare,
KISSmetrics, and Crazy Egg with their content marketing.
He’s been doing internet marketing for 5 years now and
dabbles in everything from content production to
conversion rate optimization and PPC marketing.
5. 1 Web design is challenging
○ Fonts that are too small
○ Rotating sliders/carousels
○ Low contrast fonts
○ Poor line height for text
○ Line lengths that are too long
○ Improper use of accent colors
○ Violating common design principles
2 7 deadly sins of web design
3
Table of Contents
7. 1
“As a medium for the display of information, the printed
page is superb. It affords enough resolution to meet the
eye’s demand…It lets the reader control the mode and
rate of inspection…Those positive a ributes all relate, as
‘indicated,’ to the display function. The tallies that could
be made for storage, organization, and retrieval
functions are less favorable.”
— J.C. Licklider from Libraries of the Future (1965)
8. 1. We’re still learning how to best design for the web.
2. A lot of people need to be on the same page. (Designers,
business owners, marketers, developers, etc.)
3. We now have to design for multiple devices.
4. Most people copy other sites when that’s not always a good
idea.
5. There are so many options when it comes to fonts,
typography, layouts, etc.
Reasons Why Web Design Is So Challenging
19. “We have tested rotating offers many times and have
found it to be a poor way of presenting homepage
content.”
— Chris Goward from Wider Funnel
“Rotating banners are absolutely evil and should be
removed immediately.”
— Tim Ash from Site Tuners
20. 1% clicks on slider
84% of those on slider #1
“I didn’t have time to read it.
It keeps flashing too quickl
y.
TWO STUDIES
21.
22. RULE TO FOLLOW
Don’t use moving sliders unless
there’s a convincing reason to
do so.
44. “Faced with the prospect of using a convention, there’s
a great temptation for designers to reinvent the
wheel, largely because they feel (not incorrectly) that
they’ve been hired to do something new and different,
and not the same old thing…Innovate when you know
you have a be er idea…but take advantage of
conventions when you don’t.”
— Steve Krug in Don’t Make Me Think