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8 Web Design Mistakes That Developers Make

wakeuplater.com — "An excellent website takes a particularly savvy blend of both great design and great code. Because of this, you often find designers having to figure out code and developers trying their hand at design..."

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  • Dalogi, on 01/31/2008, -8/+53Great article. I love the "I'll just center everything" mistake that developers make. Classic!
    • BladeMelbourne, on 01/31/2008, -16/+4Ok article, shocking aesthetic design. Did a compost bin throw up on his web server or somthing?
      • Audacitor, on 01/31/2008, -5/+1Apart from body { background-attachment: fixed; }, it seemed okay to me.
        • adooga, on 01/31/2008, -4/+4Yeah, except that to anyone with a modicum of taste it looks like absolute *****.
      • adooga, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2A compost bin threw up and then a couple of monkeys chucked handfuls of it at each other for a while. Then two homosexual wildebeests rutted in it, their engorged members smearing the sticky mess around.
  • geekchic, on 01/31/2008, -2/+12I am guessing that someone proposed a change to the Digg website and was voted down by the web designers ;)
  • cxzsaq, on 01/31/2008, -26/+4Wouldn't it be funny if this was the first ever post of Kevin's NOT to hit the front page? That would be democracy in action.
    • ThinkBox, on 01/31/2008, -16/+6its a good article, get your head out of your ass .

      It wouldnt be funny, it would be sad, no matter who submitted it, it would be sad if it didnt front page because its a good freaking article.

      Now go back to digging LOLcats and other *****.
    • DigiDave, on 01/31/2008, -3/+7Actually -- this is a good article. But I agree with your sentiment - I do think it's silly that Kevin Rose has a 100 percent front page ratio. It makes me feel like Dig is his little toy or sandbox. In a democracy everyone, even the president/king is subject to the rule of law.
    • tjbeyerl, on 01/31/2008, -1/+9Wouldn't it be great if you stopped making this exact same comment on everything Kevin submits?
    • thesledman, on 01/31/2008, -1/+6I think a lot of Diggers Digg up his posts simply because it's Kevin. I see it as more as kissing ass hoping he'll notice them, or a kudos to Kevin for creating such a great site. But honestly, it's his site, if he does get special pull what's the problem. It's not like he posts hundreds of links a day and the ones he does post seem pretty decent.
      • jcaino, on 01/31/2008, -2/+3I'm sorry to say...I read the article...came back and dugg it.....and didn't notice who posted it until i saw all these comments. go make your own digg post to gripe about someone's FP ratio.
        and digg me down. this is a ***** comment too.
    • KibibyteBrain, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1If your version of democracy is oligarchy, then yes.
    • meechwings, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5I actually didn't notice the submitter was Kevin until you mentioned it.
  • gnews, on 01/31/2008, -3/+129. Get ripped-off by SEO's
    • eliburford, on 01/31/2008, -0/+10SEO is really about good content, good markup, and a lot of people linking to your articles because they're so damn good. Follow these rules if you can, and you'll win.
    • travbrack, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1@eliburford: There are a lot of companies who cold call people who've recently registered domains with phony SEO packages that do nothing. I think that's what gnews is referring to.
      • gnews, on 02/09/2008, -0/+1... as well as many of the SEO agencies big and small!
  • CODE2, on 01/31/2008, -9/+0Nice One, thanks and alot is very true, glad i never made any of them, as i was very much aware.. Love the center one and have shook my head about it often enough !
  • Error601, on 01/31/2008, -9/+1361. Flash navigation
    2. Flash navigation
    3. Flash navigation
    etc.
    • SuperWinner, on 01/31/2008, -1/+11you mean omegadrivers.net?
      • MrSunshine, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Beatport.com is another bad example.
      • mrelusive, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Ugh. I hate that stupid music that plays on there now.
    • KibibyteBrain, on 01/31/2008, -4/+28Or pretty much anything on the page that uses plugins that doesn't absolutely need to. 50 percent of web stuff can be done with just HTML+CSS, and you can up it to 99% if you throw in javascript. Unless you have multimedia/games/some weird web app(probably a bad sign anyway), no need for it. Oh, and Java itself can just die already.
    • NinjaPirateDude, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5what are you talking about? it lets me play the internet!
  • gbchew, on 01/31/2008, -6/+2Cool article...
  • DeskFlyer, on 01/31/2008, -3/+649) Failing to K.I.S.S.
  • nitsnipe, on 01/31/2008, -15/+910)They actually read these lists and decide to go with the flow rather than be creative.

    And that Helvetica vs. Arial test is total overanalysed *****.
    • crash331, on 01/31/2008, -3/+13But the slanted t's are sooooo much uglier in Arial!

      /design elitist
    • wild, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3Your second comment is exactly why designers are designers, and programmers are programmers.

      You have one mind that is very visual and loose, and you have another mind that is very analytical and structured. You have to balance the two, and that typically takes two (or more) people to do well.
  • nova912, on 01/31/2008, -2/+8WTB Anti-Aliased text on PCs 5 years ago... =/
  • 2000, on 01/31/2008, -2/+27Damn... I am guilty of most of these...

    At least I am a bad designer and know it...
    • KibibyteBrain, on 01/31/2008, -3/+13Sometimes bad web design can ironically be a sign of true hackerdom. Look at some leading CS professor web pages or better yet internal or more obscure research and development web pages and sites of major labs or even corporations(like MS research). The sites can get pretty "exported HTML from Word 97" bad pretty fast.
      • smackhero, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1that doesn't make any sense. people create poorly designed web pages because they aren't good at web design plain and simple. most CS professors are not web designers by profession, they are CS professors. that is why their web pages are very plain and unattractive. the web pages that they create are meant to be pragmatic, not aesthetically pleasing.

        the majority of people who are not professional web designers (and even many who are) are unable to create good looking web pages. 99% of the web pages out there are created by amateur web designers and look like crap. that doesn't make them all hackers. it just means they aren't well versed in web design. your statement is like saying that being bad at math is a sign of being a great basketball player, because most professional basketball players aren't great at math.
        • KibibyteBrain, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1sometimes: adverb - on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always; "sometimes she wished she were back in England"; "sometimes her photography is breathtaking"; "sometimes they come for a month; at other times for six months"
  • Porch, on 01/31/2008, -14/+3Tow words. "BLINK tag"
  • EXreaction, on 01/31/2008, -1/+11One I always fail at, "We Can Fit More Information in That Space". I know I can always fit more in that space.
  • jamesmudgett, on 01/31/2008, -4/+6he listed some pretty cool website for great designs but I've been going to this one http://www.styleboost.com for about 4 years and think it beats all of the others
  • Kanidia, on 01/31/2008, -1/+9Darn, I always use blue and white... I think those are the only two colours on my blog.

    And somehow, I'm obsessed with Frutiger, Myriad Pro, and Helvetica Neue
    • rumdrunk, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Being obsessed with helvetica neue actually makes you equal with 90% of the designers I've worked with. They all go on about how you need the right typography to convey the message, but then 95% of the time choose helvetica neue
      • drakenlot, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Not as bad as choosing a mac default font for use on a majority of windows machines...

        damned euphemia
      • smackhero, on 01/31/2008, -0/+595% of the time helvetica IS the right font. there is a reason why it's so popular amongst designers.
    • Meep3D, on 01/31/2008, -0/+7Nobody ever got fired for using Helvetica :)

    • mcmlxxii, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3It doesn't make any difference what fantastic fonts you choose for your site if the computer viewing it doesn't have them installed, because it'll default to something else. Unless you embed it in an image of course.
    • IEatHamburgers, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2I hope you're using images or alternate fonts for that because people using Windows machines probably won't have those fonts installed.
    • wanderingsun, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2eh, i knew a programmer obsessed with verdana.. yuck!
    • postalblowfish7, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2blue and white blue and white... now where have i seen that before (DIGG COMMENTS)
  • muniak, on 01/31/2008, -5/+25What about developer mistakes that designers make, I would rather read that then all the garble.
  • speedlab, on 01/31/2008, -2/+5It's best to just stick with what you're good at, period. I can say I'm not a designer, I don't say I know what looks good, but I can say when something is poorly designed (as far as interaction goes) or when the user experience is poor (two things some designers fail to see).

    If you're a freelancing full time or just moonlight occasionally, get a network going on LinkedUp - it's best to know these 4 types of people: a producer, a writer, a designer and a programmer.
  • darkane, on 01/31/2008, -4/+30Needs (a lot) more parentheses. Articles just don't (and never, ever) have enough. Please (in the future) use more of them (all over the place) and then (start using them to surround entire sections of the current sentence. And even some of the) next one.
    • adooga, on 01/31/2008, -6/+1And be sure to get (some of) them into the headings (and subheadings) too!
    • blazes816, on 01/31/2008, -1/+14Somebody |unbended| mine.
      • IEatHamburgers, on 01/31/2008, -1/+6A hot girl must've {been walking by} mine.
  • uziko, on 01/31/2008, -8/+3The main thing I hate about websites is when the content is stuck to the left hand side. It pisses me off, this 2008 not 1998. It should always be in the center. Also give it a good warm looking background like this site had. And no bright kiddie looking colors.
  • adooga, on 01/31/2008, -10/+2All good things to keep in mind.
    Boy did that site look like crap though.
    • drakenlot, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3real case of do as I say, not as I do.
  • 1awesomeguy, on 08/19/2008, -3/+8I usually do not find these "Top Designing Tips" articles to be much useful but this is by far one of the best I've seen. Dugg.
  • ufia, on 01/31/2008, -16/+5And yes, it's okay to make use of HTML tables. Disregard those ***** with attitude. No need to go for a CSS-only layout to be a good designer.
    • aussieNickuss, on 01/31/2008, -7/+5Using tables is a sign of laziness, not a bad designer.
      • SlechtValk, on 02/07/2008, -0/+1Using tables is a sign of laziness... being lazy is a sign of being a bad designer.
    • manicleek, on 01/31/2008, -3/+10So your not a good developer then Ufia.

      Use tables for tabular content, CSS for structure or get another hobby
      • SlechtValk, on 02/07/2008, -0/+1Exactly... don't use tables for layout, don't use CSS for tabular content. don't use a gun to kill a fly...
    • HigherLogic, on 01/31/2008, -1/+4Actually, that would be on the "8 Development Mistakes That Designers Make" list.
    • chingy1788, on 01/31/2008, -12/+1comments on my crappy site?
      http://www.chingy1788.co.nr
    • drakenlot, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2I hate when I see sites made up of only tables. Do you know how hard it is to fix code bugs with it?
  • Castor385, on 01/31/2008, -3/+1I don't think developers should be designing in the first place. But other than that, the article has 7 good points. Using a non standard font can be appealing to the eye, but using a flash object to display your most important information is web design mistake as well.
    • thailand1972, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4I disagree. Developer (coder) needs to know some design because code and design (aesthetics, layout) are integrated. Designers also need a rough knowledge of development so they can understand the ramifications their design will have on the code underneath. They're not mutually exclusive disciplines - they overlap.
    • pezholio, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3You can use sIFR though, which is great for titles and pullquotes and doesn't break anything if the user doesn't have Flash or JavaScript enabled.
  • pezholio, on 01/31/2008, -2/+5He forgot to mention using tables for layout and using javascript for anything other than enhancement, something I see developers do every day...
  • dtele, on 01/31/2008, -3/+19Dont agree with the bit about fonts.... developers should always stick to the few default fonts supplied with ALL operating Systems... eg Arial, Helvetica, Courier (there may be one or two more) to ensure that everyone sees the page the way you intended.
    • pezholio, on 01/31/2008, -0/+12I think he was referring more to logos and stuff within graphics though. At least I hope he was!!
    • arizonagroove, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3I agree but arial is not supplied with all operating systems. It is however part of Core fonts for the Web (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_We ... so can be installed on any OS that supports TTF. You can of course specify the font family as 'helvetica arial sans-serif' in your CSS.
      • serif69, on 01/31/2008, -1/+4I always specify "Arial Helvetica sans-serif" because Arial is designed to be a screen font, while Helvetica is designed for print. Helvetica always looks nicer in print, but Arial has better hinting and simpler forms that make it look far better than Helvetica on screen. It comes down to personal preference, I suppose.
      • bat-21, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Correct link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_We ...
    • petemorley, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Check out SIFR I use it a lot, its a very good way of using flash to reinterpret specific elements using fonts that the user might not have on their computer. If the user does not have flash, they simply see a standard font specified in the sites css. You specify the font in a small flash file. Any font can be used, free or not but since the font file isn't anywhere on the site (its outlined in a small swf file) its a great way to use foundary fonts and paid for fonts while still keeping the text searchable for google etc.

      Very useful tool if used in h tags for example, although don't overuse it.

      http://www.mikeindustries.com/sifr
  • SpykedUp, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0Great article! simple things that people overlook.... yet sooo important
  • dtele, on 01/31/2008, -8/+9Someone made the comment that "And yes, it's okay to make use of HTML tables. Disregard those ***** with attitude. No need to go for a CSS-only layout to be a good designer."
    Tables are not for pretty page layout. Use CSS for that because it renders properly on mobile devices etc.
    Tables are for data.
    • RecoDesign, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3There is a reply button underneath that persons comment.
  • chingy1788, on 01/31/2008, -12/+1so is my site bad?
    www.chingy1788.co.nr
  • Halsfield, on 01/31/2008, -4/+0end of the world comes in the form of a website that is in arial.

    or its not a big deal as long as your content is solid.

    story @ 11!
    • aussieNickuss, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2Digg uses Arial.
    • serif69, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0subtraction.com
      All Arial. Arial itself is not the problem. It's general misuse of it.
  • rss2pdf, on 01/31/2008, -1/+7Biggest mistake: not simple enough.

  • jackoneill123, on 01/31/2008, -2/+0good one, usefull
  • BobsYourUncle, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3I'm a terrible designer. As a programmer, I've probably been guilty of all those mistakes. Except I love the new highway sign font. Can't recall the name off the top of my head. But there's something about that font that appeals to me.
    • serif69, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Clearview Hwy. It is brilliant. But it should be, they did enough research...
  • makerandcreator, on 01/31/2008, -4/+6Just make a whole flash site. That is the way these days. Right?
    • SlechtValk, on 02/07/2008, -0/+1Flash is bad!!! (X)HTML + CSS is the way...
  • stackered, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2Great list. I do have to say, the site that hosts the list is actually very nice...
  • mikehill33, on 01/31/2008, -1/+7The title of this Digg sums it up:
    Developers should stick to development, and leave design to designers!

    :)
  • zongamin, on 01/31/2008, -9/+1yawn - useful information for retards.
  • isayx3, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5The main "Web Design Mistakes That Developers Make" is web design.....Leave web design to designers.
  • lordbuddylove, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Not bad. I got into development after a year of frustration working mainly on the design side. When I say a margin needs to be 3 pixels wider, I'm not f*&%ing around. Now I have a passion for writing code. PHP I LUV U.
  • m2cmentor, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0This is some good stuff and it is so true. It's no wonder I do more redesigns than anything because people think a website is a website.
  • unfilterthought, on 01/31/2008, -0/+21) agree
    2) agree. I spent 4 days picking a color scheme for a website before...
    3) agree to a point. Keep in mind about dynamic designs that change to browser resolutions...
    4) With crossbrowser compatibility and visibility and usability as an important aspect of my design, clean, easy to read fonts are important, so common fonts aren't neccesarily a BAD thing. If this was print, i would choose more interesting fonts.
    5) 1 page per page. Treat it like print in this manner. The viewer is only willing to scroll for so much.
    6) Being a photographer and illustrator as well, I prefer making ALL my graphics and photos. Saves me the hassle of copyright issues.
    7) Critiquing is super important
    8) Agree

    Some of my own personal rules
    1) Design for your intended viewers. If your viewer is an artist, make it artsy. If its a business, make it professional and clean. If its for kids, make it whimsical.
    2) K.I.S.S.
    3) ALWAYS check your design through multiple machines, browsers, resolutions and monitors. It may look nice in your widescreen with your high speed...but your client might not be able to view it!!
    4) Knowing your content can help you make a good design. Read up on your subject. Tie it together.
  • jawnboy, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3I love the ivory tower elitism, "Developers should stick to development and leave design to designers." Sounds really nice in fairy world where everyone floats around on their own personal cloud. For everyone that lives in the real world and you know, has to earn a living. You get the job done, the client doesn't care if they have the nicest site on the internet with perfect typography and wonderful layout. They want the site finished on time and under budget and they want it to start paying for itself NOW. If all of these sites that admonish us all to create better web pages were correct then business such as Yahoo would have never made a penny.
  • iNoles, on 01/31/2008, -2/+29. Not following the W3C standard
    • jawnboy, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0That is something I can agree with, can you imagine writing a site once, just once with no work-arounds no extras just the code needed to display it in a standards compliant browser? That is like world peace, a beautiful dream (ok exaggerating a little :-).
    • ewarner, on 02/01/2008, -0/+1He's talking to you, Microsoft!
  • dehlz, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5Georgia rules.
  • leerayIG88, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2I haz web
  • IIIKrazyKiDDIII, on 01/31/2008, -1/+4As a designer, many people that I work with don't understand how important the details are... every pixel counts.
  • everybodyruns, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Dugg for not actually counting down.
  • d0n601, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0"I have Photoshop..." hahaha so true
  • PixelEater, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1That bed touching the corner of their layout is bothering me.
  • yugimtl, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0Usefell tips are allways welcome, we arent born web design experts.. this kind of content helps in the learning curve.
    Thanks for the tip kevin
  • XTREEMMAK, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0Nice Read
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