I am making a list of mistakes in web design. I know, there has been tons of these lists on other sites. But this list is different, it also takes into account newer technologies that have been used over the last few years. So here we go:

1. Write for web not print. In the text of your sites make short easy to read paragraphs. You are, most of the time, writing to explain a product or service, not write a novel. If the first thing a user comes up against is a wall of text, more than likely they will leave.

2. Write articles on the web on one page. This is a common complaint I have heard lately from people. I have never done it but have seen many people split articles into many pages for no real reason. Make pages contain information people are looking for without looking for a next button. They would rather continue scrolling than click to 5 different pages for the same article.

3.With the big hype of AJAX, don’t overdo it. Make sure you have a purpose for using it. Google maps have a valid reason for updating maps, but to go to a site filled with cheesy dropdowns and auto completes for no known reason is bad design.

4. Do not overuse animations such as Flash. These technologies serve specific purposes. Flash is great for interactive elements in a site such as video or animation, but search engines do not know what content is in a .swf file so cannot index it. Plus people do not like splash screens, they want the website.

5. Do not use popups on your site. With the huge push on internet security, users mostly view popups as spyware or annoying ads. If you must use popups, make your user aware by spelling it out on your site that you use them. This will make them more aware that you use them and that they should expect content from your site to be displayed using them.

6. When linking, do not use the target of _blank. Most users are still using non-tabbed browsers. Users can find this obtrusive and feel like your site is opening windows for them.

That is just a few tips on design, I’ll give you six more in a few days. Stay tuned.