You’ve probably been there before, searching for a product or info online and you come to a website that was clearly created by a beginner. Although it can be annoying to visit a site that is still using graphics and functions from a decade ago, you really can’t blame some people. After all, they are entrepreneurs, NOT professional website designers (obviously). However, it is getting to the point at which there is no excuse for sloppy web pages, especially when you can obtain cheap website design software to walk you step-by-step through the process of creating an impressive, professional-looking website.

On your path to achieving website creation success, here are the top nine mistakes to avoid with your website design:

1. Poor page-to-page structure. Whether the site has all of the information on one very, very long page, or just a poor flow from page to page, this is a quick way to lose a visitor to a competitor. Internet users want to find their information and products quickly and easily, so it is important to have an organized site.
2. Too much text. While you want to clearly explain your products and services, conciseness is key. If your website has paragraph after paragraph of information on each page, most people are not going to take the time to read. You want your text to be scannable—meaning people can skim over it to pick up the relevant pieces of info easily. Short, info-packed sentences and paragraphs are ideal.
3. Not including a search function. People explore the Internet through search engines and your site is no different. Incorporate a search engine into your site, ideally on each page, to make locating information easy.
4. Background music. It’s annoying to 95% of Internet users. Enough said.
5. Spelling and grammar mistakes. Use spell check and a proofreader if possible (even if it is your spouse!) prior to placing text on your live site. It’s a big turn-off to experience these kinds of errors when visiting a site.
6. Inconsistent layout. Keeping the pages of your website uniform helps the reader to follow along and know where to look for certain functions and info. If each page is drastically different in format, the visitor will get confused or lost.
7. Poor contrast of text and background colors. The last thing you want is your visitor to have to strain to read the text on your site. Make sure your text can be distinguished easily from your background.
8. Not utilizing SEO. It pays to take the time to do your keyword searches to find the best words to use in your headlines and text. It can totally mean the difference between bringing in the customers or losing them to your competitors.
9. Trying to do it all on your own when you don’t know what you are doing. Whew! That was long, but it is true. The time, energy and money you can spend on website development when you don’t have the skills are an unnecessary use of resources. Of course, few beginning online entrepreneurs have the money to throw at a professional web designer. That’s where cheap website design software can help. XSitePro provides a top-notch system to help you build a professional-looking site that avoids all of the above mistakes and results in increased traffic and conversions.

To learn more about website design software and XSitePro, visit TheWebReviewer.com.