A new release by the Nielsen Norman Group reports results of a 2016 usability study done using 215 participants in the USA and UK and 43 Web sites, to identify 10 of the most damaging Web-design mistakes that cause problems for both users and the Web-sites' business metrics.

The top 10 most damaging Web-design mistakes identified were:

1.Unexpected locations for content: poor category names or site structure

2.Competing links or categories between which users can't easily distinguish

3.Islands of information scattered around the site and disconnected from other content

4.Repetitive links: too-long click paths to get to information users need

5.Hidden fees and prices: users should be able to see pricing at the beginning of the process

6.Stranding users on microsites with no options for returning to the original site

7.Poor site-search results that don't match queries, or return ads

8.Flawed filters and facets that don't work well across all content types; poor tagging

9.Overwhelming users with information: dense walls of text, pages overloaded with stuff that competes for the user's attention

10.Hidden links that look like ads, or are placed on the page where ads typically appear

Possible root causes suggested:

• Problems with site information hierarchy, stemming from the company's organizational structure or corporate politics
• Content created in organizational silos, overarching content strategy nonexistent or disregarded
• Poor search results resulting from poor CMS, poor tagging, poor site-search tool

Nielsen Norman Group has been reporting essentially the same 10 most damaging design mistakes every year for 20 years. Everyone please pay attention. And first read the complete article, here:

Top 10 Enduring Web-Design Mistakes