Seven Ways to Design for Unexpected

Unexpected: Dark Mode

The number of people opting to use dark mode for surfing and emails is growing every day. Android users are most likely to make the switch, with over 80% of users choosing it, while Apple users are increasing in popularity with 37 percent of consumers using it for browsing.

In a nutshell, it’s becoming increasingly vital to account for dark mode in your designs. You may use a toggle switch to control the color palettes for light and dark modes, or you can utilize CSS and JavaScript to cater to those who want dark mode.

If you choose to go this route, be sure you have styles in place to compensate for the shift. Dark mode isn’t always as simple as turning a light background with dark text into a dark background with light text, so don’t assume anything.

Unexpected: Out-of-Date Browsers

There are still people out there who have Internet Explorer on their computers, despite the fact that you may not know anyone who does so.

Compatibility is a surreptitious issue that can make a lovely website appear quite terrible, from out-of-date browsers to unusual screen resolutions.

While you can’t account for everything every time, there are a few things you may do to minimize the danger:

• Keep your code simple
• Use CSS resets
• Include DOCTYPE in coding
• Validate your code
• Test for compatibility

Unexpected: Bad Backlinks

Linking low-quality or spam sites to a website is a bad habit that should be avoided. Hopefully, you won’t encounter this problem, but if you do, it’s critical to eliminate spammy backlinks – illegal activities, pornography, link farms, links from unrelated websites, penalized domains, foreign language and site.

If you notice unusual spikes in web traffic or odd referral sources in your analytics, there’s probably something wrong.

To address this problem, run a link checker on your website on a regular basis. Request that objectionable links be removed and submit a disavow request to Google so that those links are ignored.

Unexpected: Translation Issues

Many website owners use translation plugins or tools to guarantee that people all over the world can access and comprehend their websites equally. If you don’t speak the language, it’s critical to employ a high-quality translation software so you don’t say something that doesn’t make sense or create your own unexpected problem.

With an extension at the end of the URL, for example /en or /fr, you may make several variations of the website design and text that must be translated by hand and directed users based on their location.

Use a plugin or tool that allows users to switch to the language they desire. Remember to only display menus in languages that are relevant to your target audience for increased simplicity of use.

Always give visitors a path to change languages if they can’t understand the language on the site.

Unexpected: Super Slow Internet

It’s something that everyone has experienced. You launch the browser on your desktop or phone, and nothing shows up. The internet connection is slowing down to a halt – in a big way.

Even after internet connection speeds have been increasing at a rapid pace and more people have access to faster connections, you should always do your part to minimize any potential problems.

• Compress and minify where you can.
• Include alt text for images and video that explain what’s there if it doesn’t load.
• Use caching or hosting that has performance optimization built in.
• Reduce the number of redirects to pages that are necessary.

Unexpected: Location Confusion

Do you use location information to show content on your website? From the user turning off location settings to redirected IP addresses, there may be a lot of confusion.

The solution is straightforward. Always ask the user for their location and explain what it will influence on the design. Give them a reason to turn on their location settings so they can get a better user experience.

Customers love to have control over their data and the process by which they interact. Make it possible for them to exercise that option.

Unexpected: User Paths or Journeys

When visitors to your website aren’t performing what you want them to, it’s time to make changes in their journey so that the appropriate conversion occurs.

This is another problem that you’ll notice if you look at analytics and alter call to actions in order to be more direct, change directional dues to be more direct, and help visually lead users through the website in the way you desire.

It is your duty to assist visitors in performing what you want them to do when they encounter the design.

Conclusion

Many of these difficulties may be avoided with a little timeless design advice: Test everything, and pay close attention to analytics to help detect issues before they become big problems.

Consider how you use websites, how your parents use them, how the youngest person you know uses them, and so on. Then figure out a strategy to build something that everyone can enjoy.

It’s critical to remember to keep the user experience simple and consistent, as well as provide a method for people to return where they came from. If something unexpected happens, a design that is free of visual clutter, has easy navigation, and offers feedback when things go wrong is far more likely to be used and retained.