Here is the 2nd list of the top 10 web design fails.

6. Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility

Failing to use the page title tag to clearly display the nature and contents of your page makes identifying the contents of the page difficult.

7. Anything That Looks Like an Advertisement

Don’t include ads or anything in your web design that looks like an ad. People are increasingly selective and it will probably be ignored. Web users are goal driven and will read past what they believe to be advertising.

Nielsen uses three examples. Banner blindness, animation avoidance and pop-up purge as techniques that people now subconsciously deploy to avoid visual noise.

8. Violating Design Conventions

When it comes to design, consistency is important. Give people what they expect. That way they feel more in control and positively inclined towards you. Meet people’s expectations. Confounding them simply drives them away.

9. Opening New Browser Windows

Nielsen says opening new browser windows or tabs ‘pollutes the screen’. If people want a new tab or screen they will select that potion themselves.

10. Not Answering Users’ Questions

The cardinal sin of any web site – not providing the information that are looking for. The worst example? Failing to list a price

Eminently sensible stuff if a little dull, and to be fair there’s a balance in there somewhere that needs to be struck. You wouldn’t want every site looking like Nielsen’s. Talk to a web design pro for their take on the line between web design and web use.