When it comes to creating your business’ new website, we’re taking a look at 4 basic web design misconceptions here, and explaining why dismissing them can give you and your team the freedom to find what works best for your company.

#1:  Your call-to-action needs to stay above the fold

Some have held onto the idea that the CTA (call-to-action) needs to appear above the fold. (The fold is the portion of the website you see when you land on a page, without scrolling.) While the content above the fold is extremely important and found to receive the most clicks, it’s time to let go of the fold misconception and seize the opportunities for valuable additional content below the fold.

This misconception may have been true in the earlier days of web technology and user knowledge, not so long ago, but with today’s social media and mobile savvy culture, and the prevalence of infinite scrolling sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, the adoption of scrolling for content has become common nature.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should put your CTA’s below the fold; it just means that it’s no longer a requirement to have all your important content visible above the fold any longer.

#2:  Visual appeal is top priority when it comes to the design

An intriguing visual design is important for your website, no doubt, but it should never come at the cost of functionality, and a clear user experience.

Often, the team can get so caught up in creating a visually striking design that’s done at the expense of functionality and usability, when in reality, it’s the ease of navigation and access to well organized quality content that’s going to keep users on your pages.

#3:  The home page matters most

Let’s face it, we work and live in the age of Google, and unless users know of a specific URL destination, they’ll likely find your site through a search engine, which may or may not land them on your homepage.

In fact, depending on the complexity of your site, many users may not see your site’s homepage at all if they find the content they’re looking for within the site. So, putting all the design focus on the home page shouldn’t be the priority. That’s not to say your homepage doesn’t matter, because it does, but having a consistent, well-developed design throughout your site is of greater importance.

#4:  Your website is a sales tool

Okay, your website is an integral part of the sales conversion process, but it shouldn’t try so hard that you design the site around the sale.

It’s rare that people land on your site ready to be sold to, or even commit to a sale, and by creating a sales-focused experience, rather than creating interest and desire, may push some visitors to jump off of your site. Instead, the goal should be to create an easy to navigate website that separates the casual or inquisitive visitor from the qualified lead. The subtle sales touch is done by creating different offers within each part of the sales funnel: Awareness, Leads, Prospects, Sales. Different visitors have different needs, and it’s important to provide people with what they’re looking for no matter what stage they’re in.

The takeaway?

It can be hard to step out and try something new for your website, especially when you’re comfortable with what you have. By selecting a qualified creative team to lead you down the right path, identifying your web goals and doing a little research on your own, you can better decide how to approach building a website.