Whether you use it for personal or professional use, a website is a great tool to sell yourself or your products. But with so many websites our there, it’s pretty easy to come across website design disasters.

Since your website is so important to your image, especially if you are using it for commerce, it’s important to avoid anything that would turn people off. As we have always advised, looking for the top web application developers & agencies in your country is probably the first step towards success. Knowing the agency you’re going to be working with can save you a lot of hassle later down the road.

With that said, here’s our top tips to consider when working with a web design agency:

* Speed is the name of the game. You could have a gorgeous looking website, but it would not matter a bit if it’s slow. Your website should be simple enough that even those with slower Internet speeds or processors should be able to load it without delay or frustration.

* Keep it clean. The pages on your website should not be so busy that it becomes distracting to the reader. Keep a good balance of text and images and use consistent colors and fonts.

* Content is king. Every word on your website should have a purpose, including body text and titles. Spelling and grammar errors can ruin your credibility in a flash.

* Make it easy to get around. Customers will love it if they can easily find what they are looking for. Put yourself in the place of the customer and ask yourself what the most frequently searched-for items would be on your website. Make those items (and everything else if possible) as easy to get to as possible. The answer should be one click away, not five.

* Choose images wisely. Images on a website can be powerful, but having too many or laying them out in an unattractive way can cause them to lose their luster.

* Keep things static. While today’s technology allows for plenty of action on your website, moving parts are not always a good thing, especially when they start to distract the visitor from the content on the site.

* Give the visitor control. Blaring music or video can be quite the shock to a first-time visitor to your website. Any audio or video should only play once activated by the visitor.

* If you’re going to have a bespoke website built for you then make sure that you choose an experienced and reputable website design agency.