Beyond initial design impressions, design quality is essential to the user experience and journey. A well-designed and functional website is crucial for businesses. In this article, we reveal the common web design mistakes so you can increase your page conversions.
1. Poor Design and Layout
A cluttered and confusing website design can immediately turn visitors away. Furthermore, a visually unappealing website can make searching for their desired information a chore.
Don’t underestimate the power of white space and hierarchy. White space gives your content room to breathe and helps to segment the information you are giving clearly. Alongside this, the hierarchy of information is key to informing your audience in the easiest way possible—a way that makes sense immediately as they look at it.
Inconsistent design choices across your website will stick out. Moreover, excessive pop-ups distract from your attempt to be consistent and disrupt the visual impact of your website.
2. Lack of Mobile Optimisation
On average, mobile devices account for around 55-65% of global website traffic, so mobile optimisation is essential. How will the content adapt to different screen sizes? Are the buttons big enough to click? Can your website load fast enough if the user is on a mobile network?
3. Bad User Experience (UX)
Common UX issues include confusing navigation, which can leave users unsure of what to do next, and a lack of clear call-to-action points. Additionally, large content files, such as videos, can slow down loading times, frustrating users. If your video auto-plays, ensure it is muted.
4. Technical Issues
Technical problems can frustrate visitors, reduce your credibility and increase your bounce rate. Ensure all your additional links on your website are working, your website security is up to date, and your software is updated regularly.
5. Poor Content Quality
The quality of your website content plays a huge role in user engagement. Ensure all of your content is up-to-date and relevant to the goals you want your audience to achieve. Keeping information concise means using proper headings and bullet points where appropriate, and keeping text to small, concise blocks.
Clickbait headlines may initially work to entice viewers, but they will quickly backfire when the viewer realises that they are underdelivering.
6. Accessibility Problems
A website should be accessible to all users. In many countries, it’s a legal requirement that your website can be used via screen reading technology.
Here’s some accessibility to-dos:
- Clear alt text for images
- Keyboard navigation support
- Ensuring accessible colour contrast for visually impaired users
- Reasonably sized text – ditch the small print
7. Lack of Trust Signals
A website should instil trust in its visitors. Make sure you have an up-to-date ‘About Us’ and contact information. Try and use original imagery wherever possible, stock imagery is easily identifiable. Where possible add in some reviews or testimonials you have gathered along the way, but by all means, do not create these out of thin air or exaggerate the language that has been used.
Something that is often forgotten about is your footer. Here you must include a privacy policy and terms of service (these are legal requirements fyi).
8. Form and Login Design
Online forms and login processes should be simple and user-friendly. Don’t ask for unnecessary information or go through tedious account-making processes to obtain a small amount of information. It is also beneficial to display a confirmation message after submitting a form.
10. SEO and Marketing Mistakes
A poorly optimised website will struggle to attract traffic.
Common SEO mistakes include:
- Missing or poorly written meta-descriptions
- No alt text for images, affecting both SEO and accessibility
- Too many broken links harming search rankings
- Lack of internal linking strategy
- Keyword stuffing making content unreadable
11. Poorly Managed E-Commerce Features
For e-commerce sites, a bad user experience can directly impact sales. Make your checkout processes easy to follow and your pricing transparent, especially regarding shipping costs.
Display e-commerce credentials, such as SSL security badges, alongside other trust signals to communicate that you are a reputable supplier.
Final Thoughts
A poorly designed website can stem from various issues, including frustrating user experience, poor aesthetics, and technical flaws—all of which can be avoided with a bit of extra consideration. To keep visitors engaged and encourage interaction, your website should be visually appealing, functional, and easy to navigate on all devices. By addressing these common pitfalls, you can create a website that is both effective and enjoyable for users.
Need help with improving your website? Contact us today.
