Website Design Mistakes to Avoid for Better Engagement and Higher Conversions!

1. Hamper Your Brand Reputation

“75% of consumers admit that their judgments for a company’s credibility are based on its website design.”

Yes, it's true! Brand reputation is the public’s perception of any brand. 

Do you know how a few common website design mistakes can affect your brand reputation? Users can abandon their shopping cart after having a poor experience and incur significant credibility loss that can impact your future sales graph. 

It's concerning. If you want to shape your brand reputation, professional website design services can help you develop the right strategy for overall business growth.

2. Customer Experience is at stake

88% of online customers say they never prefer to return to websites after bad experiences.

What's the difference between the biggest profitable companies globally and those that deliver services in the same domain but are unsuccessful? The answer is "User Experience." To make a mark in your niche and gain a competitive edge, you must recognize user experience. 

A bad web design makes the customer criticize the website's usability, hurts the purchase intent, and motivates them to check out the competitor.

3. Poor Conversion Rate

“57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website.”

Did you know that a few common web design mistakes can ruin the customer experience and make them refuse to purchase? Have you optimized your site with the proper CTA, navigation tools, mobile-friendly design, and many more elements that hold visitors throughout the sales funnel? If “No,” it's worrying!!

If you are still trying to achieve optimum conversion and looking to improve it, get conversion-focused web design services and boost your conversion with the proper conversion optimization strategy.

4. Low Return on Investment

“88% of online customers are less likely to return to a website after a bad experience.”

If your website fails to turn visitors into paying customers, there must be something wrong with it. If your website is not designed and organized logically, your customer journey will end with a bad experience. This means the user is likely to leave the site and spend their hard-earned money elsewhere. 

Any business needs to have a high ROI to survive. Looking to improve it? Get ROI-driven web design services to increase potential conversions and uplift ROI.

5. Low Engagement Rate

“38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the site layout is unattractive.”

Is your website design/layout user-friendly enough to attract visitors and help them quickly find the information they are looking for?

Website design mistakes such as cluttered navigation, busy layout, too much text, and boring design and use of colors could make your visitors uneasy. They could hamper user experience to a great extent and make them bounce back immediately, thus lowering your site's user engagement rate.

Want to overcome low customer engagement issues? Get custom web design services for a website customized to your business needs, ensuring great user engagement.

6. Higher Bounce Rate

94% of visitors would reject a website based on its design-related aspects. 

What is your site's bounce rate? If it is more than 70%, it's an alarming call.

A high bounce rate indicates that you’re not attracting the right site visitor or the visitors coming don’t have a good user experience. A few common web design mistakes like inconsistent basic design elements and cluttered navigation, could cause a higher bounce rate. 

Want to improve bounce rate? Get professional website designing services with promising expert design capabilities to hold visitors for a long time and smartly drive them through the sales funnel. 

7. Competition gets the Benefit

89% of consumers shop with a competitor post facing a poor user experience. So investing in your website user experience will yield $100 against the $1 you spend, or competitors will keep gaining 88% of the traffic that users gradually lose.

So, if you want to gain a competitive website design that will prevent your users from moving to your competitors, get leading website design services that will solidify your grip on existing customers and attract new customers.

Let’s move on to the next section to see critical website design mistakes that can ruin your online traffic.

8. Decline in Search Engine Rankings

Search engines, like Google, consider various factors when ranking websites in search results. User experience and web design play a significant role in these rankings. 

A study by Backlinko found that the average first-page result on Google contains 1,447 words and takes about 7 seconds to load. 

If your website needs more optimization, search engines may rank it higher, reducing organic traffic and visibility.

9. Reduced Mobile Traffic

As mobile internet usage continues to rise, having a mobile-friendly website is crucial for business success. 

Statista said mobile devices accounted for 56.4% of global website traffic. 

A non-mobile responsive design can drive away mobile users, negatively impacting your potential customer base and overall website traffic.

10. Increased Customer Support Costs

According to a Forrester report, 70% of customers expect a company's website to include a self-service application for finding answers to their questions. 

A website with poor navigation and unclear information can increase customer support inquiries. If your website fails to provide relevant and easy-to-access information, customers may resort to contacting support, increasing your operational costs.

11. Lost Sales Opportunities

Statista says the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is around 69.57%.

Complex checkout processes and a lack of clear call-to-action buttons can lead to abandoned shopping carts and lost sales. A user-friendly and intuitive design can minimize friction during the checkout process and improve conversion rates.

12. Higher Marketing Costs

"A study by Moz found that organic search (SEO) costs are about 5.66 times lower than the cost of paid search (PPC)."

When your website fails to convert visitors effectively, you may be forced to invest more in marketing efforts to attract additional traffic. However, improving your website's design and conversion rate can reduce overall marketing expenses.

Learn the Top Mistakes to Avoid – Boost Engagement Now!

• Improved User Experience
• Higher Engagement
• Better Conversions

Let Us Give You Ideas!

1. Unresponsive UI

How much traffic can you lose if your site UI needs to be more responsive? More is needed to design a website for a single device. More than 51% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. Ideally, your website design should be responsive and flexible enough to fit across different screen sizes.

Please check your site's responsiveness for different devices. If you find a compatibility issue, it's good to fix it soon.

How to fix it:

1. Follow a Minimalistic design approach
2. Use responsive breakpoints
3. Formulating the rules of fluid grid 
4. Use Responsive imagery
5. Define Typography
6. Test responsiveness for different devices

Pro tip: Leverage a responsive design checker to ensure that a website looks responsive and compatible enough to deliver an excellent user experience. Hire professional web design services to do the job for you.

2. Content Strategy, Quality, and Placement

A visitor will always stay on a website with updated and relatable content. Instead, they will immediately browse other search results pages. Therefore, you need to have a content strategy and framework in place. 

How to fix it:

1. Discover Which Content Will Get You Inbound Links,
2. Find Content Your Readers Will Share
3. Make Email Signups and Subscriptions a No-Brainer
4. Create SEO-optimized content That Ranks Better
5. Create content that resonates with your audience's interest 
6. Have a content outline in place before coming up with the website design

Pro tip: Content that solves the visitor's pain points will also solve the business's pain points.

3. Clumsy Navigation

A study by Stanford University found that ‘sites that were easy to navigate are more credible.’ Unfortunately, most site owners and web designers ignore this fact. Clumsy navigation will motivate your visitors to bounce back from the home page, which means they will never spend any quality time on the website checking over the product and services.

How to fix it:

1. Plan navigation with a sitemap
2. Prioritize your pages
3. Stick to conventions
4. Use a sticky menu
5. Limit the number of items
6. Add a search bar

Pro tip: Keep the navigation bar consistent across all website pages. You can hire professional web design services to do the job.

4. White Space

White space is crucial to a website's UI layout; it improves readability, drives attention to the correct elements, and creates a well-balanced, clean image that significantly improves UI and enhances the page's UX(User Experience). 

How to fix it:

1. Remove all elements around the object you want to emphasize.
2. Use both micro and macro white space
3. Manage visual hierarchy with white space
4. Pay close attention to the white space around CTAs
5.  It doesn't have to be white always

Pro tip: Avoid too much whitespace, making your website look lazy and bland.

5. Inconsistent Design Elements

A website with consistent design elements helps visitors become familiar with UI patterns and components. Consistent fonts and text arrangement can improve scanability, legibility, readability, and site navigation.

How to fix it:

1. Have menus in the same position on each page
2. Have the same fonts, logo, and colors throughout the site
3. Have a clear visual hierarchy
4. Optimize interaction elements- like button labels
5. Do optimum use of animation, videos, sounds
6. Don’t overload your website with too many elements

Pro tip: Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to achieve the same look and feel of all web pages that use the same style sheet. If you need technical assistance, outsource expert web design services.

6. SEO-Friendly Design

SEO is the backbone of any business's online presence, but many people do not realize that search engine optimization must be built into web design. A good SEO strategy will only allow your website to rank well on search engines.

How to fix it:

1. Create SEO-optimized content
2. Maintain optimum keyword density.
3. Optimize header tags
4. Use internal linking
5. Optimize meta descriptions
6. Use a readable URL structure
7. Use image alt attributes
8. Use minimalistic web design
9. Avoid heavy media files

Pro tip: SEO ranking is more confined by user experience on your site. Focusing more on usability and aesthetic feel, in line with basic SEO tips, will automatically boost your SEO and business performance.

7. CTA

When did you last optimize your website's CTA? Is it performing well to direct the visitor to the sales funnel? Are the CTAs visible or tempting enough to drive conversion? A clear CTA design will only accelerate your conversion rate.

How to fix it: 

1. Make CTA look like Button
2. Customize CTA with Clear Messaging
3. Get CTAs highlighted
4. Leverage white space for effective placement
5. Avoid vague button text or no text at all
6. Avoid too many calls to action for one page
7. Don’t forget to test the CTA button for (color, copy, size, and placement)

Pro tip: Get a CTA copy that appeals emotionally to the user.

8. Unattractive Website Theme

Will you stay on a website that looks messy and unattractive? Definitely “NO,” and the same applies to your users. The first impression is the last. If your website is getting traffic but unable to hold visitors or struggles with low engagement, your site color theme could be a possible reason.

How to fix it:

• Color should emotionally connect with the visitor
• Understand color phycology based on geographical location 
• Website color should uplift your brand logo
• Consider gender while choosing a color for your website
• Follow the 60/30/10 rule to come up with the right color
• 60% dominant color, 30% secondary color, 10% accent color

Pro tip: Keep the theme elegant and straightforward, as it enhances the aesthetics of the web design. 

9. Slow Loading Speed

40% of customers will abandon a page if it takes three or more seconds to load. This could be a possible reason why your site needs to get higher traffic. Hit back to check your website loading speed; it might affect your online traffic and engagement rate.

How to fix it:

• Enable Caching
• Eliminate flash files
• Remove unnecessary heavy Plugins and Add-ons
• Optimize and compress images
• Minimize your code. 
• Use a content delivery network (CDN) to load content better.

Pro tip: Use a minimalistic design approach to leverage light design elements. You can take the help of professional web design services.

10. Lack Of Visual Hierarchy

When did you last pay attention to your website’s visual hierarchy? 

Visual hierarchy is vital in planning your information architecture to help users navigate organizationally. A site with a poor visual hierarchy adds uneasiness and friction to the user experience. So, if your site is facing this issue, it's recommended that you fix it soon.

How to fix it:

• Consider reading patterns.
• Consider visitor behavior while designing elements.
• Use size, color, and contrast to draw the eye fast.
• Use optimum white space to create emphasis.
• Use Proximity and repetition to create unity.

Pro tip: Leverage color to draw attention and evoke emotion. 

11. Website Clutter

A cluttered website with excessive elements, too much text, and overwhelming visuals can confuse and frustrate visitors, leading to high bounce rates and reduced user engagement.

How to Fix It:

• Streamline the layout and eliminate unnecessary elements. Use white space strategically to create a clean and organized look.
• Highlight essential information and calls to action, ensuring they stand out. Remove or de-prioritize less critical content.
• Create an intuitive navigation menu with clear labels, helping users find what they need without confusion.
• Compress images to reduce load times and ensure they enhance the content rather than overpower it.
• Maintain a consistent visual style and color scheme throughout the website for a cohesive and professional appearance.

Pro Tip: Conduct user testing to gather feedback on the website's layout and design. Identify pain points and make data-driven decisions to declutter the website effectively.

12. Keyword Stuffing

Overloading website content with excessive keywords to manipulate search engine rankings can lead to a poor user experience and potential penalties from search engines.

How to Fix It:

• Instead of stuffing keywords, create high-quality, valuable content that naturally addresses users' needs and intents.
• Incorporate related terms and synonyms to make the content sound natural and relevant.
• Conduct proper keyword research to identify relevant and valuable keywords to target in your content.
• Use relevant keywords in page titles, meta descriptions, and headings, but avoid over-optimization.
• Prioritize creating content for your target audience, and ensure it reads naturally and engagingly.

Pro Tip: Utilize SEO tools and plugins that offer insights on keyword usage and provide suggestions for improving content optimization.

13. Optimization Of On-Page Elements

Presenting crucial information within images can hinder accessibility and SEO, as search engines cannot interpret image content. Ignoring on-page elements like meta tags and headings can also impact search rankings.

How to Fix It:

• Include relevant text descriptions alongside important images to provide context and improve accessibility.
• Always use descriptive alt tags for images. This allows search engines to understand their content and improves accessibility for visually impaired users.
• Optimize title tags for each page with relevant keywords and a clear description of the page's content.
• Use hierarchical heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to organize content and signal the importance of different sections to search engines.
• Write compelling and concise meta descriptions for each page, summarizing its content and encouraging clicks in search results.

Pro Tip: Regularly audit the website's on-page elements to ensure they align with your SEO strategy and comply with accessibility guidelines.

14. Mobile Visitors

Neglecting mobile responsiveness can alienate a significant portion of your audience, as mobile users constitute a significant portion of internet traffic.

How to Fix It:

• Implement a responsive web design that adapts to various screen sizes and devices.
• Use tools like Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and fix usability issues.
• Optimize images, CSS, and JavaScript to improve mobile page load times.
• Ensure buttons and other interactive elements are large enough and spaced appropriately for easy touch navigation.
• Regularly test the website on smartphones and tablets to ensure a smooth user experience.

Pro Tip: Consider adopting a mobile-first approach when designing or redesigning your website to prioritize mobile users' needs.

15. No Social Integration

Failing to integrate social media links or handles on your website can limit your online visibility and hinder social engagement with your audience.

How to Fix It:

• Add recognizable social media icons in prominent locations, such as the header or footer, that link to your official profiles.
• Incorporate social media share buttons on your blog posts, articles, or other shareable content to encourage visitors to share it with their networks.
• Embed social media feeds on your website to display real-time updates and foster engagement.
• Showcase social media testimonials or reviews to build trust and credibility with potential customers.
• Cross-promote your website content on social media platforms to drive traffic back to your website.

Pro Tip: Regularly update and maintain your social media profiles to keep them active and engaging for your audience. Encourage visitors to follow your social media accounts for updates and announcements.

16. 404 Page

A generic or unhelpful 404 error page can frustrate users and make them abandon your website. A well-designed and user-friendly 404 page can turn a negative experience into a positive one, helping visitors find what they were looking for and encouraging them to stay on your site.

How to Fix It:

• Ensure the 404 page communicates that the requested page couldn't be found and provides a friendly message.
• Include a search bar on the 404 page to allow users to find the content they are looking for.
• Offer links to popular or relevant pages, helping users navigate to other parts of your website.
• Provide contact details or a link to customer support to assist users who need further assistance.
• For a cohesive experience, maintain the same design and branding elements on the 404 page as on the rest of your website.

Pro Tip: Monitor your website's 404 error logs to identify broken links or missing pages. Regularly update and redirect URLs to relevant pages to avoid frequent 404 errors.

17.  Pop-Up Ads

Overusing pop-up ads or displaying irrelevant ones can annoy visitors, disrupt their browsing experience, and lead to higher bounce rates. Balancing the use of pop-ups is crucial to maintaining a positive user experience while still achieving your marketing goals.

How to Fix It:

• Display pop-up ads at appropriate times, such as when a user is about to exit the site or after engaging with some content.
• Ensure pop-up ads are relevant to the content or page the user is viewing, increasing the chances of engagement.
• Provide a clear and accessible option to close the pop-up without hassle.
• Limit the frequency of pop-up ads so users aren't bombarded with multiple pop-ups during their visit.
• Experiment with different pop-up designs, timing, and content to find what works best for your audience.

Pro Tip: Implement a delayed pop-up strategy, showing the pop-up after the user has spent a specific amount of time on the page or scrolled through a particular portion of content.

18. Using A Variety Of Elements

Crowding your webpage with excessive elements, such as text, images, videos, and widgets, can overwhelm visitors and make it easier for them to focus on essential content or calls to action.

How to Fix It:

• Identify the key elements you want visitors to focus on and make them stand out. Remove or minimize less crucial elements.
• Use whitespace strategically to create a clean and visually appealing layout, allowing content to breathe.
• Stick to a consistent design style and avoid using too many different fonts, colors, or styles.
• Organize content using a clear visual hierarchy, with headings, subheadings, and bullet points to make information easily scannable.
• Embrace a minimalist design philosophy, emphasizing simplicity and clarity.

Pro Tip: Consider conducting user testing to get feedback on your website's design and identify distracting or unnecessary elements.

19. Poor Quality Stock Images 

Using low-quality or irrelevant stock images can negatively impact your website's credibility and user trust. Authentic and high-quality visuals are essential to create a positive impression.

How to Fix It:

• Opt for real images of your products, team, or workplace, which will show the human side of your business.
• Invest in high-resolution images that are sharp and visually appealing.
• Ensure images directly relate to the content and enhance the user's understanding or experience.
• Consider hiring a professional photographer to capture unique and tailored images for your website.
• Maintain a consistent visual style for images across your website, reinforcing your brand identity.

Pro Tip: If using stock images, select unique, relatable, and free from clichés. Customize images with your brand's color scheme or add overlays to make them more personalized

By addressing these critical website design mistakes, you can create a more user-friendly and visually appealing website that enhances user experience, keeps visitors engaged, and strengthens your brand's credibility and trustworthiness.

Get more web design and development insights and learn the must-read difference between web design and development.

By now, you are well aware of the critical issues your website is facing and why your conversion rate is constantly declining. However, this is only half the battle won; you need professional web design services or an expert to fix these issues for your website and scale up your online presence.

20. Unsecure Website

More than 60% of data breaches occur due to poor web design. If you have an unsecured website, not only will Google pull you down from rankings, but your revenue will deteriorate, and your customers won't trust your website.

What should you do? 

• Use a secure web hosting service.
• Add HTTPS and an SSL Certificate. 
• Level 1 PCI Compliant.
• ISO 27001 & 27018 certificates. 
• Enable TLS 1.2. 
• Leverage DDoS protection.
• Website security monitoring.
• Apply 2-Step Verification. 
• Get centralized website security.