5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Designing a Website

branding and website design Oct 09, 2024

In today’s digital landscape, your website is often the first impression customers have of your business. It is your identity. It is how you present yourself to your customers and clients. A well-designed site can elevate your brand, boost customer engagement, and drive conversions. A successful website can also help you step into your authority, make you feel more confident, and position yourself as an expert in your industry.

However, poor website design can harm your business by creating a frustrating or off-putting experience for visitors, causing them to leave before making a purchase or signing up for your services. To ensure your website works for your business, it’s crucial to avoid these website design mistakes. Here are five frequent website design errors online business owners make—and how you can steer clear of them.

Mistake 1: Overloading the Homepage with Information

The Problem:

It’s easy to fall into the trap of cramming too much content onto your homepage. You want to share everything about your business upfront, from product details to company history. However, too much information can overwhelm visitors, leading to confusion and high bounce rates.

website-design-mistake-1-busy-design-or-too-much-text

How to Avoid It:

Keep your homepage simple, clean, and focused.
Balance your visuals and copy with “breathing room” or whitespace.
Prioritize key elements that grab attention and convey your core message.
Use short, concise text with visuals to support the content.
Think of your homepage as a gateway, guiding users to explore your site further rather than bombarding them with too much at once.

In the examples above, you can see that both are very different and yet both are VERY overwhelming. Less can be more when it comes to a website design. Start simple and build from there. You can use visuals and color contrast to break up a big chunk of text and allow the reader to digest it more easily.

website-design-mistake-1-good-design-example

Mistake 2: Poor Navigation Structure

The Problem:

A website with a confusing navigation structure makes it difficult for visitors to find what they’re looking for. This can frustrate users and prompt them to leave before taking any meaningful action, such as making a purchase or signing up for your email list.

How to Avoid It:

Your navigation should be intuitive and user-friendly.

Navigation menus will differ based on the type of service or product you offer, but a general rule of thumb is to make sure you have “Home”, “About”, and “Contact” very clearly listed as well as an organized way for your visitor to click on “Services” or “Products”
Use clear labels for your menu items, and avoid overcomplicating it with too many descriptors for one tab, too many categories or subcategories, etc..
Follow the "three-click rule"—users should be able to find the information they need within three clicks.
Consider adding a search bar to help users locate specific content faster.

Mistake 3: Not Optimizing for Mobile Devices

The Problem:

With the majority of web traffic coming from mobile devices, a website that doesn’t offer a seamless mobile experience can alienate a large portion of your audience. If your site is hard to navigate, slow to load, or visually unappealing on a smartphone, potential customers are likely to leave.

How to Avoid It:

Make sure your website is fully responsive, meaning it adapts to various screen sizes, from desktops to tablets and smartphones.
Test your website’s performance across different devices to ensure it remains user-friendly and visually appealing.

Mobile optimization also includes:

Quick loading times - pages should load in less than 3 seconds
Easy-to-click buttons - clear buttons with contrasting colors to the background
Accessible text - Make sure it fits the screen and is easy to read. Don’t overuse center-justified text. Rule of thumb: if the sentence or paragraph is more than 2 lines, left-justify it!

Ashley Gordan’s Quantum Coach website is a great example of successful mobile optimization. She mirrored her desktop design in a way that felt consumable, clean, easy to follow on small screens, and chronologically organized.

website-design-example-ashley-gordan-quantum-coach-mobile-responsive

Mistake 4: Weak or Unclear CTAs (Calls to Action)

The Problem:

A common mistake is having calls to action (CTAs) that are unclear, hard to find, or weak in messaging. If visitors don’t know what action to take next—whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, buying a product, or contacting you—they’re less likely to engage with your site.

How to Avoid It:

Place strong, clear CTAs throughout your website. Each page should have a specific goal, and the CTA should reflect that.
Use action-oriented language like “Buy ____ Now,” “Sign Up for _____,” or “Get Started” to create urgency and make it easy for visitors to know what the next step is and take it.
Ensure CTAs stand out visually by using contrasting colors and placing them in prominent locations.

Mistake 5: Neglecting SEO Basics

The Problem:

Even the best-designed website won’t be effective if it can’t be found in search engines. Many online business owners neglect basic search engine optimization (SEO), which limits their site’s visibility to potential customers.

How to Avoid It:

To improve your website’s SEO, start with on-page optimization.

Each page should have a unique meta title and description, include relevant keywords, and follow a logical structure with header tags (H1, H2, etc.).
Optimize your images by using descriptive “alt text”. Your website hosting platform should have this option available in your image editor or settings.
Ensure your site’s loading speed is fast. As we stated above, your pages should load within 3-seconds. The following will help speed up your load time:

Minimize automations and dynamic features on your page
Downsize your images to no more than 200kb. You can downsize your larger files using sites like tinypng.com or compressor.io

Additionally, produce high-quality, keyword-optimized content regularly to improve your chances of ranking well in search results. Blogs, YouTube video trainings, or Podcast show notes are a great way to continue to build on your website content and get seen.

Action Steps: How to Audit Your Website and Make Improvements

Auditing your website for these common mistakes is the first step toward improving its effectiveness.

Start by:

Evaluating your homepage for clarity and simplicity, ensuring that it highlights key information without overwhelming visitors.
Check your navigation structure to ensure it’s user-friendly, and make sure your site performs well on mobile devices.
Strengthen your CTAs to guide visitors toward meaningful actions.
Don’t forget to review your SEO basics to enhance visibility.

By addressing these common design mistakes, you’ll improve the user experience, increase engagement, and ultimately, boost conversions for your online business.