DON'T Make These Simple Web Design Mistakes
- Veronica Filice
- Jan 9
- 7 min read
These common mistakes hurt your conversions and drive down traffic to your website.
We've discussed previously on the Heyvii blog about how a good web design and user experience are key to building your business for effective, sustainable growth. If you want to get your website to really work for you, then you need to know what makes a good webpage, including what bad web design practices to rule out.
The truth is, what may seem like a simple oversight could lead to a massive loss in potential for your business, including a major loss of conversions.
But, these basic design flaws can easily be avoided with some expert know-how and a solid planning strategy. When re-building your website, steering clear of these web design mistakes from the get-go will be much easier than having to undo them afterwards.
Common mistakes in web design
Implement these web design best practices instead and you'll have a website that converts for you from Day One, including:
Weak and misplaced Calls-to-action
Ignoring mobile optimization
Confusing navigation structure
Neglecting SEO
Slow page loading times
Visual clutter
Planning without a clear strategy
Forgetting trust signals
Skipping user testing
Launching without ongoing support or updates
Are you ready to re-build for real success this year? Here's a look at the top 10 web design mistakes many businesses make — avoid these and get ready to thrive in 2026!
10 web design mistakes to avoid that hurt your conversions
From a slow-loading webpage (no one likes that!) to neglecting that necessary SEO optimization, avoiding these basic mistakes in web design will take you to the next level in your business.
Weak and misplaced CTAs
The call-to-action (CTA) is the driving force behind any webpage To boost conversions on your website, you'll want to create CTAs that are dynamic, clear, and engaging. Otherwise, it is simply wasted space.
Before writing a call-to-action, take a moment to slow down and think about what you actually want the user to do next. A good CTA isn’t something you add at the very end of the page just because it looks right, it’s a small but intentional decision that guides the user forward.
Generic buttons like “Learn more” often don’t work because, A: they’re vague and B: don’t set any expectation. But when you’re more specific, the CTA suddenly becomes useful.
By transforming a CTA like “Learn more” to “See what’s blocking conversions”, it tells the user exactly why they should click and what they’ll get out of it. If a CTA doesn’t clearly answer the question “what happens when I click?”, it’s not helping the user move forward, it’s just adding noise.
Ignoring mobile optimization
Don't miss the mark when working on mobile view. Whether it is in your landing page or your entire website, ignoring the power of mobile optimization is still one of the most common web design mistakes.
Instead of working in desktop view and then checking what it looks like and how it works in mobile, adopt a mobile-first approach. Not only does a mobile-first web design enhance user experience it also boosts search engine rankings, so that you will already have a leg up on your SEO optimization.
Confusing navigation structure
Just like sloppy copywriting, a chaotic layout is another obvious way to discourage users from a webpage. It's pretty simple: Visitors land on your homepage, but they can’t figure out where to go next. Menus are messy, pages are hard to find, buttons are everywhere, which is a perfect equation to keep your user bounce rate up.
Avoid the common mistake of a confusing navigation structure by creating a well-thought-out site map for your website. A well-planned site map enhances usability and helps visitors move effortlessly from discovery to conversion.
Neglecting SEO
Ignoring the importance of SEO (search engine optimization) when designing a website is still a mistake that many businesses make. Putting off the much-needed SEO strategy until later not only sets your website back, it ends up being a big waste of time as you will have to re-do all of that great work and content strategy. The foundation of SEO is finding the right keywords and keyphrases for your niche, and you can’t build the content to get found in search engines without that important keyword data.
And if you are reading this and finding yourself asking, “But, isn’t SEO dying?” In fact, this is far from the truth.
Lately, there’s also a lot of talk about SEO no longer mattering due to the influx of ML (machine learning) and new ways people search, but in reality, SEO is still the foundation of most websites. Search engines and AI tools both need clear, well-structured content to understand what your website is about. Without that base, there’s nothing for ML to pick up or recommend.
That’s why SEO should be part of the planning stage and not an afterthought. When it’s considered early, you avoid costly fixes later and give your website a much better chance to be found, now and in the future. Save yourself the time and put SEO at the forefront of your website re-build this year.
Slow page loading time
Don't let lingering loading times and technical glitches make you lose clients. Users (and especially new users) simply will not wait for a slow-loading website, so a good web design must be optimized for speed and efficiency.
Get free insights on a webpage’s loading time using this handy Pagespeed tool. Just enter a URL and the page will get analyzed for speed and performance.
At Heyvii, we bring all three together to craft a seamless and strategic online presence.
Too much visual clutter
We’re passed the age of overwhelm, and you want your business to reflect that. Which is why an overload of colors, pop-ups, images, and fonts competing for attention on a website tends to confuse users and cause friction. Simplicity wins when it comes to good web design. When re-building your website, create clean, aesthetically pleasing interfaces that elevate your brand while guiding users with clarity and focus. A successful site means that every element on the page has a purpose and supports your conversion goals.
When working on your web design, it’s important to consider who your audience is and how they experience your content, including readability and visual comfort. Poor color contrast, for example, can make text hard to read and quickly discourage users, even if the design looks visually appealing.
A purposeful website ensures that every element on the page has a clear role, supports your conversion goals, and remains accessible to as many users as possible. Taking the time to check color contrast and readability, such as using tools like Colour Contrast Checker, helps create interfaces that are inclusive, clear, and offer a seamless user experience.
Planning without a clear strategy
One of the top web design mistakes you can make is planning without a clear strategy in mind. The fact is, jumping into design without understanding your audience or defining a set of clear business goals will result in poor website performance.
Fix this mistake by researching your target market, competitors, and brand positioning to build a site that delivers on business objectives — from attracting new leads to strengthening engagement.
And before designing or developing your website, it’s just as important to define how success will be measured. In other words, a clear strategy should include identifying the key metrics you want to track, whether that’s form submissions, bookings, engagement, or specific user actions across the site.
Setting up a basic analytics framework and mapping meaningful events allows you to understand how people actually interact with your website, not just how it looks. This kind of tracking helps turn assumptions into data, and design decisions into measurable outcomes. Without these clear Key Performance Indicators (also known as KPIs) and visibility on user behaviour, a website may look polished but lack a defined purpose. Strategy only becomes effective when it’s supported by numbers that clarify the real role that your website plays in your business.
Forgetting trust signals
While re-designing their website, many entrepreneurs tend to forget the importance of trust signals. Never doubt the power that a couple of customer testimonials and other relevant trust signals may have on the authority of your website.
Some other trustworthy elements to include in your website are an About Us page with some details about your business and brand story, and an SSL certificate that verifies your site’s ownership to users.
Skipping user testing
Getting your website ready to go out into the world without taking some time to get user feedback data often results in major user experience gaps and mistakes you might not discover until it's too late.
In your web design strategy, make sure you include a "feedback phase" that includes real user testing to ensure your site works as intended.
Launching without ongoing support or updates
Just like a successful relationship, a successful website needs some TLC from time to time. While it might be tempting to just launch your website and see where it goes, websites aren’t set-it-and-forget-it. A site that isn’t maintained will quickly become outdated and ineffective.
Consider a monthly maintenance package from an expert web designer to ensure that your site works how it's supposed to 24/7.
FAQs: Web design best practices
What are some other web design mistakes that businesses make?
On top of this list of 10 common web design mistakes, other missteps include having pixelated images on your site, bad and inconsistent fonts, and too much white space between elements on the page. The best practices in web design all include functionality, clarity, and consistency, so make sure to prioritize these when re-building your website in 2026.
What’s the difference between UX, UI, and web design?
All three are essential to consider when re-building your website. For starters, UX (user experience) is about how the site feels to use, UI (user interface) is about how it looks, and Web Design combines both technical structure and functionality of a website.
Heyvii’s digital agency services for 2026
Heyvii is a digital agency that specializes in helping small businesses transform their websites into powerful, user-friendly platforms which drive engagement and get real results. An agency made up of creatives in their own niche, from SEO services to logo creation to UX and UI web design, we have the tools to help you take your business to the next level in 2026.
Check out our detailed web service packages and see which one best fits your business. Have any questions? Feel free to book your free Discovery Call with us today and let’s chat.
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