10 design mistakes that are causing your website to lose customers (and you may not even be aware of it)
In the world of digital marketing, web design is not an art but commercial psychology. Every element on your page either helps the user achieve their goal (and you achieve a sale) or stands in their way. This "standing in the way" is called friction.
Many of these mistakes kill conversions. You don’t see them in standard reports, but they reduce your return on investment (ROI). As a combined team of UX designers, conversion rate optimization (CRO) experts, and SEO specialists, we do not look at websites just for their beauty. We analyze them for performance.
Let’s go through the 10 most common website design mistakes that are causing you to lose customers, often without you even being aware of it.
Why a nice design is not the same as a profitable design
Before we start, let’s break a myth. A "nice" site can win design awards but have a catastrophic conversion rate. On the other hand, some "ugly" sites (like the old Amazon or Craigslist) make billions.
Why? Because user experience (UX) beats sheer aesthetics.
Your goal is not to impress other designers. Your goal is to give the user what they are looking for in the fastest and easiest way possible. Every mistake we will list is a form of friction, or a barrier that annoys, confuses, or slows the user down.
And in 2025, a frustrated user is not looking for a solution to a problem. They are looking for another site.
10 design mistakes that cost you conversions (and how to fix them)
1. Unclear or hidden calls to action (CTA)
Problem: Your call to action (CTA) is the most important button on the page. However, on many sites, it is hardly visible. It blends in with the background, uses the same color as other, less important elements, or has confusing text like "Next" or "Learn More".
Consequence: The user doesn’t know what is expected of them. If they have to search for the button "Add to Cart" or "Sign Up", you’ve already lost part of the sale. This directly kills conversions.
Solution:
Contrast: The CTA button must stand out. Use a color that contrasts with the rest of the page but fits within the brand palette.
Clear text: Instead of the passive "Learn More", use action-oriented text that describes the outcome: "Download the free guide", "Start your trial", "Buy now".
Size and position: The button must be large enough to click easily (especially on mobile) and placed logically, where the user expects to see it after reading the offer.
Micro-example (E-commerce): On the product page, the "Add to Cart" button must be the most dominant element. It should not compete with the "Add to Wishlist" or "Compare Product" buttons.
2. Overly complicated and lengthy forms
Problem: You land on a page to sign up for a newsletter and the site asks for your first name, last name, email, city, phone number, and industry you work in.
Consequence: Form Abandonment. Every additional field you ask for is a potential reason for the user to drop out. People value their time and privacy.
Solution:
Ask for the minimum: For newsletters, you only need an email. For a contact form, name, email, and message.
Multi-step: If you must request more information (e.g., during checkout), break the form into logical steps. Psychologically, it’s easier to fill out 3 steps of 3 fields than one step of 9 fields.
Clear error handling: If the user makes a mistake, show them exactly where the error is and how to correct it without deleting other data they’ve entered.
Micro-example (SaaS): Do not ask for a credit card number for a "free trial". This is the greatest friction there is. Just ask for the email and password to get the user into the product as quickly as possible.
3. Ignoring loading speed
Problem: Your site is slow. It may have huge, unoptimized images, too many scripts, or poor hosting. It may seem fast to you because you visit it often (it’s cached), but a new user takes 5-7 seconds to load it.
Consequence: Users leave before the page even loads. Google sees this and penalizes you in ranking (SEO). Studies show that every additional second of loading drastically increases the bounce rate.
Solution:
Image optimization: Compress images and use modern formats (like WebP).
Good hosting: Cheaper hosting is often slower hosting.
Code minification: Reduce the size of CSS and JavaScript files.
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify issues.
4. Catastrophic user experience on mobile
Problem: You open the site on a phone and have to pinch-and-zoom to read the text. Buttons are so small and cramped that you constantly tap the wrong one.
Consequence: Immediate site abandonment. Over 60% (often more) of total traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site is not perfectly optimized for mobile, you are consciously giving up most of your market. Google primarily ranks sites based on their mobile version (Mobile-First Indexing).
Solution:
Responsive design is not an option, it is a requirement.
Design according to the "Mobile-First" principle. Think first about how the site will look and function on a small screen, and only then on desktop.
Ensure all elements (buttons, links) are large enough and spaced out enough to be easily tapped by a finger.
5. Confusing navigation and poor site architecture
Problem: The user wants to find the "Pricing". They look in the main menu and see options: "Solutions", "Platform", "Our Story", "Resources", "Partners". The pricing is hidden under "Resources" -> "Frequently Asked Questions".
Consequence: Frustration. The user feels lost and stupid. Nobody likes to feel stupid. They won’t play "treasure hunt" to give you their money. They will go to Google and find a competitor whose pricing is clear.
Solution:
Logic of the user, not yours: Organize the menu the way your user thinks, not the way your company is internally structured.
Stick to standards: Don’t reinvent the wheel. "Contact", "Services", "About Us", "Pricing" are there for a reason.
Breadcrumbs: On larger sites (especially e-commerce), use "Breadcrumbs" (e.g., Home > Men > Shoes > Sneakers) so the user always knows where they are.
6. Weak "Hero" section (The first screen the user sees)
Problem: The user lands on your homepage (or landing page) and in the first 3 seconds cannot answer the question: "What does this company do and what's in it for me?" Instead, they see a generic image of people shaking hands and a headline "Welcome to the future of business".
Consequence: The user does not understand your value proposition and leaves immediately. The first screen (what is visible without scrolling, "above the fold") is your most valuable real estate.
Solution:
Crystal clear headline: In one sentence, explain what you offer and for whom.
Subheadline: Expand the headline with a key benefit explanation.
Supporting visuals: Show the product in action or an image that evokes an emotion related to the solution, rather than a generic "stock" photo.
Primary CTA: A clear call to action must be visible immediately.
Micro-example (Portfolio): Instead of the headline "Welcome to my site", a UX designer's portfolio should say: "I help SaaS companies reduce user churn through smart UX design."
7. Poor readability and inaccessible typography
Problem: The text on your site is small (e.g., 12px), the spacing is too tight, and the contrast is poor (e.g., light gray text on a white background). The result is a block of text that is physically taxing to read.
Consequence: People do not read. If they cannot read the description of your product or service, they will not buy. You are also harming users with visual impairments (accessibility) and SEO (users fleeing because they can’t read is a bad signal).
Solution:
Font size: For body text (paragraphs), a minimum of 16px has become standard.
Contrast: Use contrast checking tools (WCAG) to ensure text is readable.
Whitespace: Give the text "room to breathe". Adequate spacing between lines and paragraphs drastically improves readability.
Short paragraphs: Break up long blocks of text. Use subheadings, lists (like this one), and bold text to highlight key points.
8. Hiding key information (Pricing, Delivery, Contact)
Problem: The user has found the product they want. They add it to the cart. They go through two steps of checkout, enter all their details, and only at the last step, before clicking "Pay", do they find out that the delivery cost is 800 dinars.
Consequence: Cart Abandonment. This is the primary reason people abandon purchases. They feel deceived. The same goes for hiding prices (B2B sites that insist on "Request a Quote" for everything) or hiding contact phone numbers.
Solution:
Be transparent: Clearly display the delivery cost on the product page or offer a calculator.
Contact: Make your contact phone number and email easily accessible (usually in the header or footer). This builds trust.
If prices are complex, at least provide a "Starting from..." price range instead of hiding them completely.
9. Aggressive and poorly timed pop-up windows
Problem: Just as you’ve landed on the site, before you’ve even had a chance to read the headline, a pop-up covers your screen asking you to sign up for the newsletter.
Consequence: You interrupt the user’s intent. It’s like walking into a store and having the salesperson jump on you, asking for your phone number immediately. Most people will instinctively close the window, often taking the whole site down with them.
Solution:
Smart triggers: Do not display pop-ups immediately.
"Exit Intent": Show a pop-up when the mouse sensor detects that the user intends to leave the page. This is your "last chance" and is much less intrusive.
"Scroll Trigger": Show it after the user has scrolled 70% of the page (indicating they are interested in the content).
Always provide a clear and easy option to close (X).
10. Visual inconsistency and "chaos"
Problem: On the homepage, buttons are blue and rounded. On the services page, they are green and square. You use five different fonts, and spacing between elements is random.
Consequence: The site appears unprofessional, amateurish, and unreliable. If you can’t even get your own site organized, how can the user trust that you can solve a serious problem for them (or safely deliver a product)? Inconsistency also confuses the user as they must constantly learn how the site operates on each new page.
Solution:
Style Guide or Brand Book: Define clear rules before the design begins. What are your primary fonts? What is the color palette? What are the buttons (primary, secondary)?
Consistency: Adhere to these rules on every page. This builds brand recognition and instills trust.
Your site is not an art gallery, but a sales machine
The design of your site is never "finished". It is a living organism that must adapt to user behavior.
Stop viewing design as a subjective thing ("I like this"). Start seeing it as a measurable tool for achieving goals. Each of these 10 mistakes is not an aesthetic but a financial problem.
Go through your site today, but not as its owner, but as a tired, impatient customer who has five competing tabs open. Be brutally honest. Every "friction" you find is money slipping out of your pocket. Optimizing your site for sales begins the moment you stop admiring the design and start measuring it.
Is your site working for you or against you?
You might be losing customers right now without even knowing it. Don’t guess. Request a professional UX and CRO analysis and discover the exact "gaps" in design that are costing you conversions.
Schedule a free 30-minute site analysis