3 Mistakes in Web Design that Hurt User Engagement – And How to Fix Them

Mistakes in design are never a good thing, however, some of them can be safely ignored if you have more important issues to consider. There is another kind of mistake – one that immediately causes conversion rates to plummet, actively discourages visitors from using your website and returning to it, and those that render your every other design effort meaningless. In this article we will cover three of the worst mistakes you can make when designing your website and what you can do to set things right.

Mistake 1: Confusing website navigation

People visit your website not to admire its awesome design but to achieve a certain goal, and they want it to take as little time as possible. Therefore, their journey on your site, from the moment they first open your web page to the moment they achieve their goal, should be as short and user-friendly as possible. Ideally, your website visitors shouldn’t spend even a second thinking about how they should do what they came to do – their actions on your site should be completely intuitive. When this doesn’t happen and visitors are confused, expect trouble.

Why it happens

Of course, nobody makes their website navigation confusing on purpose. Usually, this happens because the web designer has spent dozens of hours working on the site, and knows every detail of its layout and navigation by heart. They move between and within the pages with great familiarity – and little objectivity. What may seem self-evident to the web designer could well be a stumbling block for the first-time visitor who has never seen the website before.

How to fix it

You need a fresh perspective on your website design and UX. Ask random people to try out your website, maybe your friends or colleagues. Find out their impressions. Were they able to locate what they wanted? Was navigation easy and clear? How many clicks did it take them to get to their goal? You can  do this on a larger scale with the help of specialized platforms that allow you to hire random people to test your UI, such as TryMyUI or UserTesting.

Mistake 2: Unclear or missing call to action

Again, people don’t visit your website because it’s beautiful. They are looking to fulfil a need. This means that your design should not just look good (although it helps), but should also clearly show the visitor what action they must take.  Whether you want them to buy a product, subscribe to a newsletter or leave their contact details, you need to include a clear and noticeable call to action. If your CTA is vague or hard to find, the likelihood that your site visitors will convert falls dramatically.

Why it happens

An effective CTA has to stand out. For some web designers, it can seem that a bright, bold CTA button stands out like a sore thumb. This may cause them to tone down the CTA, or design it in such a way that it fits seamlessly on the web page – and gets visually lost in the process.

How to fix it

Review all the CTAs on your website. Do they have a clear message? Do they draw the eye? Are they getting the results you want? Check out these further tips to creating high converting CTAs.

Mistake 3: Putting style and creativity above core content

Interesting design decisions are… well, interesting, but do they serve any purpose? Adding design elements simply because they are cool and unusual will lead to confusion among visitors, precisely because they are not used to them.

Why it happens

At times, web designers can get carried away by a design choice that seems exciting and original. It may well be so, but many aspects of web design are rather standardized  for a reason – familiarity. if you step too far from the expected UX, your website will be too original and thus incomprehensible – and usability suffers.

How to fix it

Start with the core content and functionality of your website and add to it only after you are sure all elements work well together. Then, you can adjust or add to the page, without wandering too far from its core purpose and design.

When it comes to professional website design, it can be difficult to describe how to get it right. The next best thing is knowing what not to do wrong. Avoid the three web mistakes listed above, and you’ll be on your way to maximizing potential user engagement on your website.