We get it, you have an idea of what your website looks like in your head, you go to create it and somehow…it doesn’t feel right. Somehow, you’re not getting the traffic and your click through rate is awful – what’s worse, your bounce rate is higher!
So, what can you do?
You might find the fix is simpler than you think, and not the disaster that it seems like. Why not read through these simple mistakes and see if you’re committing them?
You Forgot about Accessibility
Treating accessibility like an afterthought is a disaster waiting to happen, but it’s also a very common mistake that many make. According to HubSpot, here are the key errors that they often see regarding accessibility:
Insufficient Colour Contrast
Colour contrast is very often overlooked when it comes to having an accessible website. It’s easily done, as often the focus is ensuring that your website fits your company’s brand, with all other considerations thrown out of the window.
It’s important that yes, whilst you should stick to your company’s brand, you must consider disabilities such as colour blindness or other visual impairments. When a colour combination used on a website lacks sufficient colour contrast between the background and foreground colours, text and icons can be difficult to see! (And we all know what happens when that ends up being the case.)
Missing Alt Text, or Alt Text that Doesn’t Make Sense
Thinking about visual impairments – many with such impairments may also rely on site readers, which use alt text, to make their way around your website and to understand what your images are. If it’s missing or does not adequately describe the image, you’re isolating readers who need it to navigate your site.
Images are a vital part of your website’s content, so you should think about what information you’re conveying with them, just as you would with the written copy on your site. Be sure than any alt text you use gets that same message across too!
Missing or Poor Visual Focus Indicators
Without visual focus indicators, visitors won’t be able to experience your site to its fullest potential. Focus indicators are things like outlines around interactive parts of your site like links and CTA buttons, and it’s important that there are clear visual indications of what’s on each page – especially for users who are navigating your site with a keyboard instead of a mouse.
Overlooking Accessible CTAs, Labels or Names
If your site gets information across visually, be mindful of users who rely on these assistive technologies. For example, a common trend in web design are things like buttons with a ‘Read More’ CTA. If you’re a user relying on a screen reader for example, these buttons can be difficult to distinguish if they are missing accessible labels with the relevant details attached.
For example, something like “Read More on our Blog”, would be more accessible.
Forgetting Responsive Design (and How Important it is.)
96.3% of internet users in 2025 accessed the internet using a mobile phone. 63% of that is website traffic. So, if you’re not ensuring your website is mobile friendly, you’re really missing out. If your content looks poor on any other devices aside from your computer screen, you risk frustrating your visitors and increasing your bounce rate.
You may be making this mistake as websites are often built using tools on desktops, this means that you might assume that your customers will be viewing the site in this way or even forget to check how your site looks on your mobile phone before launching. Make sure that as you’re building your site to routinely check how it looks on your phone and optimise accordingly – also keep in mind that some phone screens are bigger, and smaller. Check on multiple devices to give your site the best start.
Form Over Function
Something you need to be mindful of is prioritising the aesthetics of your website over its function. As the internet becomes saturated with media and design, you might feel pressured to follow suit and excessively rely on design, graphics and animations in a bid to hold your audience’s attention. But what can happen is the opposite. Whilst overuse of form can elevate your website users’ senses, you may leave them feeling disconnected from the purpose of your website and perhaps even confused or overwhelmed.
This doesn’t mean that your website should be minimalist or boring, but you must ensure that everything you do with your site has purpose – every animation, every video every graphic. It’s all about balance. Think about the purpose of your website, its audience, and go from there.
Confusing Navigation
It’s important to make your website as easy and low effort as possible to navigate through – your user has a low attention span, and they don’t want to spend their time navigating an overcomplicated mess. Ensure the important parts of your website are easy to find and ensure that they’re easy to use.
Having a Hierarchy
This involves having a hierarchy on your site – in a similar vein to how a newspaper does – a main heading, a subheading linking to that. This makes information easy to link, and easy to read through – this also includes your menu by the way.
Features that Don’t Convert
Do you know those carousel galleries on your website? Did you know that research indicates that users don’t interact with them, all the more on mobiles where the interaction cost is high. This means that if you’ve got a carousel of information or pictures, your users will only ever look at the first panel. Think instead about laying it out in a way that it’s easy to view and low effort.
In fact, whenever you add anything to your site ask yourself what the cost of interaction is for that feature and act accordingly. If it’s high, try something else.
Not Telling People What your Business is About
As soon as a visitor lands on your website, they should know exactly what it’s about – whether it’s your business, service or store. And if they’re even a little unsure? You’re right, they’ll bounce.
The very first thing your visitor needs to know is if they’re in the right place and if you can help them to solve their problem. If it isn’t doing that and enhancing your business’ credibility, then it’s failing before your potential customer has even taken a proper look. Know what your website is about, and make sure your visitors do too.
Boost your Website’s Credibility Today!
With everything above noted, you can now go on and create your website whilst avoiding those mistakes! If you need a bit more help, why not get in touch today? We’ve been building websites since 2013, and of course we’ve learned a lot along the way.
We work closely with all of our clients to make sure they get a website that they love, and that works well for them!
