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10 Common Web Design Mistakes to Avoid

10 Common Web Design Mistakes to Avoid

Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. Whether you’re running a café, offering professional services, or selling products online, your website needs to work hard for your business.

The good news? Most common web design mistakes are completely fixable, and the solutions don’t always require a complete redesign.

At Pixelstorm, we’ve spent years helping Australian businesses improve their websites with best practice web design. We’ve seen how strategic changes can lead to remarkable results: higher conversion rates, better search rankings, and happier customers.

In this guide, you’ll discover:

  • The 10 most common web design mistakes Australian businesses make
  • Why these issues hurt your bottom line
  • Practical, actionable fixes you can implement today
  • Pro tips to avoid these pitfalls from the start

Let’s transform your website into the powerful business tool it should be.

Mistake 1: Poor Navigation & Information Architecture

Nothing frustrates a website visitor faster than not being able to find what they’re looking for. Poor navigation impacts everything: user experience, SEO performance, and conversions. When visitors can’t navigate your site intuitively, they leave.

Overcrowded Menus

Too many menu items create choice paralysis.

When your main navigation lists every service or page, visitors become overwhelmed. This is one of the most common website usability mistakes Australian businesses make.

Signs your menu is overcrowded:

  • More than 7-8 items in the main menu
  • Multiple levels of dropdown menus
  • High bounce rates on your homepage

Vague Menu Labels

Menu labels using internal jargon or creative terms confuse visitors.

Customers are looking for clear, familiar language. They don’t have time to decode clever terminology.

Examples:

  • “Solutions” should be “Our Services”
  • “Resources” should be “Blog & Guides”
  • “Portal” should be “Client Login”

The Three-Click Rule

Quick Tip: Users should find any information within three clicks from the homepage. If it takes more, your navigation needs simplifying.

cluttered nav

Poor/Cluttered Navigation

pxs banner

Clean Navigation ✅

Poor Crawlability

When your navigation is poorly structured, search engines struggle to crawl and understand your site.

This is one of those silent SEO web design mistakes that kills rankings without obvious symptoms. If Google can’t figure out your site hierarchy, your pages won’t rank well.

Internal linking opportunities are missed. Page authority doesn’t flow properly through your site. These web design errors create lasting problems that affect your visibility in search results.

Why This Matters

Poor navigation impacts everything.

Australian mobile users (over 60% of traffic) are especially impatient with complicated menus. Search engines struggle to crawl poorly structured sites. If visitors can’t find your contact page, they can’t become customers.

These common web design mistakes have measurable business consequences that compound over time.

How to Fix It

  1. Start by simplifying your main menu to 5-7 core items maximum. Use clear, descriptive labels that match what your customers actually search for.
  2. Test your navigation with people unfamiliar with your business. Watch where they get stuck or confused. This reveals problems you might not notice yourself.
  3. Ensure mobile-friendly dropdowns that work on touch screens. Use breadcrumb navigation to help both users and search engines understand your site structure.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Mobile and Responsive Design

If your website doesn’t work seamlessly on mobile devices, you’re alienating more than half your potential customers. Over 60% of Australian web traffic now comes from mobile devices. Yet poor mobile experiences remain shockingly common, particularly among established businesses upgrading from older websites.

Common Mobile Problems

Text and buttons:

  • Text requiring zoom to read
  • Buttons too small to tap (should be minimum 44×44 pixels)
  • Links placed too close together

Layout issues:

  • Images not resizing properly
  • Horizontal scrolling required
  • Content cut off on smaller screens

Forms:

  • Input fields difficult to tap
  • Keyboards covering form fields

Why Mobile Matters

Google uses mobile-first indexing.

They judge your site based on the mobile version. Poor mobile experience directly impacts search rankings. This makes it one of the most critical SEO web design mistakes businesses make.

According to Google, 53% of mobile users abandon sites taking longer than 3 seconds to load.

Business impact:

  • 57% won’t recommend a business with poor mobile design
  • 40% will visit a competitor instead

These are genuine conversion killing website mistakes with measurable revenue impact.

How to Fix It

  1. Use responsive web design frameworks that automatically adapt to different screen sizes.
  2. Test on actual devices (iPhone, Android, tablets), not just browser resize tools. Use 16px minimum font size for body text. Make tap targets minimum 44×44 pixels for easy tapping.
  3. Include click-to-call buttons for phone numbers. Check both portrait and landscape orientations.
  4. Following web design best practices 2025 means prioritising mobile experience from the start.

Pro Tip: Don’t just resize your browser to test mobile responsiveness. Test on real devices to catch issues like touch targets, form inputs, and loading behaviour that only appear on actual phones and tablets.

Professional responsive web design ensures your site works beautifully across all devices.

responsive vs non responsive

Mistake 3: Slow Page Load Speed

Website speed isn’t just about user experience, it’s about whether users experience your website at all. According to Google’s research, the probability of bounce increases 32% when page load time increases from 1 to 3 seconds. At 5 seconds, bounce probability increases by 90%.

Research shows that websites experience an average 4.42% drop in conversion rates for each additional second users wait between 0-5 seconds. If your site takes 5 seconds to load instead of 1 second, you could be losing nearly 18% of potential conversions.

Google explicitly uses page speed as a ranking factor. Core Web Vitals (Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift) directly impact your SEO rankings.

What Causes Slow Sites

Heavy, unoptimized assets are the usual culprits: massive image files uploaded straight from cameras, oversized videos embedded directly, bloated CSS and JavaScript files, too many external scripts and tracking codes, or lack of proper caching. We see this frequently with Australian businesses in visual industries uploading stunning high-resolution images without any optimisation.

Too many plugins and scripts slow everything down. No browser caching means repeat visitors re-download everything. Poor hosting infrastructure struggles under traffic.

The Speed Impact

According to Google, bounce rate increases 32% when load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds.

At 5 seconds, the bounce rate increases by 90%. Each extra second reduces conversions by 4.42%.

Example: If your site takes 5 seconds instead of 1 second, you could lose 18% of potential conversions.

That’s real money walking away because your site is slow.

How to Fix It

Optimise images:

  • Compress before uploading (use TinyPNG or ShortPixel)
  • Use modern formats like WebP
  • Implement lazy loading so images load as users scroll
  • Size appropriately (don’t upload 5000px images when 1920px works)

Improve code:

  • Minify CSS, JavaScript, HTML
  • Remove unnecessary plugins that slow your site
  • Enable browser caching for faster repeat visits
  • Use a CDN for faster content delivery

Want to check where your website stands?

Test your site speed with Google PageSpeed Insights. Aim for a Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds and a First Input Delay under 100ms.

Pro Tip: Speed optimisation isn’t a one-time task. As you add new content, images, and features, performance can degrade. Regular monitoring and maintenance keep your site running fast.Ongoing website maintenance keeps performance optimal as you add content over time.

slow website score

Average PageSpeed Insight Score

high website score

High PageSpeed Insight Score

Mistake 4: Overuse of Hero Sliders and Carousels

Hero sliders and carousels were trendy about a decade ago. They seemed like a clever solution to showcase multiple messages on your homepage. In reality, they’re one of the most common examples of features that look impressive in presentations but perform terribly in actual user testing. This is a classic web design error many businesses still make.

Why Sliders Don’t Work

Nielsen Norman Group research found that only 1% of users click carousel features. The remaining slides might as well not exist. From a user experience perspective, automatic rotation creates several problems. Users can’t control the pace, often being whisked away mid-reading. Motion distracts attention away from content users actually want to engage with.

For conversion optimisation, sliders dilute your messaging. Instead of one clear value proposition, you’re presenting multiple competing messages simultaneously, creating decision paralysis. Visitors don’t know what action to take or what your primary offering actually is. Search engines also struggle with carousels. Content hidden in inactive slides may not be properly indexed, and page load times increase due to multiple large images loading simultaneously.

Problems:

  • Users can’t control the pace
  • Messages disappear mid-reading
  • Multiple messages create confusion
  • Slower page load times

The Better Alternative

Replace sliders with a single, powerful static hero.

One clear message performs better than five competing messages. Use a strong headline, single call-to-action, and high-quality image (non-autoplay).

For multiple messages: Create separate sections users scroll through at their own pace. This respects user control and ensures all content is visible to search engines.

Exception: User-controlled product galleries work well when users initiate movement. Never auto-rotate.

Pro Tip: If stakeholders insist on featuring multiple messages, create separate landing pages for different audiences instead of cramming everything into one homepage slider. This improves both user experience and SEO.

Mistake 5: Poor Typography and Readability

Typography affects whether people can comfortably read your content.

Get it wrong, and visitors leave, even if your content is excellent. Poor typography is a surprisingly common web design error.

Common Problems

Font size:

  • Body text smaller than 16px
  • Inconsistent sizing across pages

Contrast:

  • Light grey text on white backgrounds
  • Insufficient contrast ratios
  • Text over busy images

Layout:

  • Lines stretching across full-width screens (exhausting to read)
  • Insufficient line spacing (text feels cramped)
  • Too many different fonts creating visual chaos

Why It Matters

Poor typography increases cognitive load.

Your brain works harder to decode the message. This leads to faster fatigue and higher bounce rates.

Accessibility: Approximately 18% of Australians have some disability. Poor typography creates barriers and can expose businesses to discrimination complaints under the Disability Discrimination Act.

How to Fix It

  1. Use a minimum of 16px for body text. 18-20px is often more comfortable for general audiences.
  2. Ensure 4.5:1 contrast ratio minimum between text and background. Test your colour combinations with WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to ensure they meet accessibility standards.
  3. Keep lines between 50-75 characters for comfortable reading. Set line height at 1.5-1.6 times font size for adequate spacing.
  4. Use a maximum of two fonts: one for headings, one for body. Save decorative fonts for headlines only where small amounts of text can be stylish without sacrificing readability.

Pro Tip: Typography isn’t just about aesthetics. Proper font sizes, contrast, and spacing directly impact how long visitors stay on your site and whether they can actually read your content comfortably.

Mistake 6: Weak or Buried Call-to-Actions

Weak CTAs mean missed opportunities.

These conversion killing website mistakes directly reduce the percentage of visitors who take desired actions.

Common CTA Problems

Vague language:

  • “Click Here” tells users nothing
  • “Submit” is generic and uninspiring
  • “Learn More” is overused and unclear

Design issues:

  • Buttons blending into page design
  • Too small on mobile devices
  • Inconsistent styling across pages

Placement:

  • Only at bottom of long pages
  • Hidden in sidebars
  • Multiple competing CTAs creating confusion

Why Strong CTAs Matter

HubSpot research shows personalised CTAs perform 202% better than generic ones.

Your website exists to drive specific actions. Whether that’s making a purchase, booking a consultation, or signing up for a newsletter, every page should guide visitors toward meaningful conversion actions. Yet weak, unclear, or buried calls-to-action remain among the most common web design mistakes and conversion killing website mistakes we encounter.

The problems manifest in several ways. CTAs using vague language like “Click Here,” “Learn More,” or “Submit” don’t communicate value to users. Buttons that blend into the page design with low-contrast colors don’t stand out visually. Multiple competing CTAs on a single page create confusion about what action is most important. CTAs buried at the bottom of long pages where many visitors never scroll means they’re essentially invisible. Tiny buttons that are difficult to click, especially on mobile devices, create friction in the conversion process.

From a conversion perspective, unclear CTAs directly reduce the percentage of visitors who take desired actions. If someone visits your site interested in your service but can’t figure out how to contact you or what step to take next, they simply leave. You’ve lost a qualified lead due to poor CTA implementation. For mobile users especially, CTA accessibility is critical. Small buttons are difficult to tap accurately. Given that 60%+ of Australian traffic is mobile, this significantly impacts revenue.

How to Fix It

Use action-oriented language:

  • “Get Your Free Quote” instead of “Submit”
  • “Book Your Consultation” instead of “Learn More”
  • “Start Your Free Trial” instead of generic “Sign Up”
  • Be specific about what happens when users click

Make visually prominent:

  • Use contrasting colours that stand out from your page design
  • Minimum 44×44 pixels for mobile tapping comfort
  • Button styling (not just text links)
  • Adequate white space around buttons so they’re easy to find

Position strategically:

  • Include CTAs after introducing value, not before
  • Repeat on longer pages so users don’t have to scroll back up
  • Place above the fold for your most important actions

Pro Tip: Test different CTA wording with your actual audience. Small changes like “Get Started” versus “Try It Free” can dramatically impact conversion rates. A/B testing reveals what resonates with your specific customers.

Conversion rate optimisation can help you systematically test and refine CTAs for maximum impact.

Mistake 7: Cluttered and Overcomplicated Design

Overcomplicated design takes many forms. Too many competing elements fight for attention simultaneously. Excessive use of different fonts, colors, and styles creates visual inconsistency. Sidebars packed with widgets, badges, and promotional elements distract from main content. Pop-ups appearing immediately or repeatedly throughout the visit interrupt user flow. Auto-playing videos and animated graphics create unnecessary distraction. Dense text blocks with no visual breaks make content intimidating and difficult to parse.

From a cognitive psychology perspective, human brains have limited processing capacity. When confronted with too much visual information simultaneously, people become overwhelmed and disengage. Clean, simple designs reduce cognitive load, making it easier for visitors to focus on what actually matters. User behavior research consistently shows that simpler designs perform better. Eye-tracking studies reveal that people scan cluttered pages differently, often missing important content entirely as their eyes jump around trying to make sense of visual chaos.

Signs of Clutter

Multiple sidebars packed with widgets distract from main content. Excessive badges and promotional elements compete for attention.

Immediate or repeated pop-ups interrupt user flow. Auto-playing videos create unnecessary distraction. Dense text with no breaks makes content intimidating.

Using 5+ different fonts creates visual chaos. Excessive colours without a cohesive palette looks unprofessional.

Why Simplicity Works

Google research shows users judge websites within 50 milliseconds.

Simpler designs are perceived as more beautiful and trustworthy. Clean layouts reduce cognitive load and make it easier for visitors to focus on what matters.

How to Fix It

  1. Embrace white space as a design element, not wasted space. Give content room to breathe and guide visual attention naturally.
  2. Limit your colour palette to 2-3 primary brand colours plus neutral tones. Using ten different colours creates visual confusion and looks unprofessional.
  3. Use a maximum of two fonts: one for headings, one for body copy. More fonts create chaos and undermine your brand consistency.
  4. Prioritise ruthlessly by determining each page’s primary purpose. Make the most important element most prominent and subordinate everything else.
  5. Limit or eliminate immediate pop-ups that interrupt users before they’ve even seen your content. Clean up cluttered sidebars filled with unnecessary widgets.
  6. You can refer back to Example 1 to see how cluttered layout affects user experience. The same principle applies to over complicated designs.

Pro Tip: When designing or redesigning pages, ask yourself: “Does this element directly help users complete their goal?” If not, remove it. Less is often more in web design.

Mistake 8: Ignoring Accessibility

Accessibility remains one of the most overlooked aspects of web design best practices, with many businesses not even realizing their sites create barriers for users with disabilities.

Common accessibility failures include images without alternative text that screen readers can’t describe to blind users. Poor color contrast makes text difficult or impossible for users with visual impairments to read. Navigation that requires a mouse excludes users who navigate via keyboard due to motor disabilities. Videos without captions exclude deaf users. Forms with unclear labels confuse screen reader users. Overly complex navigation structures challenge users with cognitive disabilities.

From a legal perspective, Australian businesses must comply with accessibility requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act. Websites must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users. Non-compliance exposes businesses to discrimination complaints and potential legal action. From a business perspective, approximately 18% of Australians have some form of disability. Inaccessible websites exclude millions of potential customers. That’s not a small niche market. It’s a substantial audience that accessible design serves while inaccessible design turns away.

Common Failures

Images without alt text prevent screen readers from describing content to blind users. Poor colour contrast makes text difficult for users with visual impairments.

Mouse-only navigation excludes users with motor disabilities. Videos without captions exclude deaf users. Unclear form labels confuse screen reader users.

Why It Matters

Legal: Australian businesses must comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. Websites must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users.

Business: 18% of Australians have some disability. Inaccessible sites turn away substantial markets. That’s not a small niche, it’s a substantial audience.

Universal benefits: Accessibility helps everyone. Captions benefit users in quiet environments. High contrast helps in bright sunlight. Clear headings help everyone scan content.

How to Fix It

  1. Use semantic HTML with proper heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3). This structure helps screen readers navigate content logically and benefits SEO simultaneously.
  2. Provide alt text for images describing what they show and why they matter. Don’t skip this step, even for decorative images (use empty alt=”” for those).
  3. Ensure 4.5:1 colour contrast minimum against backgrounds. Use WebAIM’s Contrast C
  4. hecker to verify your colour combinations meet standards.
  5. Make all functionality keyboard-accessible, not just mouse-accessible. Users should be able to navigate your entire site using only Tab, Enter, and arrow keys.
  6. Add captions and transcripts for videos. This helps deaf users and anyone watching without sound in public spaces.
  7. Use clear, descriptive link text like “Download our pricing guide” instead of generic “Click here” that provides no context.
  8. Test with screen readers like NVDA (free, Windows) or VoiceOver (built into Mac/iOS). This reveals accessibility issues that aren’t obvious when using your site visually.
  9. Meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards to satisfy most legal requirements and ensure broad accessibility.

Pro Tip: Accessibility improvements benefit everyone, not just users with disabilities. Captions help people watching videos in quiet offices. High contrast helps users viewing sites in bright sunlight. Clear headings help everyone scan content faster.

Mistake 9: SEO and Technical Oversights

Common oversights include designing with heavy JavaScript frameworks that render content client-side, making it difficult for search engines to crawl and index properly. Image-based text that search engines can’t read means lost content opportunities. Poor URL structures using session IDs or excessive parameters instead of clean, descriptive URLs hurt both user experience and SEO. Missing or poorly implemented canonical tags cause duplicate content issues. No XML sitemap makes it harder for search engines to discover all your pages. Broken internal linking disrupts how page authority flows through your site.

Google increasingly prioritizes technical performance. Core Web Vitals, mobile-friendliness, HTTPS security, and site speed all factor directly into rankings. These aren’t cosmetic issues. They’re ranking factors that determine whether your site appears on page one or page five for important searches. For local Melbourne businesses, technical SEO becomes even more critical. Proper schema markup helps you appear in local search features. Mobile performance matters enormously since most local searches happen on phones.

Common Technical Problems

Heavy JavaScript renders content client-side, making it difficult for search engines to crawl. Poor URL structures like example.com/page?id=123 hurt both users and SEO.

Missing structured data means search engines struggle to understand your content context. Broken internal links disrupt how page authority flows through your site.

No XML sitemap makes it harder for search engines to discover pages. Images without descriptive filenames waste SEO opportunities.

Why Technical SEO Matters

Google prioritises technical performance increasingly.

Core Web Vitals (loading, interactivity, visual stability) factor directly into rankings. Mobile-friendliness is critical. Page speed affects both user experience and search position.

For Australian businesses, proper schema markup helps you appear in local search features. Mobile performance matters for “near me” searches that drive foot traffic.

How to Fix It

  1. Build clean, descriptive URL structures from the start like pixelstorm.com.au/services/web-design instead of pixelstorm.com.au/page?id=47.
  2. Implement responsive design, not separate mobile sites. This consolidates authority and eliminates duplicate content issues that hurt SEO.
  3. Use semantic HTML with proper heading hierarchies. H1 for page titles, H2 for major sections, H3 for subsections. Don’t skip levels or use headings just for styling.
  4. Implement LocalBusiness schema markup with your location, hours, and contact details. This helps Australian businesses appear in local search features and Google Maps.
  5. Optimise images with descriptive filenames like “pixelstorm-office-reception.jpg” instead of “IMG_4847.jpg”. Include meaningful alt text for every image.
  6. Create unique, compelling meta titles and descriptions for every page. These appear in search results and significantly impact click-through rates.
  7. Build clean internal linking where every page is reachable in 3-4 clicks from your homepage. Use descriptive anchor text that tells users and search engines what the linked page is about.
  8. Submit XML sitemaps to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. This helps search engines discover and index all your pages efficiently.

Pro Tip: SEO isn’t something you add after building your website. Technical foundations must be built correctly from the start. Retrofitting SEO into a poorly structured site is expensive and time-consuming.

Mistake 10: No Testing, Analytics, or Feedback Loop

Many businesses treat website launches as finish lines rather than starting points. They invest in design and development, launch the site, and then nothing. No testing, no measurement, no iteration. This might be the biggest web design mistake of all because it means you’ll never know what works, what doesn’t, or how to improve over time.

The symptoms are clear. Analytics not implemented or implemented incorrectly, providing no useful data. No understanding of how users actually behave on your site. Design decisions based on opinions and assumptions rather than data. No A/B testing to determine what messaging, layouts, or CTAs perform best. No user feedback mechanisms to understand problems or friction points. Sites that look exactly the same five years after launch despite changing user behavior and expectations.

No website is perfect at launch. User behavior reveals issues that designers and developers don’t anticipate. Markets change, user expectations evolve, and competitors improve their sites. Without ongoing testing and optimization, your site becomes increasingly outdated and ineffective. From a business perspective, even small improvements compound significantly over time. Increasing conversion rate from 2% to 3% might not sound dramatic, but it represents a 50% increase in leads or sales from the same traffic. For Melbourne businesses facing local competition, optimization provides competitive advantage.

Signs of “Set and Forget”

Analytics not implemented or configured incorrectly means no useful data. No conversion tracking means you can’t measure what works.

No A/B testing means missed opportunities to improve. Decisions based on opinions instead of data lead to poor choices. Same design unchanged for years while competitors improve continuously.

Why Continuous Optimisation Matters

Forrester Research shows companies that A/B test see conversion rate improvements of 20-25% on average.

Even modest changes have significant impact. Increasing conversion from 2% to 3% represents a 50% increase in leads from the same traffic.

No website is perfect at launch. User behaviour reveals issues designers don’t anticipate. Markets change, user expectations evolve, and competitors improve their sites.

How to Fix It

Implement analytics properly:

  • Install Google Analytics 4 correctly with proper configuration
  • Set up conversion tracking for important actions (form submissions, phone clicks, purchases)
  • Use heatmap tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity to see how users interact
  • Review data monthly minimum to identify patterns and opportunities

Test regularly and systematically:

  • Watch real users interact with your site to find friction points
  • A/B test key elements like headlines, CTAs, and page layouts
  • Collect user feedback through surveys and feedback widgets
  • Monitor site health for broken links, errors, and performance issues

Set clear, measurable goals:

  • Define what success looks like for your specific business
  • Track relevant KPIs that align with business objectives
  • Measure whether changes actually improve performance, not just opinions

Want to know what users are really doing on your site? Install Microsoft Clarity for free. It provides heatmaps and session recordings showing exactly how visitors interact with your pages, where they click, and where they get stuck.

Pro Tip: Small, continuous improvements compound over time. Businesses that consistently test and optimise gradually pull ahead of competitors who launched once and moved on.

Conversion rate optimisation specialists can help implement systematic testing and improvement processes that deliver measurable results.


Bonus: Ignoring AI and Voice Search

This is a modern oversight that many Melbourne businesses aren’t even aware of yet. As AI assistants like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and voice assistants increasingly mediate how people find information online, websites need to be structured for AI extraction, not just traditional search ranking. This represents an emerging area of web design best practices 2025.

Sites built without considering how AI extracts and presents information miss opportunities. No FAQ sections that AI assistants can easily pull answers from means your content is harder for AI to surface. Lack of structured data telling AI systems what information means reduces your visibility. Content written in ways that are difficult for AI to parse and summarize won’t appear in AI-generated responses. Many people now ask ChatGPT or voice assistants questions instead of Googling. When someone asks “What are the best web designers in Melbourne?” you want AI systems to know about and recommend your business.

Voice search particularly demands different optimization. People speak differently than they type. Voice searches are longer, more conversational, and often question-based. “What web design services are available in Fitzroy?” versus typing “Fitzroy web design.” AI systems favor content that directly answers questions in clear, structured formats.

Why This Matters

Many Australians now ask ChatGPT, Google Assistant, or Siri for recommendations instead of traditional searches.

Voice searches are longer and more conversational. They’re often phrased as questions. They expect direct, concise answers.

How AI Extracts Information

AI assistants favour specific types of content.

They prefer content that directly answers questions. Clear, structured formatting helps AI parse information. FAQ sections perform particularly well. Proper schema markup explicitly tells AI what content means.

How to Optimise

Create comprehensive FAQs:

Address common questions about your services and industry. Structure each as a clear question heading with a direct answer below. Keep answers concise but complete.

Implement FAQ schema:

Structured data explicitly tells AI systems “this is a question and answer.” This increases the likelihood of appearing in AI-generated responses and voice search results.

Write conversationally:

Include natural language questions in your content. Think about how people speak when asking assistants questions. Optimise for long-tail, question-based keywords.

Use structured data:

Implement LocalBusiness schema for Australian businesses. Add Service and Product schema where relevant. Maintain proper heading hierarchy throughout your content.

This cutting-edge optimisation gives early adopters significant advantages over competitors.

Conclusion

Improving your website doesn’t mean starting from scratch.

Many of these web design mistakes to avoid can be fixed with strategic, focused changes that deliver measurable results.

Key takeaways:

  • Identify which web design pitfalls affect your site most
  • Prioritise changes based on potential business impact
  • Implement improvements systematically, one at a time
  • Measure results and adjust based on data
  • View your website as continuously evolving, not finished

Every issue has a solution.

Whether you tackle improvements yourself or work with professionals, understanding these common mistakes is the first step. Your website should work as hard as you do for your business.

Ready to improve your website?At Pixelstorm, we’ve helped countless Australian businesses transform underperforming websites into powerful business assets. Contact us for a comprehensive website audit and discover exactly what’s holding your site back.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common web design mistakes Australian businesses make?

The most common include poor mobile optimisation, slow page speeds, unclear navigation, weak CTAs, and lack of accessibility. Many also neglect SEO during design and fail to implement analytics. These issues are fixable with strategic improvements.

Do web design mistakes really impact business revenue?

Yes, significantly. A one-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by 7%. Poor mobile experience turns away 60%+ of customers. Weak CTAs can reduce conversion rates by 50% or more. These aren’t theoretical problems, they directly reduce leads and sales.

Should I redesign my entire website or fix specific problems?

If your site is relatively new (1-2 years) with specific problems, targeted fixes make sense and cost less. If 5+ years old with multiple issues, complete redesign often delivers better results and can cost less than ongoing piecemeal fixes.

How do I know if my website is accessible?

Use audit tools like WAVE (WebAIM) and Lighthouse. However, automated tools catch only 30-40% of issues. Verify colour contrast (4.5:1 ratio), alt text on images, keyboard navigation functionality, and proper heading structure. Consider hiring accessibility consultants for thorough assessment.

What’s the biggest web design mistake?

Treating websites as “set and forget” projects. Launching without analytics, testing, or improvements means problems never get fixed. User behaviour changes, technology evolves, and competitors improve while these sites remain frozen in time.

How long to see results after fixing issues?

Some improvements show immediate results. Fixing mobile responsiveness or page speed often increases conversions within days. SEO improvements take 2-4 months. Most businesses see measurable improvement within the first month.

Can I fix these myself or need professional help?

Some fixes are accessible: improving content, clarifying CTAs, optimising images, adding FAQs. Others require development expertise: responsive design, technical SEO, performance improvements. Many benefit from professional audits identifying problems and providing prioritised fix lists.

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