Top 5 Website Redesign Mistakes to Avoid

Considering revamping your site with a new look? That's great — but it can go wrong if you're not careful.

An awesome website redesign can increase traffic, enhance conversions, and put your brand on the map. But misplaced steps can destroy months of work. Studies confirm that more than 75% of users base a company's credibility on website design alone. Additionally, common website redesign mistakes are among the leading causes of websites losing traffic and rankings after a redesign.

In this blog, we will take you through the top 5 website redesign errors to steer clear of so you can design a user-friendly, conversion-driven site in your website redesign process.

Below are top 5 website redesign mistakes and how you can above them.

1. Not Optimising for Lead Generation (Strategy Phase)

Your website redesign might look amazing, but it fails its true purpose if it doesn't bring in leads. During the website redesign, many businesses get carried away by visual upgrades and forget the bigger goal — growing their customer base. A gorgeous homepage is useless if visitors don't know how to engage or where to act. Missing lead generation strategies is one of the most critical website mistakes to avoid in any redesign project.

How to Avoid It:

• Build Around Conversions: Right from the initial wireframe, make your custom website development and design all about one question: "What action do we want visitors to take?" Whether filling out a form, downloading a guide, or getting a quote, each page should lead the visitor closer to that action.

• Use High-Converting Elements: Have visible lead magnets such as free ebooks, webinar invitations, and newsletter opt-ins. Strong CTAs ("Book Your Free Consultation") and simple-access forms should form part of the very foundation of your website redesign plan.

• Integrate Tools Early: Don't leave CRM integrations, email list captures, or retargeting pixels until post-launch. Integrating these tools early in your website redesign process ensures a smooth marketing engine on day one.

2. Prioritising Aesthetics Over Functionality (Design Phase)

Great designs attract users but don't promise satisfaction to users. Believe it or not, if your website focuses on "flash" over "function," visitors are frustrated — and leave. Here's a Web design blunder of the obvious variety that sends businesses packing for lost traffic, SEO rankings, and conversions. Users crave crystal clarity, seamless simplicity, and not visual complexity.

Have you read? 7 E-commerce Web Design Trends Your Competitors Don’t Want You to Know!

How to Avoid It:

Design for the User, Not for the Designer: Throughout custom website design and programming, provide a layout that is simple, logical, and user-centric. Stylish layouts and pretty animation never have to happen at the expense of simplicity or usability.

• Conduct Design Reviews with Real Users: Your internal team is biased. Schedule usability testing with real users who have never visited your site. Their comments will bring out design problems a designer's eye won't, allowing you to catch painful errors early in your website redesign.

• Optimise for Load Speed: Highly styled sites take longer to load — and today's users have no patience. Minify images, optimise code and eliminate extraneous design to make your site redesign Google's Core Web Vitals compliant.

3. Poor Navigation Design (UX Phase)

Even the most beautiful website is worthless if individuals can't locate what they're searching for. Bad navigation sends visitors packing and can ruin your SEO rankings. Cluttered menus, concealed pages, or confusing layouts are huge website errors to avoid when redesigning a website.

How to Avoid It:

• Use Logical, Intuitive Menus: Structure your top-level navigation into simple, intuitive categories. Avoid bombarding visitors with never-ending dropdowns. Use a rational hierarchy that follows the way visitors think.

• Add a Search Function: Always add a robust search bar — particularly if your site contains dozens of products, services, or blog entries. An intelligent search feature allows visitors to find precisely what they want.

• Make It Mobile-Friendly: With most smartphone users accessing sites, your navigation should function perfectly well on mobile devices. When redoing the website, design tap targets, swiping, and thumb-friendly spacing of menus right from the start.

Quick Insight: Work with a website design company to create a website that fits your brand and offers a smooth and professional online experience.

4. Ineffective CTAs (Call-to-Actions) (Content & Conversion Phase)

Clear CTAs are the difference between browsers and buyers. Weak or nonexistent CTAs confuse visitors. If visitors do not know the next step, they simply depart — a cruel but frequent website redesign error that kills conversions.

How to Avoid It:

• Be Specific, Action-Oriented, and Clear: Vague CTAs like "Learn More" do not work. Instead, incorporate strong verbs like "Get Your Free Trial", "Download the Full Report", or "Book Your Free Consultation Today" which are good CTAs that impart value and a sense of urgency instantly.

• Position Strategically: Strategic positioning is key. CTAs should be placed above the fold, within product descriptions, blog posts, and at the end of each landing page. Plan CTA positions upfront in your custom website design and development strategy.

• A/B Test Variants: Never make assumptions about what works. Continuously test various CTA texts, colours, shapes, and placements. Employ heatmaps and session recordings after launch to optimise your calls-to-action and drive maximum performance.

5. Mobile Incompatibility (Launch & Post-Launch Phase)

Over 60% of web traffic comes right from mobile traffic nowadays. If your brand-new, redesigned website is not perfect on mobile, you're excluding most of your users. This is one of the most costly website errors to sidestep in 2025 and onward.

How to Avoid It:

• Use a Mobile-First Design Principle: When designing and developing a custom website, always begin with mobile layouts. If you like it and it works beautifully on a small screen, you can always scale it up for desktops and tablets afterwards.

• Test Thoroughly Across Devices: Don't trust simulations. Test your website redesign on live smartphones, tablets, and foldable phones. Ensure all features — menus, forms, checkout procedures — work impeccably.

• Optimise for Speed on Mobile: Mobile users demand quick load speeds. Use image compression, lazy-load media, and third-party script reduction to get load speeds under three seconds. Mobile optimisation is no longer a nice-to-have — it's mission-critical to the success of your website redesign effort.

It's exciting to plan a website redesign, but staying away from errors is what will prepare your new site for success. Prioritise lead generation, balance beauty and usability, nail your navigation, craft compelling CTAs, and never forget about mobile.

If you require assistance with website redesign mistakes, Kombee is here to help. With quality planning and bespoke web design and development, you can introduce a high-performing site that generates more leads, sales, and success.

1. What is the difference between a web design and wireframe?

A web design focuses on the aesthetics, layout, and overall user experience, while a wireframe is a basic blueprint that outlines the structure and functionality of the website. The website redesign process typically starts with wireframes to plan before moving to detailed custom website design and development.

2. What makes a good website?

A good website offers intuitive navigation, fast load times, and a clear, engaging user experience. Website redesign mistakes can negatively impact functionality. Focusing on user-centered custom website design and development ensures a site is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and performs well in search engines.

3. What are web design issues?

Common website mistakes to avoid include poor navigation, slow load times, and mobile-unfriendly designs. Website redesign mistakes often occur if the website redesign process neglects responsive design or fails to optimise for SEO, impacting both user experience and site performance.