B ad web design shows up in nine typical warning signs – and you can check most of them yourself, no technical background needed: slow load times, no mobile layout, confusing navigation, dated visuals. Here is the checklist to honestly assess your own website (or an agency’s pitch) in ten minutes.
1. The Page Feels Noticeably Slow
More than three seconds until content appears? Test it with Google PageSpeed Insights – red Core Web Vitals scores are an objective warning sign that costs you rankings too.
2. Mobile Breaks the Layout
Cut-off text, tiny buttons, horizontal scrolling: if the site does not work cleanly on a phone, you lose the majority of your visitors – and Google’s mobile-first ranking.
3. Nothing Can Be Found
The three-click test: can a stranger find your services, pricing and contact info within three clicks each? Nested menus and unclear labels are structural problems, not matters of taste.
4. The Look Feels Ten Years Old
Tiny type, drop-shadow buttons, stock photos of a handshake: dated design undermines trust – visitors read the site as a proxy for how you work.
5. No Recognisable Goal
If it stays unclear what visitors should do – call? enquire? buy? – there is no foundation for conversion. Every page needs one clear next step.
6. Copy That Says Nothing
“We offer innovative solutions for your individual requirements” – sentences that fit any company convince no one. Concrete services, numbers and examples are the real standard.
7. Inconsistent Look
Four typefaces, seven colours, buttons in three different styles: a lack of system reads as unprofessional. A clean visual identity follows a corporate design with clear rules.
8. Feels Unsafe
No HTTPS, browser warnings, an ancient copyright year in the footer: signals that the site is not being maintained – technically or editorially.
9. Invisible on Google
If even searching your own company name does not clearly surface your website, the fundamentals are off – indexing, structure or content.
Now What: Fix It or Start Over?
One or two warning signs can usually be fixed within the existing site. Once you hit three or more structural problems – technical, mobile, structure – a relaunch is usually more economical than patchwork. For the detailed breakdown, see our article on the ten most common web design mistakes; for an honest assessment of your own site, book a free initial consultation through our WordPress web design service.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bad Web Design
Does a single warning sign already mean trouble?
Not necessarily – one issue on its own can usually be fixed in a targeted way. It gets critical once several warning signs from different areas show up at the same time.
Can I use this checklist when evaluating a new agency?
Yes – run this exact list against the agency’s existing reference projects before you decide. It reveals how carefully they actually work faster than any sales pitch.
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