6 Telltale Signs Your
Website Needs to be
Redesigned

Yet, many businesses seem slow to catch on, struggling with outdated or inconsistent designs that fail to meet user expectations and industry standards.

In this article, we dive into the common and telltale signs of poor website design — from outdated aesthetics to a lack of cohesive design language and overdesign. These issues not only turn users off (thus affecting the metrics) but also drag down businesses of various scales.

As we explore each sign and the problems associated with it, you might realize that some of these issues apply to your site. If that's the case, it might be time to consider giving your website a new look or even a complete overhaul. After all, the ultimate goal is to transform your website into a smart marketing tool that drives new customers and boosts revenue growth.

For example, consider a technology retailer whose site still reflects design trends from half a decade ago; out of the question, it does struggle to convince modern consumers that it offers the latest and greatest in tech innovations.

Users today expect visual elements that are sleek, modern, and easy to navigate. When they encounter outdated graphics and layouts, their initial perception might be that the products or services offered are equally outdated, leading them to seek alternatives with more up-to-date presentations. Don’t we all want to be on the same page with others and talk the same language and share the values of our community?

This visual misalignment not only reduces the site’s aesthetic appeal but also suggests a lack of commitment to keeping up with current trends, which is especially detrimental in industries that rely heavily on showcasing innovation.

For instance, a media streaming service that does not update its user interface to allow for gestures like swipe-to-delete or long-press for more options may frustrate users accustomed to these interactions from other apps and platforms. This disconnection can stall the user journey, significantly slowing down the decision-making process and potentially leading to abandonment of the service.

Staying aligned with visual trends and user expectations is not just about aesthetics but also about functionality and ease of use, which directly influence the overall user experience and engagement levels. The delay in web responses and difficulty in navigating can deter users from converting, as the friction makes them reconsider their choice, often opting for services that offer a smoother, more intuitive experience.

Everyone sticks to the established color and font guidelines, but without a strict overarching design system, the result is a mishmash of styles that don’t quite gel — they clash rather than complement.

For instance, imagine a website where the homepage is sleek and modern, but the product pages are cluttered with an outdated look — or the other way around. Sound familiar? Don’t need to imagine? If so, you’d better know this inconsistency can really turn off customers who struggle to navigate smoothly between sections. Such an experience turns into a torture and can easily undermine users’ trust and push them to look for a more streamlined experience elsewhere.

When UI/UX elements are thrown together by different folks for quick, short-term fixes, you end up with a kaleidoscope of legacy solutions that just don’t mesh, confusing users. What’s more, this mess makes it a real headache for the marketing team to figure out what’s hitting the mark and what’s missing it, throwing a wrench in planning future marketing strategies or tweaks.

Without a cohesive design approach, different parts of the site end up being designed in isolation, basically starting from scratch each time. Such a “tactic” won’t pay off — it’s inefficient in nature and only lead to inconsistencies that are glaringly obvious to users.

Take, for example, a multinational corporation whose portal changes its look and feel depending on the region or department. This can seriously confuse users who are trying to access global services, making each interaction feel like stepping into a different world. Instead of building a consistent brand image, each redesign unintentionally whips up a whole new set of design rules, making everything more complicated.

Alarm bells should ring when users struggle just to find what they need!

This kind of piecemeal design leads to a vicious cycle: marketing teams have to juggle hundreds of visual elements when crafting strategies, and designers end up having to reinvent the wheel with every project. The time to create even a simple landing page can balloon dramatically, and for bigger projects, this inefficiency is off the charts.

For instance, an updated, modern-looking blog set against outdated product pages can create a jarring user experience. Visitors might perceive the newer sections as more credible or reliable, while viewing the older sections as neglected or less important.

Such disparities can lead to increased overhead for developers tasked with maintaining multiple design standards and frameworks, complicating straightforward updates and potentially leading to higher long-term development costs.

Design and marketing teams experiment with different layouts and styles to determine which is most effective. However, when these changes are implemented in a piecemeal fashion across various pages, it leads to a lack of uniformity that puzzles users.

For example, a website may use one style of product display modules on its homepage and a different style on product pages. Most likely, this inconsistency will confuse users who expect a coherent website experience, leading them to question the credibility and trustworthiness of the company.

Users might feel less secure entering their information on a page that looks significantly different from the rest of the site, which impacts their overall decision-making time and degrades the conversion rate.

In addition, design inconsistencies lead to increased costs. Websites with uneven design require more frequent updates, resulting in higher maintenance efforts and expenses over time. Moreover, such discrepancies not only require additional design and development resources but also increase the complexity of the site's underlying codebase, making it more difficult and expensive to manage and scale, thus contributing to elevated operational costs.

Needless to say, neglecting the mobile version of a website represents a critical oversight, given that smartphones are the lifeblood of modern business operations. Overlooking the mobile aspect is critically problematic, considering the significant volume of mobile traffic and the more than 5 billion smartphone users as of 2024.

Websites that are not mobile-friendly are puzzling for users to navigate, browse products, or complete purchases with just a tap. Often, users interact with websites on the go — in the subway or even high in the sky, provided airlines offer connectivity. They don't want to engage in a game of hide and seek; instead, they expect full-width graphics, judicious use of space between texts, and large tapping areas for more accurate navigation. Lack of such features is a breeding ground for user frustration and anger.

Similarly, travel booking sites that haven't been optimized for mobile experience a drop in reservations. What looks brilliant and captivating on a desktop screen turns into a cumbersome booking process on a small one! Without collapsible menu widgets replacing bulky sidebars and header menus, and dedicated spaces for login credentials with fingerprint accessibility, these websites drive users away. Remember, users are potential customers. Without them, there’s no potential for a surge in revenue.

This mobile-last attitude leads to a direct loss of traffic and, consequently, mobile revenue. It’s as simple as that. Mobile users expect a seamless, intuitive browsing experience, which these outdated platforms fail to provide, resulting in decreased user satisfaction and diminished sales opportunities.

As mobile commerce continues to grow, websites that fail to adapt risk significant competitive disadvantage and revenue loss.

This issue arises when the content on a page — be it text, images, or multimedia — is presented in disjointed modules that either chaotically discuss the product, its capabilities, and benefits, or fail to align with the client’s content strategy.

The problem manifests as a confusing array of information that hampers the user's ability to grasp the intended message and visually complicates the perception of the content. For instance, an e-commerce site might have product descriptions, reviews, and promotional material scattered without a logical sequence, making it difficult for potential customers to understand the advantages of the product or how it fits into their needs.

Another example is an educational website where information is crucial; if the learning content is not sequentially organized, it can disrupt the learning process, leading users to feel overwhelmed or disinterested.

With no intuitive, clear path from point A to point B, users are left to their own devices to connect the dots between the product and its potential benefits. Ultimately, this fragmented storytelling not only diminishes user engagement but also significantly detracts from communicating key messages and fulfilling the primary objectives of the page in question.

The biggest threat is that overdesign creates a pure navigational nightmare for users: too many neon-colored calls to action, disrupted visual hierarchy and reading paths, excessive animations, and much more. What would a user think of it? All that glitters is not gold.

Design-wise, poorly placed emphases destroy the brand’s storytelling that should lead to the company’s offerings. Each step should be prioritized and play its role in building a connection between users and the services and products in question.

For instance, in e-commerce websites, overdesign can be associated with complex filter options and redundant product descriptions that overwhelm users. In mobile apps (and websites as well), overdesign could manifest as overcrowded interfaces with too many buttons, swipes, and gestures that confuse. Corporate websites might showcase overdesign through multiple conflicting visual styles and an overload of mission statements and values that muddle the company's message rather than clarify it.

An overabundance of content elements and an imbalance between visual and textual aspects only create fatigue for the customer and, more importantly, lead to user frustration, increased abandonment rates, and ultimately, a decrease in customer satisfaction and sales.

Timely recognizing the telltale signs of design fails — be it through shattered storytelling, inconsistent design elements, or an overdesigned home page — you can take proactive steps to revitalize your digital presence.

What if you found more than one of them relevant to your case? Then you’d better assess how critical your website’s need for a complete design overhaul through our Web Design Overhaul Checklist // Web Design Urgency Score // Web Design Health Score // Web Redesign Necessity Score that help you better understand how close to or far from a redesign your website is.