Poor Website Performance? UI & UX Design Flaws Checklist

This UI UX design guide will introduce you to a UI UX design checklist and help you uncover why your website isn’t performing at its best.

UI UX Design Checklist

Here, we’ll offer an extensive checklist that covers common UI and UX design issues that lead to poor website performance and other problems.

Style Inconsistency

When designing a website, you want it to stand out from the rest and offer something unique and appealing to your visitors. However, this can be a double-edged sword. In an effort to be unique, you may use too many styles that won’t leave a good impression on the visitors.

An inconsistent website won’t create an enjoyable experience for the users and can even prevent you from establishing trust with them.

Here’s how to avoid this issue:

• Be consistent with using a color palette for buttons, headers, footers, links, etc.
• Be consistent with a font style for titles, links, paragraphs, etc.
• Pay attention to line thickness for icons, dividers, etc.
• Ensure that every element that deviates from the norm has a good reason for it.

Lack of Text Hierarchy

Even the most interesting website won’t look well-organized or digestible if there’s no text hierarchy. The text on your website should be introduced in the most comprehensive way possible. Otherwise, it could negatively affect your visitors’ perception of information.

If you want to have a comprehensive website, here’s what you should do:

• Ensure there’s enough contrast between every text style. You can use weight, size, and color to create this contrast.
• Make the most important element on the page the biggest.
• Use appropriate spacing.
• Use blocks of text to separate information.

Confusing Navigation

One of the most common UI design website issues is confusing navigation. Many people believe that having a bunch of information displayed on the website and a variety of web pages to go to is beneficial. However, this can often be very confusing.

In most cases, customers don’t want to waste time figuring out your website. If they can’t find what they want quickly, they will likely leave your website and take their business elsewhere.

How can you prevent this? Conduct research before deciding how your navigation should look. This way, you’ll gain insight into what your customers want and expect.

Following the Trends Blindly

Your customers’ needs change, and so do the design trends. However, following all trends blindly could end up being a huge mistake. While you should assess each trend and see whether it could work for your website, remember that it’s not necessary to adopt all of them. Instead of just going with the flow and following the rest, reassess your performance metrics and whether a particular trend could be beneficial.

No Cross-Browser Compatibility

With so many browsers available on the internet, one of the crucial issues that may lead to poor website performance is the lack of cross-browser compatibility. Your website should operate smoothly on all major browsers. Ensure to conduct proper cross-browser testing and check if all buttons and options work.

Ignoring the In-Between Stages

When thinking about website design, many consider only the beginning and the end, with no “in-between” stages. What does this mean? Let’s explain it with an example.

If a visitor wants to order a product through your website, they’ll access the ordering page, fill out the necessary information, and be redirected to the success page. But, what happens if the user doesn’t fill out one of the required fields? Or, what if there’s a loss of internet connection? You should consider the design of those in-between stages as well. That way, you’ll offer a full user experience even if mistakes happen.

Too Many Pop-Ups

While not all pop-ups are bad, they are often used too frequently. Put yourself in your visitor’s shoes. Would you enjoy having to deal with closing pop-ups as soon as you visit a website instead of obtaining the desired information? Probably no.

Poorly-designed and poorly-placed pop-ups are definitely website killers you should pay attention to.

Misleading Users

When a user decides to visit your website, they believe they’ll find the information you say you have, whether that’s a product review, an answer to a question, or something else. If you mislead the user, they’ll probably leave your website and not come back.

For example, if a button on your website says, “Click here to learn more information about the product,” the button should lead to that product page. You should refrain from “tricking” your visitors and leading them to a registration page, free trial page, or contact information page.

That’s why you should check your buttons and links every once in a while and ensure they’re all correct.

Ignoring User Needs and Feedback

Every part of your website should be centered around your customers. Instead of trying to think like your customers or, even worse, think that you know better than them, focus on the aspect that’s often ignored: feedback.

You can create different surveys and ask your customers about your website, the ordering process, the interface, or anything else you may be interested in. Use this feedback to upgrade different aspects of your website and offer an even better service.

Not Testing the Website Enough

We’ve already mentioned that testing a website is vital to ensure its functionality and adequate performance across different websites. Professional, experienced designers will always do this. However, many people who decide to design a website by following video trials or online classes often neglect this part.

In some cases, trying to stand out and design a creative website can get in the way of its functionality and user experience. Remember that simplicity doesn’t necessarily need to be something you should avoid.

Low Contrast

You can distinguish different interface elements with varying text styles, fonts, and sizes. However, you shouldn’t neglect the importance of contrast. When there isn’t enough contrast between interface elements, they can look merged together. This interface can be perceived as dull and even be hard-to-read.

Here’s how to ensure you’re fully taking advantage of the contrast:

• Use high-contrast colors to catch your users’ attention. For example, a CTA should always be highlighted
• Use contrast to separate different sections on your website.
• Employ contrast to distinguish specific elements from the background.

Using Confusing Forms

Many websites feature forms. They’re used to sign up, log in, check out, etc. Confusing forms can result in a poor user experience and make people leave your website.

Here’s an example. A visitor is trying to create an account on your website and is required to fill out personal information. The person leaves out a field by accident and tries to submit the registration form. But, since your form doesn’t point out the mistake, the visitor doesn’t realize they’ve missed a field. They may try signing up a few more times and can ultimately give up.

If you want to avoid confusing forms on your website, you should ease the process of entering the correct information. When there’s a mistake or a missing field, use colors to indicate it, but also give actionable, easy-to-see feedback that will allow the user to correct their error quickly.

Another action you could take is breaking up your forms into several sections, especially for long forms. You should also consider using a progress bar to help your users know what stage they’re on.

Using Low-Quality or Irrelevant Images

Images are an important part of many websites, regardless of the industry they belong to. Whether you want to tell a story with a photo, explain a process or a notion, or present your product or service, you should always pay attention to quality and relevance.

Poor-quality images can make your website look unprofessional or unreliable, not to mention they can cause poor website performance. Always opt for high-quality images related to your service or product. Inserting random photos won’t enhance your website’s value and will only look strange.

Not Secure Enough

Your website should feature high-quality, relevant, and well-organized content. While that’s a priority, don’t forget to pay attention to user security. Search engines prefer secure websites, and if you’re not using HTTPS, you’re sending off negative ranking signals.

Plus, browsers will usually warn people when they’re trying to visit a non-secure website. If your visitors care about their data privacy, and most do, they’ll be driven away by a non-secure website.

Ensure Your Website Is Performing Smoothly

If you want a high-performing website with a consistent style, easy-to-use interface, and exceptional security, you should consider professional UI/ UX design services.

UI and UX designers can help your business in more than one way. They can identify the need for your product or service and achieve an effective online presence. Hiring UI and UX designers can seem risky, especially for new businesses. However, this long-term investment will eventually lead you to more profit, excellent website performance, and high customer satisfaction.

Of course, if you want the best results, hire professional and experienced designers who will bring the most value to your company. Such designers have been in the business for years and know exactly what to do to help your website thrive.