Common E-commerce Website Design Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Designing a great e-commerce website means avoiding not only what’s good but also what’s bad. Many online stores suffer from design mistakes that hamper performance, confuse users or damage brand credibility. In this post we’ll explore the most common e-commerce website design mistakes and show you how to fix them.

Mistake 1: Over-cluttered pages

When a visitor sees too many promotional banners, auto-play carousels, multiple CTAs and confusing menus, their attention is split and they may exit. One guide states: “Get rid of clutter… The first thing you need to do is get rid of clutter from your website.” Cloudways+1

Fix:

Use a clear hero section, minimal banners.

Prioritise one CTA per screen.

Use white space effectively to guide focus.

Mistake 2: Poor mobile usability & slow speed

A common error: desktop-centric design that works poorly on mobile, or sites that load slowly. Research indicates users will abandon if load time exceeds 3 seconds. Website+1

Fix:

Implement a responsive or mobile-first design.

Test pages on actual mobile devices and emulators.

Optimise images and scripts for speed.

Keep above-the-fold content lightweight.

Mistake 3: Complicated navigation & weak search

When users have to click through many layers to find products, or search bar is hidden or ineffective, they give up. The UX guide states: “Simplify search and navigation.” Inflow+1

Fix:

Ensure search box is prominent on every page.

Use filters and sorting on product lists.

Use intuitive categories and sub-categories.

Use breadcrumbs and keep menu consistent.

Mistake 4: Low-quality imagery or inconsistent brand visuals

Images that are blurry, inconsistent in style, or misaligned with brand identity confuse and reduce trust. According to design research: “Images increase conversion … 67% of online shoppers agree that the images of any product are more important than customer reviews or product descriptions.” Cloudways

Fix:

Use high-resolution images and consistent style across products.

Ensure multiple views of each product.

Maintain consistent branding (colours, typography, tone) site-wide.

Mistake 5: Weak trust signals and credibility issues

Design that hides contact info, doesn’t show security badges or customer reviews, makes users hesitate. With nearly half of users judging site credibility from design, this is a major issue. bigcommerce.com+1

Fix:

Display SSL certificate, payment icons, return policy.

Include user reviews (with star rating + number of reviewers) on product pages. Baymard Institute

Provide clear contact/support information.

Mistake 6: Forcing account creation before purchase

Many sites require users to create an account before they can checkout, which increases friction and abandonment. One list of best practices recommends allowing guest checkout. Cloudways

Fix:

Offer guest checkout option.

Keep signup optional after purchase.

Make forms simple and pre-populate where possible.

Mistake 7: Poorly optimised checkout flow

A lengthy or confusing checkout kills conversions. If users don’t understand where they are in the process or run into errors, they may abandon. The design guide emphasises making checkout simple. Mailchimp

Fix:

Provide progress indicators (Step 1 of 3 etc).

Minimise form fields.

Show error messages clearly.

Offer multiple payment options and clarify shipping/returns.

Mistake 8: Ignoring SEO in design

A site may look great but if it’s not structured for search engines, traffic suffers. The Google guide: “Designing a URL structure for ecommerce sites… Help Google understand your ecommerce site structure.” Google for Developers

Fix:

Use readable URLs.

Ensure navigation is crawlable (text links).

Use schema markup, unique meta titles/descriptions, descriptive alt text.

Avoid duplicate content and poor filter/pagination handling.

Mistake 9: Not testing or iterating design

Many stores launch with a design and never revisit it—even though user behaviour and device usage change. One research note: “Many of the best eCommerce homepages … no longer show hero-image auto-slide carousels.” Inflow

Fix:

Use A/B testing on key elements (CTA colour/position, hero image, navigation layout).

Monitor analytics for high bounce pages, low add-to-cart rates.

Update design based on real user data, not just “what looks good”.

Conclusion

Design mistakes in an e-commerce site don’t just cost aesthetics—they cost revenue. By identifying and correcting issues like clutter, slow speed, poor navigation, weak branding, high friction checkout, and neglect of SEO and testing, you can significantly improve your store’s performance. Design isn’t just decoration—it’s one of your strongest conversion tools.