How to scare off your visitors before they even click “About Us”
They say first impressions matter. Nowhere is this truer than on the web—where your site has about 0.05 seconds to convince someone to stay. But alas, some websites still commit design crimes that make us wonder if the internet was a mistake.
Whether you’re planning a redesign or just want to gawk at the worst offenders, here are 7 of the worst web design traits and trends still haunting the digital landscape.
1. Auto-Playing Video With Sound
Nothing says “welcome” like being screamed at by a promotional video while your boss walks by. Bonus points if there’s no pause or mute button.
Tip: If your website launches like a surprise party, you’re doing it wrong.
2. Overloaded Popups (a.k.a. The Popup Piñata)
Enter site → BAM! “Subscribe!” → BAM! “Join our newsletter!” → BAM! “We use cookies!” → BAM! “Take our survey!”
If users need to play whack-a-mole before reading your content, you’ve officially lost them.
Popups are like seasoning—use too many and you ruin the dish.
3. Scroll Hijacking
Let’s take control away from the user and make scrolling a psychedelic journey. Slow, fast, sideways, parallax, zoom—who cares? It’s art, right?
Wrong. It’s just annoying.
Rule of thumb: If your site needs a tutorial to scroll, rethink everything.
4. Mystery Meat Navigation
You know those cryptic hamburger icons that open into bizarre menu animations? Or menus hidden behind abstract symbols that might be a gallery or might be a self-destruct button?
Users should never need a treasure map to find your Contact page.
5. Infinite Sliders
Still using carousels that automatically change every 3 seconds? Bonus fail points if the text vanishes before it’s readable or there’s no manual navigation.
Sliders are where content goes to get ignored.
6. Unreadable Fonts & Color Combos
Neon green text on white? Handwritten cursive in size 8? Or grey-on-grey, because minimalism?
If your users squint, zoom, or give up reading, you’ve failed.
Your typography shouldn’t require night vision goggles.
7. Loading Screens in 2025
Unless you’re running a real-time 3D game or launching a rocket, your website shouldn’t need a dramatic loading screen with a spinning circle and “99% loaded…” message that never finishes.
A loading screen on a blog is like a red carpet at a laundromat.
In Conclusion
Bad design isn’t just about looks—it’s about functionality, clarity, and respect for your user’s time and brain cells. If your website checks any of these tragic boxes, maybe it’s time to hit “refresh” (and not just on the browser).
#WebDesignFails #DigitalDonts #WhatNotToNot
