Nothing drives customers away faster than a frustrating website. Whether it’s slow-loading pages, clunky navigation, or confusing layouts, even small mistakes in your site’s design can have a big impact on sales.
Let’s take a closer look today at the common BigCommerce website design mistakes that could be costing you customers—and how to fix them. In this way, we can make sure your store becomes a conversion powerhouse.
Mistake 1: Neglecting Mobile Optimization
There’s a 71% chance your customers are shopping from their phones. 98% of Americans use mobile phones and 71% of mobile phone usage is shopping online. If your website doesn’t work well on a smaller screen, you’re losing out—plain and simple.
Poor mobile optimization can drive customers away. Imagine trying to pinch and zoom just to read product details or deal with buttons so tiny you accidentally tap the wrong one. It’s no surprise that websites with clunky mobile designs see higher bounce rates and fewer conversions.
The fix? Responsive design. Responsive design is responsible for automatically adjusting your BigCommerce store to look and work great on any device—smartphone, tablet, or desktop.
Doing it right: Start by using a mobile-friendly theme, testing how your site looks on different screen sizes, and making sure everything from menus to checkout flows seamlessly. Small adjustments, like making buttons larger or simplifying navigation, can make a huge difference in keeping mobile shoppers engaged.
Once your store is optimized for mobile, you’re one step closer to keeping customers happy and boosting sales.
Mistake 2: Slow Page Load Speeds
Even the most beautifully designed website can’t save you if it’s slow. Page speed is everything in e-commerce.
Customers expect pages to load almost instantly, and when they don’t, they’re gone. In fact, a delay of just a few seconds can lead to higher bounce rates and lost sales. Worse, slow load times can also hurt your search engine rankings, making it harder for new customers to find your store in the first place.
What’s slowing you down? Unoptimized images, excessive scripts, and bloated code are some of the most common culprits. Large image files, in particular, can weigh your site down, while unused scripts running in the background add unnecessary bulk.
Doing it right: The good news is there are plenty of ways to speed things up. Start by compressing your images to reduce file size without sacrificing quality. Implement lazy loading so images and other media only load when they’re needed.
Leverage browser caching to save certain elements of your site, so repeat visitors don’t have to reload everything. Finally, clean up your code by removing unused scripts and combining CSS files to streamline your site’s performance.
A faster website increases your chances of turning visitors into buyers. And the added bonus? Google will love you for it.
Mistake 3: Cluttered or Confusing Navigation
One of the biggest BigCommerce website design mistakes is cluttered or confusing navigation. Overly complex menus, unclear categories, or a lack of search functionality can leave users frustrated and ready to click away.
No one wants to hunt through endless dropdowns or guess which category a product belongs to. Poor navigation doesn’t just confuse shoppers—it makes your site feel unprofessional and untrustworthy.
Doing it right: Keep it simple and intuitive. Start by organizing your navigation menus logically. For example, use broad categories (like “Men’s,” “Women’s,” and “Kids’”) with easy-to-understand subcategories beneath them (“Tops,” “Bottoms,” “Accessories”). Breadcrumb trails can also help customers see exactly where they are and backtrack if needed.
Don’t forget to implement a robust search bar! Many shoppers know exactly what they’re looking for, and a good search function saves them time and effort. Pair it with filters that let users refine results by price, size, or color, depending on your products.
When navigation feels effortless, customers are more likely to stick around, explore your store, and—most importantly—make a purchase.
Mistake 4: Insufficient Product Information
Nothing turns off a customer faster than incomplete product details. When shoppers are considering a purchase, they need all the information upfront—descriptions, specs, and visuals. If your product pages are vague or missing key details, it leads to confusion, frustration, and even returns.
Imagine buying a shirt online, only to realize when it arrives that the sizing was unclear or the material wasn’t what you expected. It’s an easy way to lose trust (and repeat business).
Doing it right: Make your product pages as thorough and helpful as possible. Start with detailed and accurate descriptions that highlight features, benefits, and use cases. Pair that with high-quality images from multiple angles, and if possible, include lifestyle shots to help customers visualize the product in real life.
Customer reviews are also a game-changer. They build trust by providing real-world insights into how the product performs. For products like clothing or shoes, consider adding detailed sizing charts or fit guides to eliminate guesswork.
Great product information helps customers and you. The more informed they are, the fewer returns and support requests you’ll have to handle.
Mistake 5: Overlooking SEO Best Practices
Your BigCommerce site might look amazing, but if no one can find it, what’s the point? Ignoring SEO is one of the most common (and costly) BigCommerce website design mistakes. Search engine optimization (SEO) is what helps drive organic traffic to your store, bringing in new customers without relying entirely on paid ads.
Some SEO mistakes are surprisingly easy to make—like forgetting to add meta tags, leaving image alt text blank, or accidentally creating duplicate content. These issues can hurt your search rankings and make it harder for shoppers to find you.
Doing it right: To fix this, start by focusing on the basics. Every page on your site should have a unique title and meta description that include relevant keywords. For images, always add descriptive alt text—this improves accessibility and helps search engines understand your content.
BigCommerce makes implementing SEO best practices easier with built-in tools for editing meta tags, customizing URLs, and managing sitemaps. Use these features to optimize your pages, and don’t forget to regularly audit your site for broken links or outdated content.
Mistake 6: Ignoring Website Accessibility
Making your BigCommerce site inclusive means ensuring that everyone, including users with disabilities, can navigate and shop with ease. Overlooking accessibility not only limits your audience but can also hurt your brand’s reputation and even put you at risk of legal trouble.
Common accessibility issues include things like poor color contrast, which makes text hard to read, or missing alt text for images, which prevents screen readers from conveying vital information to visually impaired users. Some websites also fail to offer keyboard-friendly navigation, leaving users who can’t use a mouse stuck and frustrated.
Doing it right: Start by following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Use tools to check for color contrast and ensure your text stands out clearly against its background. Add descriptive alt text to all images so screen readers can interpret them. Ensure forms, buttons, and menus are easy to navigate using just a keyboard.
By prioritizing accessibility, you’re creating a better experience for every customer. And the more inclusive your site is, the more people you’ll reach.
Mistake 7: Failing to Establish Brand Consistency
Your website is a reflection of your brand, and if it’s all over the place, your customers will notice. Inconsistent branding can confuse shoppers and make your site look unprofessional. Worse, it can dilute your brand identity, making it harder for people to recognize and trust your business.
Consistency creates familiarity, which is important in building trust with your audience. Every element on your BigCommerce site, from the homepage to the checkout page, should feel cohesive and unmistakably yours.
Doing it right: Start with a style guide. Define your brand’s colors, fonts, logo placement, and imagery style, and stick to them across your entire site. Use the same tone of voice in your product descriptions, blog posts, and calls to action. If you’re using multiple designers or team members, share the style guide to keep everyone on the same page.
When your branding is consistent, customers will remember who you are, trust your store, and feel confident shopping with you again.
Mistake 8: Complicated Checkout Process
You’ve done the hard work—your customer has added items to their cart. But if your checkout process is too complicated, you’re risking cart abandonment. A lengthy or confusing checkout is one of the biggest reasons shoppers bail before completing their purchase.
Some of the most common culprits? Requiring account creation before checkout, having too many form fields to fill out, or surprising customers with hidden fees at the last step. These hurdles create unnecessary friction, leaving your customers frustrated and ready to give up.
Doing it right: Simplify, simplify, simplify. Enable guest checkout so customers don’t have to sign up for an account unless they want to. Minimize form fields by only asking for essential information, like shipping and payment details. Be upfront about costs—show taxes and shipping fees early on to avoid last-minute surprises.
A great example is a single-page checkout. It streamlines the process by letting customers complete everything—shipping info, payment, and order review—on one page. The fewer steps, the better!
Conclusion
Avoiding common BigCommerce website design mistakes can make all the difference in creating a store that attracts and retains customers.
Regularly review your site, make improvements, and ensure your design evolves with your customers’ needs. Small tweaks can lead to big results when it comes to boosting conversions and keeping shoppers happy.
Design That Gets It Right the First Time
Epic knows how much a great website can do for your business—and how costly website design mistakes can be. That’s why we specialize in creating BigCommerce stores that are not only beautiful but also functional, fast, and built to convert.
Our team has the expertise to take your store to the next level. Let’s impress your customers and boost your sales. Contact Epic today and let’s build the BigCommerce store your business deserves.
