8 Common Web Design Mistakes That Cost Atlanta Businesses Customers

Your website is often the first impression a potential customer in Atlanta has of your business—and first impressions matter. Whether you’re a local service provider in Decatur, a boutique owner in Virginia Highland or Buckhead, or a startup in Midtown, your website should help people trust you, find what they need, and take action. But even well-meaning business owners make these common web design mistakes in their website design that can cost them leads, conversions, and customers.

Here are eight of the most common web design mistakes we see Atlanta businesses make—and how to fix them.

1. Putting All Your Services on One Page with Barely Any Detail

One of the biggest missed opportunities for SEO (and now, for AI visibility) is lumping all your services onto a single page with just a sentence or two about each. Search engines and AI tools rely on detailed, well-structured content to understand what your business does—and to confidently recommend you in results.

When each service has its own page, you can explain it fully:

• What problem does it solve?
• How is your approach different or better?
• What’s the process like for your customers?
• Where do you offer this service?
• How much does it cost?
• What is your expertise in offering this service?

This not only helps your site rank for more specific search terms related to each service, but also helps AI systems “learn” about your expertise—making it more likely your business will show up in tools like Google’s AI Overviews.

2. Slow Load Times

Why it matters: Atlanta is a busy city, and your visitors aren’t waiting around for your site to load. If your website takes more than a few seconds, they’re already back on Google looking at your competition.

Common culprits:

• Large image files or videos not optimized for the web
• Bloated themes or plugins
• Cheap, slow hosting
• No website caching

Fix it: Choose a performance-optimized WordPress theme (we love Astra Pro), compress your images, install caching, and invest in solid hosting. We regularly optimize Atlanta websites that gained noticeable improvements in bounce rate just from speeding things up.

How do I know if my website is loading too slowly?

Not sure if your site’s too slow? Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help you check.

3. Not Mobile Friendly

Why it matters: More than half of your website visitors are likely coming from a mobile device—especially in a commuter-heavy city like Atlanta. If your site isn’t easy to navigate on a phone, you’re losing business.

What to look for:

• Tiny text that’s hard to read
• Menus that don’t function on mobile
• Layouts that break on smaller screens

Fix it: Start with a mobile responsive theme and test your site on multiple devices. We build mobile-first with usability in mind, ensuring every Atlanta client’s site looks and works great whether someone is visiting from ITP or OTP.

How can I test if my website works well on mobile devices?

Wondering if your site works well on phones? Try browsing it from your own device—or better yet, have a few friends test it too. There are also online testing tools like UsePastel.com that will show you what your website looks like on different device sizes. We also offer mobile usability reviews if you’d like professional input.

4. Confusing Navigation

Why it matters: If your site is hard to navigate, people won’t stick around. And when you only have a few seconds to make a good impression, confusing menus or buried information will cost you.

Examples we’ve seen:

• Missing links to individual service pages in the main navigation
• No clear call to action
• Visitors can’t easily find your contact info

Fix it: Keep your navigation simple and clear. Group related content logically. Include a contact link in the main menu and always guide visitors toward the next step—especially if you’re trying to convert local leads.

5. Generic Design That Doesn’t Reflect Your Brand

Why it matters: Atlanta is full of personality—your website should be too. A generic site that looks like it could belong to any other business won’t help you stand out or connect with your audience.

Tell-tale signs:

• Stock photos that don’t match your real services
• No logo
• Design choices that feel out of sync with your brand

Fix it: Work with a designer who takes the time to understand your business and customers. We work closely with Atlanta-based business owners to create designs that reflect your brand’s style, tone, and values—not just something that “looks nice.”

How do I make my website reflect my business better without overhauling the whole thing?

You don’t always need a full redesign to make your site feel more like you. Updating photos to include real team members, refreshing your messaging to better reflect how you actually talk to customers as well as “what’s in it for them”, and swapping out generic content for language that highlights what makes your business different can go a long way. Even small design tweaks—like colors, fonts, or icon styles—can make your site feel more branded and intentional without starting from scratch. If you’re not sure where to start, we offer brand-focused audits to help you identify the highest-impact updates.

6. Missing Local SEO Elements

Why it matters: Atlanta is a big city, and if your website doesn’t clearly show who you are and where you work through local seo signals, you’ll have a hard time showing up in local search results.

Mistakes we often see:

• No mention of service areas or neighborhood names
• No address in the footer of the website
• No local landing pages

Fix it: Make sure your website includes your city, neighborhoods, and services in strategic places like headings, titles, and meta descriptions. And yes, having dedicated city pages can make a big difference. Check out these examples of great local landing pages.

7. Missing Trust Signals

Why it matters: Atlanta is a city built on relationships and reputation. If your website doesn’t build trust quickly, potential customers may bounce before giving you a chance.

What’s often missing:

• No About page, or one with vague, impersonal content
• Stock photos instead of real people from your business
• No mention of local involvement, memberships, or partnerships
• Missing or outdated reviews, certifications, or security badges

Fix it: Add an About page that includes real photos and a bit of personality—people want to know who they’re doing business with. Highlight any Atlanta-based affiliations (like the Midtown Alliance or an Alpharetta Chamber membership), certifications, or partnerships. Include Google reviews and social proof where relevant. Even a small dose of authenticity can go a long way in establishing credibility.

8. Outdated Blog or Social Media Content

Why it matters: First impressions count, and nothing says “we might not be around anymore” like a blog or social feed that hasn’t been updated since 2019. In a fast-moving city like Atlanta, potential customers are quick to move on if they’re not confident you’re active and engaged.

What’s often missing:

• The most recent blog post is years old
• A “News” section that’s gone stale
• Social media feeds with months (or years) of silence
• Promotions or events listed that have long since passed

Fix it: If you’re not able to post regularly, consider hiding the blog or news section altogether until you’re ready to update it. The same goes for social feeds embedded on your site. At the very least, update core business info like hours and contact pages, and make sure the website looks current. In Atlanta’s competitive market, digital neglect can easily be mistaken for being out of business.

Is it worse to have old blog posts or none at all?

Can’t I hide the blog or date stamps so it doesn’t look outdated? Hiding the timestamps is quick fix for making it less obvious to visitors how long its been since your site has been updated (a search engine already knows how long it has been). If the old blog posts receive little to no impressions and no clicks and are generally not helpful to people, then you can likely safely delete them.

However, if the information in an old post is important or useful for visitors, you should keep it! Instead of deleting it, just update the post so that it has the most current information. If the post is substantially updated, you can also change the publish date. I generally recommend making it so that the “Last Updated” date is also displayed alongside the ‘Publish Date’, as you can see in the timestamp of this blog post.

Ready to Fix These Common Web Design Mistakes?

If you’ve spotted one (or more) of these issues on your site, you’re not alone. We work with Atlanta businesses every day to help them avoid these pitfalls and turn their website into a tool that builds trust and brings in leads.

👉 Use our WordPress Website Cost Estimator to see what it might cost to upgrade your website—or reach out and let’s talk about your goals.