3 Common web design mistakes (+ What we do instead)
Heyyy, welcome back! In the first episode, we chatted about why your website might not be doing you justice — and I shared a bit about my own journey as a web designer.
Now I wanna walk you through how we think at By Emily Jane about websites that actually work. Because there’s a big difference between a site that brings in your ideal clients... and one that just sits there looking pretty.
When your site’s strategic, it’s like having your own little salesperson running in the background. It should bring you not just more clients, but better ones. People who:
Trust your creativity
Respect your pricing
Are a good match for your working style
And don’t need heavy convincing on a consult call because they show up already pretty dang sure they wanna work with you
But for that to happen, your site needs to strike this balance between looking good and functioning well.
So in this episode, I’m gonna break down three big mistakes service providers make when it comes to their web design — and what we do instead to help clients see real results.
Mistake #1: Putting All Your Focus on SEO
So let’s start with one of the most common mistakes I see: and that’s putting ALL your focus on optimizing for search engines.
Now I say this with love: I totally get why SEO feels like the go-to fix. If you just get more people to your site, then the clients will follow, right? …
But here’s the thing: SEO can help more people find you, but it can’t convince them to hire you. That is your website’s job.
And a lot of business owners - especially in the wedding world - get so caught up in keywords and rankings, that they forget who they’re really building the site for: It’s not for bots. It’s for people. Real, lovely humans who are often planning one of the most meaningful days of their lives.
So if your whole strategy is “get more traffic,” but your site isn’t ready to connect when people do land there, it’s like inviting people over for a party but forgetting to actually throw one. sure, People might show up… but they won’t stick around for long.
By only focusing on getting more & more leads when your website isn't designed to convert, you’re basically pouring water into a leaky bucket.
So my take is to make the site irresistible first.
Build a space that makes your dream client feel like they've found exactly what they've been looking for and shows them why you're the perfect person to help them. Then you can focus on increasing the traffic to it once you’ve got that solid foundation.
Mistake #2: Having a Generic Website With No Distinct Brand
Now, the second thing I see happening a lot, is playing it way too safe with your website design.
This one’s sneaky; because your site might look totally fine. It’s pretty, it’s functional, it’s got nice photos.
But if it looks like it could belong to just about anyone in your industry, then it’s not doing you any favors.
And When you’re selling a personal service, blending in is the last thing you wanna do.
Your site should make people feel like they’re getting a taste of what it’s like to work with you specifically, not just someone like you.
You’ve got your own style, your own approach, your own charm. That’s what makes your work valuable to the right people—so your site should actually reflect that.
I get why people default to what feels safe or quote unquote “professional”; especially in the wedding industry where the light-and-airy aesthetic reigns supreme. (White backgrounds, soft grey text, blush pink, you know the deal.)
But here’s the problem with having the same general look as your competitors:
It's hard to stand out and be memorable
People compare you only on price, not on what makes you special
You end up attracting clients who don't really get you, which makes sales harder
So instead, I’ll help bring your brand personality into every part of the design—so it actually feels like you. Whether that’s playful, buttoned up, laid-back, or a little offbeat, we make sure your site reflects the energy you bring to your client experience.
That way, when someone meets you, there’s no disconnect. They already have a solid sense of how you work, and they’re thinking, “Yeah, this is exactly who I was hoping for.”
Mistake #3: Over-Customizing and Over-Complicating the Design
Now on the flip side: some people fall into the opposite trap which is over customizing your design to death.
It usually starts with wanting to stand out, which I love, but somewhere along the way it becomes more about impressing people than actually helping them.
You’ve probably been on one of those sites with eleven font styles, animations flying everywhere, and stuff crammed into every corner of the screen. It’s just overstimulating.
Or maybe you’ve seen one that’s hard to use: where there’s vertical navigation or horizontal scrolling for some reason, or buttons you can’t even tell are buttons? You get lost, you give up.
When someone lands on your site, they’re really just trying to figure out a few things:
Who are you?
What do you offer?
And are you the right fit for me?
And If they have to work too hard to find those answers or fight through a bunch of distractions, they’re gonna bounce. And that makes that fancy shmancy site immediately worthless to you as the business owner.
So instead of overwhelming people with flashy chaos, we focus on creating a thoughtful path through your site. Where It’s clear where to go, how to find the info they need, & what to do next if they’re interested in working with you.
That doesn’t mean stripping away your personality or making things boring. We always aim for a website that feels distinctive but also intuitive. :)
Because really, the goal isn't just to make people think "that's a cool website" — it's to make them think "wow, I need to work with this person."
And that happens when your design supports your message instead of overshadowing it.
Client stories that show what’s possible!
Before we wrap up, I think it really helps to see how this stuff works in real life, so I wanna share a couple quick stories from clients who made these changes and what happened for them.
Rachel, a wedding planner, worked with our studio after she had a fun, vibrant rebrand that totally matched her bubbly personality; but when she tried applying it to her website, she said it started looking kind of... “My Little Pony”.
It didn’t feel polished, and it definitely wasn’t giving luxury.
So we kept the warm and colorful aesthetic that felt like her, but created a clean, elevated layout that gave her work the space to shine.
And only a couple months later she got back to me saying her spring calendar was already full with the exact kind of clients she’d been wanting to book.
(And honestly, I wasn’t even surprised - cuz she’s amazing at what she does.)
Then there’s Hannah, a photographer who was already booking solid clients but she wanted to level up her clientele.
Her work was stunning, but her site had kind of turned into a cluttered gallery… with gorgeous visuals everywhere, but no real focus.
So we simplified it. We created a layout that still showed off her work but in a way that felt refined, intentional, and easier to navigate.
And guess what? She started booking those high-end brides within a couple weeks of making those updates.
And I want to point out—neither of them did any extra SEO work, no paid ads, nothing like that. I love seeing how just making the right changes to your web design can make such a big difference!
When your website communicates your value, reflects your personality, and guides people to take the next step; it attracts the kind of clients who already believe in what you do and are excited to pay you for it :)
Now in the next episode, we’re gonna bust a few myths about what you do and don’t need in place before you’re ready to hire a web designer. So if you've been putting off a website update because you don't feel "ready," you'll definitely want to tune in.
And if you’re listening to all of this thinking, “Dang, I might need a fresh set of eyes on my site,” I’d love to help. Fill out our client application, and I’ll send over a personalized video with my honest feedback—and what I’d do to help you get results like these.
Alright, catch you in the next one!
