Many SME websites in Belgium and the Netherlands look tidy at first glance, but in practice they don't achieve the desired result. Visitors drop off, forms go unfilled, and potential clients leave the page without getting in touch. The cause is often not the quality of the services or products, but the way the website is set up.

The problem arises because many websites are built around the owner's wishes or a designer's vision, rather than the concrete needs of the visitor. Features, animations and extra buttons get added to make the whole thing more interesting. In practice, all those extra elements create noise and confusion.

Good user experience, or UX, isn't about adding extra functionality — it's about removing obstacles. The faster and easier a visitor reaches their goal, the higher the website's conversion rate.

In this article we discuss four common UX mistakes that keep recurring on SME websites, and how to fix them in a simple, effective way.

1. Too many choices and unnecessary complexity

One of the most common mistakes in web design is presenting too many choices on a single page. When a visitor is confronted with multiple buttons, complicated menu options or long forms, choice stress sets in. Instead of making a choice, the visitor leaves the page.

A recent and very recognisable example in practice concerns how dark mode is displayed on websites. Many developers build in a theme switcher that lets visitors pick from three different states: light, dark and system preference. This is a textbook example of over-engineering. Two states are more than enough for the user: on or off. The website reads the visitor's operating system setting by default, and a simple toggle lets the visitor switch manually. Adding three options brings extra interaction and visual noise without offering real added value.

Another example of unnecessary complexity is the contact form. Many SMEs ask, in a first contact form, for company size, phone number, address, job title and a detailed description of the enquiry. Every extra field is a barrier.

The fix for this mistake is to streamline:

  • Limit the options in the interface to the absolute minimum needed.
  • Bring forms back to the essential fields: name, email address and a short message.
  • Avoid extra settings that add little value for the visitor.

2. Unclear navigation and a missing visual hierarchy

A website's navigation structure must be intuitive. A visitor shouldn't have to think about where to click to find specific information. Yet many businesses try to be original by using unconventional labels in the menu bar. Creative names for service or contact pages often leave visitors unsure where a link leads.

Besides unclear labels, many SME websites also lack a clear visual hierarchy. If every button on a page has the same colour, size and styling, there's no obvious primary action. The visitor can't tell at a glance what the most important next step is.

Overusing mega menus and expandable lists on desktop and mobile also causes problems. Visitors lose their bearings when dozens of categories become visible at once.

Here's how to fix the navigation and structure:

  • Use clear, conventional terms in the menu bar, such as Services, About us and Contact.
  • Use one clear, primary call to action (CTA) per page with a distinct, eye-catching colour.
  • Give secondary actions, such as reading a blog post or downloading a brochure, a more subtle design.
  • Structure page content with clear subheadings, so the text is easy to scan.

3. Slow load times and a poor mobile experience

A large share of web traffic happens on mobile phones. Yet many SME websites are still designed with a desktop view as the starting point. The result on a mobile screen is often mediocre: buttons placed too close together, text that runs off the screen, and pop-ups that block the entire screen and are hard to dismiss.

Load times also play a decisive role in the user experience. If a page takes more than two or three seconds to load, a significant share of visitors click away. Slow websites are usually the result of off-the-shelf themes and page builders full of unnecessary code, unoptimised images and too many external scripts.

Elements that shift position after loading (layout shifts) are also a source of frustration. Visitors try to tap a button, but a delayed image or script changes its position and they end up tapping the wrong element by accident.

Here's how to fix this:

  • Always design and test pages mobile-first.
  • Make sure clickable elements are large enough and have enough space between them.
  • Use clean code and avoid heavy themes full of unused features.
  • Compress images and only load scripts once they're actually needed.

4. The simple fix: streamline and choose custom work

Fixing UX mistakes doesn't require a complex process or adding more features. In most cases, the best solution is cutting everything that distracts the visitor from their goal. A tight, fast and clear website delivers better results immediately.

Since 2006 I've been working with SMEs and entrepreneurs in Belgium and the Netherlands on building and optimising digital platforms and websites. My focus is on high-performance websites and online stores built with custom code. Moving away from standard themes and building with modern technologies like React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Supabase and Vite creates an extremely fast, well thought-out foundation.

An effective process starts with a clear conversation to establish goals and priorities. The UX/UI design is then worked out and built in short iterations. This approach ensures every page contains only elements that are functional and contribute to the business's objectives.

Besides building websites and custom software such as CRM systems and dashboards, I help SMEs with SEO and content structure. Please note: business development and sales strategy services are currently fully booked due to a full-time engagement under NDA, but there is room for new projects in web development and UX optimisation.

Want your website's user experience reviewed, and to find out where the bottlenecks are? Request a free thirty-minute conversation via ferhat.io/contact. Together we'll look at the current situation and discuss the concrete steps to make your website faster, clearer and more effective.