Is your website cursed? If visitors land on your site and leave without calling, filling out a form, or buying anything, something on the page is probably scaring them off. The five website elements most likely to drive visitors away are auto-rotating image sliders, accessibility barriers, a confusing company-focused user experience, security vulnerabilities, and outdated visual design. Each one erodes trust in the first few seconds of a visit.
These cursed website elements might have worked a decade ago. Today they create friction, confusion, and distrust.
We’ve been building websites since 2003, and we see these same five problems constantly. Here’s why each one drives visitors away and what to do about it.
1. Spooky Sliders: Why Don’t Image Carousels Work Anymore?
In the early days of web design, image sliders, also called carousels or hero sliders, were seen as cutting edge. They let businesses show multiple messages in one prominent spot and felt dynamic and impressive. But research shows that sliders are not only ineffective, they actively hurt conversion rates.
The biggest problem is that most visitors never see anything past the first slide. One widely cited study of a university website found that only about 1% of visitors clicked on the slider at all, and most of those clicks landed on the very first slide. Auto-rotating sliders make things worse. Visitors are trying to read your headline while the content changes underneath them, which is distracting at best and annoying at worst.
Sliders also slow your website down. Large images and animation scripts add weight to your most important page, which hurts both user experience and SEO. If you’re not sure where your site stands, here’s what a reasonable website speed score looks like. And because only the first slide gets seen, anything important you tuck into slide three or four is essentially invisible.
There are limited exceptions where sliders can be useful, such as displaying client logos for credibility or showcasing a small gallery of related blog posts. But if you’re using a slider to communicate important value propositions, calls to action, or key services, you’re essentially throwing that content away.
What should you use instead of a slider?
Replace your slider with one focused hero section that answers the visitor’s most important question: “What do you do and why should I care?” Use clear, benefit-driven copy and one strong call to action. If you have several messages to communicate, give each its own section or panel below the hero, where visitors can see all of it at once without waiting or clicking.
2. Alarming Accessibility Issues: Who Is Your Website Leaving Out?
Website accessibility has always mattered, but in recent years it has become both a legal issue and a competitive advantage. Inaccessible websites exclude millions of potential customers and put businesses at legal risk, with thousands of website accessibility lawsuits filed in the US every year.
The most common mistakes are surprisingly basic: poor color contrast, missing alt text, menus and buttons that only work with a mouse, auto-playing video with sound, and form fields without labels. Unlabeled forms are especially costly, because screen reader users who want to contact you simply can’t.
The good news is that addressing accessibility doesn’t require a complete website redesign. Many improvements can be made incrementally.
Where should you start with accessibility?
- Check your color contrast using the WebAIM Color Contrast Checker. Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Add descriptive alt text to every image that conveys information. Decorative images can have empty alt text, but informational images need clear descriptions. Our guide to writing image alt text for web accessibility walks through how.
- Make sure every interactive element, including buttons, links, and forms, can be reached and used with a keyboard alone.
- Add captions or transcripts to any video content on your site.
For help making your whole site accessible, see our website accessibility services. Every website we build meets WCAG accessibility standards, and we help existing sites get there too. Every improvement expands your audience and reduces legal risk.
3. Uncanny User Experience: Does Your Website Reflect Your Visitors?
User experience is like looking in a mirror. When someone looks in a mirror, they expect to see themselves. It’s comfortable, familiar, and makes sense. But imagine looking in a mirror and seeing someone else staring back. That would be unsettling and confusing.
That’s exactly what happens when your website has poor UX. Visitors arrive expecting to see themselves, their problems reflected back to them, and solutions that make sense. Instead, many websites are focused entirely on the company, not the customer.
The signs are easy to spot: a homepage full of “we,” “us,” and “our company,” confusing navigation, key information buried three clicks deep, and vague or missing calls to action.
Good UX means visitors feel understood, guided, and confident. When they land on your homepage, they should immediately understand what you do, who you help, and what they should do next.
How can you improve your website’s UX?
Start by shifting your messaging from company focused to customer focused. Instead of “We’ve been in business for 20 years,” say “We help businesses like yours solve [specific problem].”
Next, simplify your navigation. If visitors can’t figure out where to go within five seconds, your navigation is too complex. Put your most important information above the fold so people don’t have to scroll or click to understand your value. Finally, use clear, action-oriented calls to action. “Get Started” is better than “Learn More” because it tells people exactly what happens next.
4. Shocking Security Vulnerabilities: Is Your Website an Easy Target?
Website security is the scariest issue on this list because the consequences can be devastating. A hacked website can mean stolen customer data, a damaged reputation, lost revenue, legal liability, and significant downtime. Browsers also label sites without SSL as “Not secure,” which scares visitors off before they read a word.
The internet is full of automated bots and malicious actors constantly scanning for vulnerable websites to exploit. If your site isn’t properly secured and maintained, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a target.
Most problems trace back to weak or reused passwords, skipped updates, missing SSL, abandoned plugins, and no backups.
How can you make your website more secure?
- Update everything regularly. WordPress, plugins, and themes release updates to fix security vulnerabilities, so check for updates at least monthly.
- Use strong, unique passwords for every account related to your website, and use a password manager if needed.
- Install an SSL certificate if you don’t already have one. Most hosting providers now include SSL for free.
- Remove unused plugins and themes. The fewer you have installed, the smaller your attack surface.
- Set up daily backups stored off site so you can restore your site quickly if the worst happens.
- Consider a managed WordPress maintenance plan that includes security monitoring, updates, and backups.
Learn more about how to protect against WordPress security threats and keep your site safe from hackers. Security is not something to handle once and forget. It requires ongoing attention, which is why we host client sites on WP Engine’s managed WordPress infrastructure and handle updates and monitoring as part of our maintenance plans.
5. Outdated Design That Screams “Old”
Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. If your design looks like it’s from 2010, visitors will assume your business is outdated too, even if you offer cutting-edge services.
The giveaways are heavy drop shadows and gradients, cluttered layouts, small hard-to-read fonts, and a site that doesn’t adapt to mobile screens. If your site still relies on Flash or other retired technology, parts of it may not load at all.
Modern web design favors clean layouts, plenty of white space, bold typography, and mobile-first design. The point isn’t chasing trends. It’s looking current enough that your design supports your credibility.
Frequently Asked Questions About WordPress Hosting
Should I remove all sliders from my website immediately?
Not necessarily. Sliders can work in limited contexts, such as displaying client logos or showcasing a gallery of related content. But if you’re using a slider to communicate important information, value propositions, or calls to action, yes, replace it with static content that’s always visible.
Are image sliders bad for SEO?
They can be. Sliders often load several large images and extra JavaScript on your most important page, which slows it down, and page experience is part of how Google evaluates websites. Messages placed inside slider images or hidden in later slides also do less for search than a clear, text-based headline. A single, fast-loading hero section with a real text headline is usually better for both SEO and visitors.
How do I know if my website has accessibility issues?
Start by running your website through free accessibility checkers like WAVE from WebAIM or Lighthouse, which is built into Chrome. These tools will identify many common issues. You can also try navigating your site using only a keyboard, with no mouse, to see if you can reach all content and features. If you can’t, users with motor disabilities can’t either.
What’s the difference between UX and UI?
UI, or user interface, refers to the visual design and layout of your website: how it looks. UX, or user experience, refers to how your website works and how visitors feel using it. You can have a beautiful UI but terrible UX if the site is confusing or doesn’t address visitor needs. Both are important, but UX should drive UI decisions, not the other way around.
How often should I update my WordPress plugins?
At minimum, check for updates monthly. If you’re running an ecommerce site or handling sensitive customer data, check weekly. Many security vulnerabilities are discovered and patched quickly, so staying current is critical. Ideally, use a managed maintenance service that monitors updates and applies them safely.
How much does it cost to fix these issues?
It varies. Some fixes, like improving color contrast or adding alt text, can be done for free if you’re comfortable editing your own site. Removing a slider and replacing it with static content is also relatively inexpensive. More comprehensive fixes like a full accessibility audit, UX overhaul, or security hardening can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the size and complexity of your site. If you’re weighing a full refresh, our website redesign guide walks through what to consider.
Do I need a full redesign to fix these problems?
Not always. Security updates, alt text, color contrast fixes, and replacing a slider can all happen on your existing site. A redesign makes more sense when your site isn’t mobile friendly, runs on an outdated theme, or has several of these issues at once, because fixing them one at a time can end up costing more than starting fresh.
How TinyFrog Can Help
If you’ve spotted any of these scary elements on your website, TinyFrog Technologies can help. We’ve been building websites since 2003, we host and maintain more than 650 WordPress sites, and we specialize in diagnosing and fixing the issues that drive visitors away, including outdated design, poor accessibility, confusing UX, and security vulnerabilities.
Whether you need a quick fix, a focused update, or a complete website redesign, our team has the WordPress expertise to make your site work for your business instead of against it.
Contact TinyFrog to talk through your website challenges. We’ll walk you through the options and recommend the most cost-effective approach to get your site performing at its best.