9 Website Design Tips Straight From Design Pros
Building an effective website requires more than aesthetic appeal—it demands strategy, empathy, and a commitment to continuous improvement. This article compiles practical advice from seasoned design professionals who have spent years refining their craft and learning what actually works. These nine tips cover everything from scalable systems and user psychology to data-driven decisions and shipping products quickly.
Embrace Pauses and Lead With Empathy
This is a good question! One I had to look at for a while before answering.
Honestly, the thing that comes to mind is the early frustrations I had when learning. I felt like giving up so many times. The advice I wish I received back then would have been to just take it easy, take breaks in learning, focus on the user and their experience first and keep things simple. I was so focused on what others were doing, that I felt like an imposter most of the time and I was trying to jump before I could walk. Having that advice early on would have enabled me to enjoy the process of learning much more!
Engineer Modular Systems for Scalability
It would have been great if someone had shared with me that designing a website is really about engineering software instead of just visually pleasing users with many pretty things. When I started designing websites, I was very concerned about making them pixel perfect with fixed layouts, but the instant I introduced dynamic or high-volume data to my sites, everything would fall apart. This "fixed mindset" caused huge amounts of technical debt since I would eventually have to go back into my existing CSS and completely refactor everything to make even the smallest site-wide change.
Had I received this advice when I started, I would have started by implementing a system for designing as many modular and atomic components as possible from the get-go. By using desktop applications for component-based design, I really helped myself become very technically agile and made it possible to create durable, self-correcting interfaces that would scale very easily. Rather than having to constantly fight with brittle code, I would have been able to focus more on creating rapid innovative designs, knowing that the processes that supported my designs were already set up to support the growth of aesthetic elements and not just the aesthetics themselves.
Frontload Value for Short Attention Spans
"I wish someone had told me USER ATTENTION is your scarcest resource—design for 8-second attention spans by putting the most critical information and actions above the fold immediately. My early sites featured elaborate storytelling and gradual information revelation that lost visitors before they saw anything important. I assumed people would scroll and explore, but analytics showed 68% never scrolled past the initial screen. One client lost significant leads because their contact form was three scroll-depths down on a beautifully designed page few people ever reached.
That advice would have fundamentally changed my design hierarchy from day one. I would have learned to frontload value instead of building suspense, put conversion actions where people actually look, and respect that visitors decide within seconds whether a site serves their needs. Understanding that attention is limited would have made me ruthlessly prioritize essential information instead of creating elaborate designs that buried important elements for aesthetic flow."
Operate as a Revenue Partner
Hey there, I'm Steve Morris, founder and CEO of NEWMEDIA.COM, and creator of RankOStm. For more than two decades, I've worked with bootstrapped startups and grown into the Top 1% of the world's agencies. Here's my answer to your question.
Stop thinking like a designer and start thinking like a revenue partner
The most expensive mistake I made early on (and have seen many talented designers repeat) was thinking that the website is the end product. It isn't. It's a means to an end. If you want to charge $15,000+ for a strategic asset instead of a few thousand for a nice layout, connect your design metrics to the client's KPI tree.
Instead of focusing on "clean aesthetics," I started thinking about "conversion-centric storytelling." Instead of picking a color palette I asked, "How do these elements lower the friction of a user taking action?" Then I started adding digital marketing fundamentals to the wireframing process, like SEO and conversion rate optimization (CRO) architecture, before putting any color on the site.
By building sites that were "market-ready" vs. "portfolio-ready," our clients stopped seeing us as just another marketing expense and started treating us as partners. For example, by focusing on the customer journey and lead generation, not just page views, we helped them generate $3.5 billion collectively.
Practically, it means setting up Google Analytics and event tracking on Day One. Show the client where the bounce rates are, and how you're fixing it. When you can consistently show a design change improved conversion rate from 1.2% to 1.8%, you're not just an expert, you're a growth consultant. Not only does it justify higher fees, it builds a sustainable business, where clients see you as a partner, not just a line item in their marketing expense.
Treat Websites as Living Commitments
I wish someone had told me this earlier: a website isn't a deliverable, it's a relationship in motion.
When I first started designing websites, I treated launch like the moment of success. Build it, ship it, celebrate. What I didn't yet see is that a website lives inside constantly changing conditions. Businesses evolve. Teams change. Technology shifts. If a site isn't built with that reality in mind, it will quietly work against the people using it.
If I'd understood that sooner, I would have asked different questions at the beginning. Who will own this six months from now? What happens when priorities change? How does this site adapt without needing to be torn apart and rebuilt? I would have spent less time chasing clever solutions and more time designing for clarity and continuity.
At CauseLabs, that realization became foundational. We stopped thinking in terms of finished websites and started thinking in terms of long-term care. That shift didn't just improve outcomes, it changed how clients experienced the work.
I know now that what we build is stewardship.
Use Messy Unforgiving Data Early
"Never design with 'Lorem Ipsum' design with real, ugly data."
I wish someone had told me that a design that only works with perfect, symmetrical content is a failed design. Early in my career, I created pristine mockups that fell apart the moment real world, dynamic data was plugged in names that were too long, images that were the wrong aspect ratio, or empty states I hadn't accounted for.
Leading a development team now, I see how this disconnect causes friction between design and engineering. Designing with 'worst case scenario' data from day one forces you to build robust, flexible interfaces that actually survive production, rather than just looking good in a portfolio.
Favor Basics Over Flashy Extras
Keep it simple. You don't need the fancy plugin or the clever animation. You need a site that loads fast, works on phones, and makes it obvious what the business does.
When I started, I over-built everything. Custom features, extra scripts, designs that looked cool but slowed things down. I thought more effort meant better results. It didn't. It meant more bugs, more maintenance, and clients who couldn't update their own sites without breaking something.
Now I build with the basics. Clean structure, simple layouts, fast hosting. My sites are easier to maintain, easier to rank, and easier for visitors to use. I wish someone had told me earlier that the boring way is usually the right way.
Ship Fast and Learn Faster
Experience has shown me that speed outweighs perfection. We at Mad Mind Studios found the same after seeing projects get stuck on polishing details that the outside world hardly noticed.
Launching, learning, and iterating is better than endless refinement, which is what I wish somebody had told me. Real feedback can only be obtained when a site is live and being used.
Such advice could have eased my stress and accelerated my growth. When you get going, you get more confident. Moreover, it's easier to make changes when something is already there than when it's just an idea.
Prioritize Clarity and Conversion Goals
One piece of advice I wish I'd received early on is this:
Design isn't about how good a website looks. It's about how clearly it communicates and how well it converts.
When I started out, I focused heavily on visuals and trends. I believed that if a website looked great, results would come naturally. In reality, they rarely did.
I spent years working in startups, building products I genuinely believed in. The products were strong, but the websites didn't explain the value clearly enough or guide users toward taking action. That experience taught me that great design without strategy doesn't move the needle.
If I had understood earlier that my role as a designer was to help users make decisions, not just admire layouts, I would have approached projects very differently. I would have paid more attention to messaging, structure, and user intent, and relied on data instead of assumptions.
That shift in mindset is what later allowed me to help B2B SaaS companies turn underperforming websites into assets that actually drive growth.
