Bad UX is killing your SEO, conversions and trust — here’s how to fix it

When we talk about UX (user experience), most people jump to aesthetics or usability. “Does it look nice?” “Is it easy to use?” All fair questions. But bad UX doesn’t just frustrate users. It quietly chips away at your bottom line.

Poor UX is a silent killer — of trust, of revenue, of brand reputation. And the worst part? You often don’t realise it’s the problem until it’s too late.

We’re writing this because we see it all the time — brands coming to us with beautiful websites that just aren’t performing. The traffic’s there, the product’s strong, but the UX? It’s holding everything back.

At KOTA, we craft immersive, beautiful, brand-led websites that drop jaws and work hard. The kind that stop thumbs from scrolling, raise eyebrows, spark emotion, and move people to act. And UX is at the heart of every project we touch. We know what works, what breaks, and where the real value lies when it comes to building online experiences that convert.

So here’s what bad UX is really costing your business — and how to fix it before it costs you any more.

1. It drives people away

You can throw all the budget you want at ads, SEO and social. But if your website’s UX is clunky, confusing, or just plain slow, users will bounce faster than you can say “conversion rate”.

Think about it. Would you hang around on a website that takes forever to load? That doesn’t work properly on your phone? That buries the thing you’re looking for under layers of fluff?

Your audience won’t either.

What it costs you:

• Sky-high bounce rates
• Low conversion rates
• Wasted marketing spend
• A damaged first impression.

How to fix it:

Start with analytics. Look at bounce rates, heatmaps and scroll depth to spot where users are leaving. Then run usability testing with real people — not just your team — to observe pain points first-hand.

Once you’ve identified the problem areas, improve load speed (Google’s PageSpeed Insights is your friend), streamline navigation, and simplify your layout. Use hierarchy to guide people. Reduce choice paralysis by offering fewer, clearer options.

Above all, make your site mobile-first. If it’s not working on a phone, it’s not working.

2. It erodes trust

Trust isn’t just about security badges or SSL certificates. It’s about how your website feels. Is it consistent? Polished? Easy to navigate? Or does it look like it hasn’t been updated since 2012?

Outdated or messy UX can make even the most legitimate brands look shady. And in a world where your competitors are only a click away, perception matters.

What it costs you:

• Lost credibility
• Missed leads and enquiries
• Brand damage that takes time (and money) to undo

How to fix it:

Treat your website like your shopfront — if it’s inconsistent, hard to navigate, or looks half-finished, it raises red flags.

Audit your visual design and tone of voice regularly. Are your brand colours consistent across every page? Is your content written in a clear, human tone that reflects your business today — not three years ago?

Include customer proof points too: reviews, testimonials, case studies, trust badges. These small elements of social proof reinforce legitimacy and give people confidence in who they’re buying from or contacting.

And don’t forget accessibility — a site that works for everyone builds trust across the board.

3. It causes friction — and kills conversions

Good UX removes barriers. Bad UX adds them. If your checkout flow has five unnecessary steps, if your enquiry form is buried in a footer, if your CTAs are vague or hard to find — you’re making people work too hard.

Spoiler: most won’t bother.

What it costs you:

• Abandoned checkouts
• Drop-offs mid-journey
• Lower sales and fewer signups
• Frustrated users who won’t return

How to fix it:

Map out your key user journeys: from landing to purchase, from homepage to contact, from blog to demo request. What’s the fastest, clearest route to get users where they want to go?

Then simplify.

• Cut out redundant fields in forms
• Make your CTAs loud and clear
• Keep your checkout to as few steps as possible
• Offer helpful nudges (e.g. progress indicators, microcopy, live chat)

Use A/B testing to refine as you go. Don’t guess — test versions and iterate based on actual user behaviour. And always make sure your navigation reflects the user’s mental model, not your internal org chart.

4. It takes time away from your team

It’s not just customers who suffer from bad UX. Your internal teams feel it too.

A poorly structured site makes content harder to manage, harder to update, and harder to analyse. Marketing, sales, and customer service teams end up spending hours manually fixing problems that better UX would have solved in the first place.

What it costs you:

• Lost time
• Internal inefficiencies
• Increased reliance on dev fixes

How to fix it:

Don’t treat your CMS like an afterthought. If your team dreads updating content because the system is clunky or unintuitive, that’s a problem.

Invest in a modern, user-friendly CMS. Give teams training and documentation that empowers them to make changes confidently. Build flexible templates so pages can be built without writing code. And structure your site in a way that mirrors how your team works — with clear categories, tags, and user permissions.

Also: bring internal users into the design process early. They know the day-to-day pain points better than anyone.

5. It blocks long-term growth

A clunky, hardcoded website might work in the short term. But as your business grows, your UX needs to scale too.

Bad UX today becomes a blocker tomorrow — when you’re launching new services, expanding globally, or investing in digital campaigns that need a flexible platform.

What it costs you:

• Technical debt
• Missed opportunities
• Budget wasted on rework

How to fix it:

Think long-term from the start. That means scalable systems, reusable components, and content structures that can adapt as your business evolves.

Future-proof your platform with clean code, modular design, and integrations that play nicely with your CRM and marketing stack. Keep accessibility, localisation, and SEO built into the UX foundation — not tacked on later.

Most importantly, treat your UX as a living system. It’s not “set and forget”. It should grow with your business — not get in the way of it.

6. It sabotages your SEO

Google doesn’t just rank pages based on keywords any more. That ship sailed a long time ago. And UX actually plays a huge role in how your site performs in search.

If users land on your page and bounce immediately, or if your site takes too long to load on mobile, or if key pages are buried in your nav — that’s all sending negative signals to search engines.

If users love it, so will Google.

Good UX is good SEO. They’re no longer separate things.

What it costs you:

• Lower search rankings
• Missed organic traffic
• Poor performance on high-intent keywords
• Less visibility for your brand

How to fix it:

Start by aligning your UX with Google’s page experience signals. That means:

• Fast load times (especially on mobile)
• Clear site structure with intuitive internal linking
• Easy-to-read content with proper hierarchy (think headings, bullets, short paragraphs)
• Accessible design that works for all users
• Pages that match search intent and genuinely answer user questions

Also, remember: Good UX also means helpful, people-first content that’s easy to use. This kin of content will always outperform keyword-stuffed fluff. Optimise for humans, not just bots — and your rankings will thank you.

Good UX pays for itself

Every dollar invested in UX returns $100 (Forrester). That’s a 9,900% ROI.

UX is a revenue lever. It’s a trust builder. And yes — it’s an SEO power-up too.

If your site isn’t performing the way it should — if people are bouncing, conversions are stalling, search visibility is dipping, or your team is constantly firefighting content issues — UX is the first place to look.

At KOTA, we design and build high-performing websites with UX baked into every decision. Because we know that when you get it right, everything else clicks into place. Get in touch to learn more!