Scary Website Mistakes to Avoid This Halloween (And What to Do Instead)

At Grandad, we asked some of our team to share the scariest things they’ve seen online. From bad design to slow load times, we’ve gathered their top findings and tips to help you avoid them. 

Ready to stop the scares and create a website that delights? Keep reading

1. Constant Pop-ups – A Real Jump Scare!

Shared by: Ajna Green, Marketing and Operations Assistant 

"There's nothing scarier than seeing 10 pop-ups in a row, often literally jump-scaring me."

How Else Can I Grab Attention? You may think pop-ups are a clever way to grab attention, but most users close them without even reading. Rather than frustrating visitors with extra clicks, focus on leading them naturally toward your CTAs. Here’s how:

• Structure your IA around your business goals
• Guide users through a smooth journey to your desired action
• Write compelling copy to entice users
• Use eye-catching design to pull attention toward the CTA

2. Inconsistent Designs That Lack Personality - No Tricks or Treats

Shared by: Emily McCarthy, Graphic Designer

"I would say a website that features inconsistent designs that lack personality."

How Can I Elevate the Design? When users compare you to competitors, do you want to be the one with dull design and random stock images or the one with vibrant and meaningful design? Here’s how to be the second one:

• Implement your branding throughout the design
• Use unique, on-brand images that connect to your brand
• Step back and assess the design as a cohesive whole
• Work with an agency to create a showstopping website

3. Carousels – Just Drive a Stake Through Them

Shared by: Nikolas Head, Creative Lead

"Carousels! Especially badly implemented carousels, in hero spaces... Carousels…just drive a stake through them!”

Need a Carousel? Carousels tend to be inaccessible, overwhelming, and incompatible with mobile, resulting in low engagement. But if you must have one, here’s how to improve it:

• Don’t let them auto-scroll - let users control the pace
• Add controls to start, stop, and navigate
• Label each item to indicate where users are within the carousel
• Consider alternative solutions with better-optimised user journeys

4. Slow Loading Times – A Zombie Crawl

Shared by: Vincent Szajdzicki, Front End Developer

"The scariest thing would be a website loading slower than a zombie crawl."

Speed Things Up! Not only is a slow load frustrating but it's well known that you only have a few seconds to capture attention, don't waste that time on a loading screen. Try these tips to optimise load speed:

• Compress images, use a modern format such as WebP & use lazy loading 
• Use build tools to minify CSS and JavaScript files
• Move non-essential Javascript to the bottom of the page
• Modularise your CSS and JS, and only load what’s necessary on each page
• Combine CSS & JavaScript files to reduce server requests
• Regularly run audits using tools like Google Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights 

5. Decrypted Confidential Data – A Security Nightmare

Shared by: Joe Wardleworth, Lead PHP Developer

"The scariest thing would be decrypted confidential data being accessible on a website where it shouldn't so that anyone can see it."

Keep Your Data Secure. But what is it? This is sensitive data that could be converted back into information - not something you want anyone to find. Our advice:

• Ensure your SSL is updated to encrypt data between the website and the browser
• Perform regular tests to ensure security is upheld
• Delete unnecessary data - the less there is the less there is to find
• Check that all sensitive data online is encrypted 

6. No Cookie Banner – A Compliance Horror

Shared by: Carrigan Davis, Account Manager

A missing cookie banner is a big no. Not only does it violate GDPR, but it also looks like you’re hiding something from your users.

Implementing a Cookie Banner. Following compliance is not only vital but showing transparency will build trust with your audience - helping them to connect with your brand. But what should it contain?

• Clear, honest information about cookies and their purposes
• Options to allow, decline, or manage cookies without design bias
• Visibility, ensuring you get consent from all users
• Compliance with accessibility standards to inform all users equally

7. Non-Responsive Design – A Broken Web

Shared by: Lucy Spencer-Davidson, Production Manager

"A non-responsive design may not work as well on desktop or mobile. It's worse when you can't click on certain buttons to navigate on some screen sizes!”

Creating a Responsive Design. Most website users come from mobile, however, this doesn't mean we can forget desktops or tablets. Ensure your website is responsive to any screen size:

• Use mobile-first or mobile-friendly design 
• Thoroughly test on a variety of devices and screen sizes
• Test across all common browsers to ensure full functionality
• Test on real devices, as well as online

8. Bad Typography - 

Shared by: Paul Sheffield

Good typography improves readability, accessibility and the overall experience. Don’t get it wrong

Improving your typography. Typography can take your website from dull and illegible to stunning and seamless. It’s more than a font, here’s what you need to do:

• Follow your brand guidelines for a consistent look and feel
• Check that your font and colour choices follow accessibility guidelines
• Treat it as an important part of your design, make it impactful

As Halloween approaches, the last thing you want is for your website to frighten users away. By addressing these common website mistakes you’ll be creating a website that delights. 

Need help turning your website from trick to treat? At Grandad, we specialise in building websites that stand out for all the right reasons. Get in touch today to learn how we can help make your website a showstopper this spooky season!