When a customer visits your website, they make a judgment call within seconds. A professional, easy-to-use site tells them you are reliable. A poorly designed one creates doubt before you have had a chance to say anything. Here are the most common web design mistakes Vancouver businesses make and what to do instead.
Updated February 2026.
Most people will not wait more than three seconds for a website to load. If yours takes longer, a significant portion of visitors will leave before they ever see what you offer.
A slow website does more than lose traffic. It signals to customers that your business might operate the same way. Speed is a proxy for professionalism, whether that is fair or not.
If visitors cannot immediately figure out what you offer or how to contact you, they will leave. Your website needs to communicate your services, your location, and the next step a customer should take, all without requiring them to search for it.
For a Vancouver realtor, that means listings, service areas, and a contact link visible from the homepage. For a contractor, it means services, photos of work, and a phone number above the fold. The simpler and clearer, the better.
More than half of all website visits from Vancouver residents happen on smartphones. Buttons that are too small to tap, text that requires zooming, or menus that break on mobile all frustrate customers and make your business look outdated.
A mobile-first website is not optional anymore. It is the baseline expectation.
Imagine choosing between two plumbers: one has several positive reviews clearly visible on their site, the other has none. The choice is obvious. Customers want reassurance before they commit to calling.
If your website does not show reviews, testimonials, or completed project photos, visitors will move on to a competitor who does. Social proof is a conversion requirement, not a design flourish.
Blurry, dark, or generic stock photos immediately undercut the credibility of your business. For a contractor, photos of completed projects should make the quality of your work obvious at a glance. For a restaurant, food photography should make people want to book a table.
You do not need a professional photographer for every shot. A well-lit photo taken on a modern phone beats a stock image every time.
If your phone number requires scrolling to the footer or clicking through to a contact page, you are losing customers. Your contact details should be visible on every page, ideally in the header, and your phone number should be click-to-call on mobile.
This is especially critical for trades businesses where a significant portion of searches are emergency intent. Someone with a burst pipe is not hunting for your contact page.
Vancouver customers search with phrases like 'best pizza in Gastown' or 'reliable plumber in Burnaby'. If your website does not explicitly mention your services and the areas you cover, Google cannot show you for those searches.
Location-specific language on your service pages is not optional for local search visibility. It is the minimum required to compete.
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