Good design is not “a nice-looking site”. It is the visitor managing to do what they came for, without having to think about it.
A beautiful site where nobody finds the phone number is bad design. A plain site where everyone books an appointment in two taps is excellent design.
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UX and UI: the difference
| UX (user experience) | UI (interface) | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | Does it work? | Does it look right? |
| Concerns | Flow, structure, order of steps | Colours, typefaces, buttons |
| Tested by | Trying it with people | Eye and consistency |
| If missing | The customer does not finish | The business looks unreliable |
You need both, but in that order. First it works, then it looks good. The reverse order is why so many expensive sites bring in no enquiries.
What a designer actually delivers
If all you receive is a pretty picture, you did not buy design. You bought decoration.
The five deliverables that matter:
- A page map. What pages exist and how they connect.
- Wireframes. Black-and-white layout sketches, before any colour.
- Flows. The steps from arrival to enquiry or purchase.
- A component system. Buttons, forms, headings — the same everywhere.
- Mobile screens, not just desktop ones.
The second is the most valuable and the most frequently skipped. Wireframes force you to decide what matters before it gets buried under attractive photography.
The fifth is not optional — that is where most people arrive, as set out in mobile-first.
How to judge a proposal without being an expert
Six questions. The answers tell you whether you are dealing with a designer or a decorator.
- “What is the main goal of this page?” If there is not one, there is no design.
- “Where does the visitor look first?” They should know, and be able to show you.
- “How does this look on a phone?” Ask to see it, not to have it described.
- “What if the text is twice as long?” Real copy rarely fits the mockup.
- “How does it look with my photos?” Not the perfect ones in the sample.
- “What did you remove?” A good designer removes more than they add.
The fourth separates the experienced. A design that looks perfect with a three-word heading and collapses at eleven is not finished.
The signs of bad design
Things you can spot without an expert:
- You do not know where to click first. Many equally weighted buttons means none of them.
- The same button looks different on two pages.
- Text over a photograph that cannot be read.
- Low-contrast colours — grey on light grey.
- Information you have to hunt for: phone, hours, price.
- A different layout on every page.
And one test you can run yourself: give the site to three people and set them a specific task — “find out what X costs”. Do not help, just watch. You will see the problems in ten minutes, with no tools.
The other common failures are in website mistakes.
Want us to run it with real users?
Tell us which action matters to you and we will test that path.
Accessibility is not an extra
Some of your visitors have difficulty seeing, do not use a mouse, or are simply looking at a screen in bright sun.
Four things that cover most of it:
- Text-to-background contrast high enough to read outdoors.
- Every form field labelled, not just grey text inside it.
- Alt text on images that carry information.
- Keyboard navigation, with a visible indicator of where you are.
None of these costs extra if requested from the start. They cost a great deal if retrofitted.
What it costs
| What | Indicative cost |
|---|---|
| Design for a small site (5–8 pages) | €600 – €2,000 |
| E-shop design | €1,500 – €5,000 |
| Wireframes and flows only | €300 – €900 |
| Usability testing with users | €300 – €1,000 |
| A component system for future growth | €800 – €2,500 |
The third row is the most underrated option on a small budget: get the structure right and build it on an off-the-shelf theme. The result is usually better than an expensive theme with no thinking behind it.
If you already have a site and are considering a change, first check whether it is warranted in website redesign.
Frequently asked questions
Is an off-the-shelf theme enough?
For a simple service site, often yes — if it is properly adapted. The problem is never the theme; it is using one without making any decisions.
How long does design take?
For a small site, 2–4 weeks. For an e-shop, 4–8. Delays usually come from the copy, not the design.
Do I need separate UX and UI people?
On small projects, one person does both. On larger ones, they separate.
How do I know it worked?
By numbers: more enquiries or completed orders on the same traffic. Not by whether you like it.
Which page should I design first?
The one that brings enquiries — see the structure in landing pages.
The first step
Pick the most important action on your site: a call, a form or a purchase. Count how many taps it takes from the home page.
More than three and you have a design problem costing you customers — and it usually gets fixed without rebuilding anything from scratch.
Next step
Book a free 30-minute call with the team at The Dev Alley. We will walk the visitor’s path and show you what changes.