Common Mistakes When Using AI for Web Design

AI web design tools are everywhere right now. And look, I get the appeal. They save you time, cut down costs, and get a site up fast. Sounds perfect, right?

But after working with websites for over 20 years, I can tell you — it’s not always that simple. Like any tool, if you lean on it too much, you risk ending up with something that looks good but doesn’t actually work for your business. I’ve seen it too many times — beautiful websites that completely miss the mark when it comes to usability or conversions.

So let’s break down the 7 most common mistakes I see people make when they get a bit too excited with AI website builders.

1) Trusting AI To Do All The Heavy Lifting

Don’t get me wrong — AI tools like Wix ADI or Bookmark are smart. But they’re not creative thinkers. That’s still your job.

The problem is that a lot of folks click a few buttons, take the auto-generated layout, and hit publish. No adjustments. No personalisation. And that’s where it falls apart.

Why this hurts:

• AI pulls from huge datasets and templates — meaning your design might look like a hundred other sites.

• Your brand’s personality? Pretty much invisible.

How to fix it:

• Treat AI like your intern, not your creative director.

• Use its draft as a starting point, then customise:

  • Swap out default fonts and colours.

  • Replace stock images with real ones from your business.

  • Edit layouts so they match how your customers browse.

Honestly, one of my clients last year — a small boutique gym in Brisbane — got an AI-generated design that looked sleek… but also looked identical to a dentist website I’d seen the week before. That’s not what you want.

2) Forgetting About Brand Consistency

AI doesn’t know your business like you do. It doesn’t know your logo, your tagline, or that you absolutely hate teal.

When you skip adding your branding, your site starts to feel generic. People visit, get confused, and bounce.

Common brand mistakes I see:

• Logos missing or oddly resized.

• Colours that don’t match your other marketing materials.

• Generic stock images that scream “template”.

What to do instead:

• Upload your full brand kit: logos, fonts, hex colours.

• Replace stock photos with real photos — even if they’re taken on an iPhone.

• Use consistent messaging and tone of voice across every page.

Brand consistency builds trust. And trust drives sales.

3) Cramming In Too Many Bells & Whistles

AI platforms love giving you options: sliders, popups, animated headers, chatbots, auto-playing videos, flying text… all very tempting.

But more isn’t better. Usually, it’s just distracting. Or worse — it slows your site down.

Here’s what too much can cause:

• Slower page load speeds (Google will penalise you for this, too).

• Users get overwhelmed or annoyed.

• The actual call-to-action gets buried.

Keep it simple:

• Limit animations to one or two subtle touches.

• Ditch autoplay videos unless absolutely necessary.

• Make sure every element serves a purpose.

I had a client once who insisted on adding a rotating testimonial carousel, a welcome popup, and an autoplaying video header. Their bounce rate doubled in two weeks. We stripped it back and saw conversions rebound. Simplicity wins.

4) Ignoring Mobile Users (Big Mistake)

Mobile traffic isn’t a “nice to have” anymore — it’s the main event. Depending on your industry, I’d say anywhere from 60-80% of your users are on mobile.

The problem? Many AI templates look fine on desktop but break horribly on mobile. Buttons shift, text overlaps, menus glitch out.

The risks:

• Visitors can’t navigate your site easily.

• Forms don’t fit the screen.

• Users bail fast and head to your competitor.

How to stay mobile-friendly:

• Always preview your site on multiple devices.

• Check font sizes (at least 16px for body text is a safe rule).

• Keep buttons large enough for thumb taps.

• Test contact forms, image scaling, and navigation menus on mobile.

Honestly, test it like your Grandma would use it. If she can find the phone number in 3 seconds — you’re good.

5) Forgetting That UX Comes First

Looks are important. But function beats form every time.

You might love that stunning parallax scroll effect. But if your customer can’t find your contact form? You’ve lost the sale.

Poor UX leads to:

• High bounce rates.

• Frustrated users.

• Missed leads.

UX basics to always nail:

• Clear, simple menus.

• Search function for larger sites.

• Easy-to-find contact info.

• Logical flow of content (don’t hide key info deep in subpages).

A Melbourne-based financial advisor I worked with once had an AI-generated site that buried their contact form four clicks deep. We brought it to the homepage — inquiries shot up 35%.

6) Skipping SEO Fundamentals

AI tools might give you basic SEO fields, but they don’t know your keyword strategy or what your customers are Googling.

The result?

• Pages aren’t optimised.

• Google can’t index your site properly.

• You’re invisible in search.

SEO steps you can’t skip:

• Customise page titles and meta descriptions.

• Use proper header tags (H1, H2, H3).

• Write keyword-rich but natural content.

• Add alt text to every image.

• Compress images for faster load speeds.

• Use clean, readable URLs.

If you’re not sure, tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can give you a solid keyword game plan. Or… just hire someone who knows their stuff. Saves you time.

7) Not Testing Before You Go Live

This one drives me nuts.

People launch AI-built sites without testing them. No QA. No user feedback. Just straight to public view. And then wonder why conversions drop.

What usually goes wrong:

• Broken links.

• Forms not submitting properly.

• Slow load times.

• Layout glitches on certain browsers.

What you should always do:

• Test every link and form.

• Load your site on multiple browsers and devices.

• Run speed tests (Google PageSpeed Insights is free).

• Do basic user testing — ask 3-5 real people to use the site.

One of my ecommerce clients skipped testing once — checkout button was broken on Safari. They lost thousands before we caught it. Don’t be that business.

Bottom line?

AI web design tools are great helpers. They’ll save you time. But they won’t save you from yourself.

You still need to roll up your sleeves, customise, test, and inject your brand’s voice into the final product. If you do that? You’ll end up with a site that doesn’t just look good, but actually works.

And hey — since you’ve read this far — have you already played around with an AI builder yet? Curious what you thought.