My Website Looks Unprofessional (8 Quick Fixes That Make It Look Legit)
Your website looks cheap and scammy. Here are the 8 things killing your credibility and how to fix each one in under 3 hours.
You know your website looks unprofessional. You can feel it.
The stock photos scream "template." The font choices look like 2010. The color scheme hurts eyes.
Worst of all? Visitors bounce because they think you're a scam.
Here are the 8 things making your site look cheap - and how to fix them today.
Why "Looking Professional" Actually Matters
"Don't judge a book by its cover" doesn't apply to websites.
Visitors judge you in 0.05 seconds (yes, really). If your site looks unprofessional, they assume:
- You're a scam
- Your product doesn't work
- You don't care about quality
- They'll get ripped off
The data:
- 75% of users judge credibility based on website design
- 94% of first impressions are design-related
- 88% of users won't return after a bad experience
Translation: Your unprofessional website is costing you 70%+ of potential customers.
The 8 Things Making You Look Unprofessional
1. Stock Photos Everyone Has Seen
The problem:
That same smiling woman with headset. The team high-fiving in an office. The laptop on a desk with coffee.
We've all seen these 1,000 times. They scream "template" and "fake."
How to spot it:
Reverse Google image search your photos. If they appear on 50+ other sites, they're killing your credibility.
The fix (30 minutes):
Option A: Real photos
- Take actual photos of your team/product/office
- Doesn't need to be professional quality
- Authenticity > polish
Option B: Better stock photos
- Use Unsplash (less overused than Shutterstock)
- Choose unique angles/compositions
- Avoid clichés (handshakes, people pointing at charts)
Option C: Remove photos entirely
- Clean design with no photos > bad stock photos
- Use illustrations or graphics instead
Before: Generic stock photo of "diverse team in meeting"
After: Real photo of your actual team OR no photo at all
2. Inconsistent Typography (Font Chaos)
The problem:
You have 6 different fonts on one page:
- Headline in Comic Sans
- Body in Times New Roman
- CTA in Papyrus
- Footer in Arial
It looks like a ransom note.
The fix (15 minutes):
Rule: 2 fonts maximum
- One for headings (bold, eye-catching)
- One for body text (readable, clean)
Safe professional combinations:
- Headings: Inter, Poppins, Montserrat
- Body: Inter, Roboto, Open Sans
Even safer: Use ONE font family (like Inter) with different weights:
- Headings: Inter Bold (700)
- Subheadings: Inter Semibold (600)
- Body: Inter Regular (400)
Font sizes:
- Mobile: 16px minimum body text
- Desktop: 18px body text
- Headings: 2-3x body size
3. Color Scheme from Hell
The problem:
Neon green on hot pink background. Red text on blue. 12 different colors competing for attention.
Your eyes hurt looking at it.
The fix (20 minutes):
Use a 3-color palette:
- Primary: Your brand color (CTA buttons, highlights)
- Neutral: Gray/black for text
- Accent: Secondary color (links, icons)
Where to get palettes:
- Coolors.co (generate professional palettes)
- Tailwind CSS colors (pre-tested, accessible)
- Copy from successful competitors
Contrast matters:
- Text needs 4.5:1 contrast ratio with background
- Use WebAIM Contrast Checker to verify
- Dark text on light background (or vice versa)
Avoid:
- Neon colors (unless you're intentionally edgy)
- Low contrast (gray text on light gray)
- More than 4 colors total
4. Broken Mobile Layout
The problem:
Your site looks fine on desktop. On mobile? Disaster.
- Text too small to read
- Buttons overlap
- Images wider than screen
- Horizontal scrolling required
60% of your traffic is mobile. If mobile is broken, your site looks unprofessional to most visitors.
The fix (45 minutes):
Test on real devices:
- iPhone (Safari)
- Android (Chrome)
- Portrait AND landscape
Common mobile fixes:
- Min text size: 16px (no zooming required)
- Max image width: 100% of screen
- Stack columns vertically (no side-by-side on mobile)
- CTA buttons: 48px tall minimum (thumb-friendly)
Before: Desktop-only design that breaks on mobile
After: Mobile-first design that works everywhere
5. Walls of Unreadable Text
The problem:
Giant paragraphs with no breaks. No subheadings. No white space.
Looks like a legal document. Nobody reads legal documents.
The fix (15 minutes):
Break up text:
- Max 2-3 sentences per paragraph
- Add subheadings every 200 words
- Use bullet points
- Highlight key phrases in bold
- Add white space between sections
Before:
Our company was founded in 2015 by three passionate
entrepreneurs who wanted to revolutionize the industry
by providing innovative solutions that leverage cutting-edge
technology to deliver unprecedented value to our customers
through a seamless user experience and world-class support...
After:
Founded in 2015 to solve one problem:
[specific problem].
We help [target audience] achieve [specific outcome]
without [pain point].
Simple. Fast. Effective.
Scannable > readable. Most visitors scan, not read.
6. Zero Trust Signals
The problem:
You're asking for money/email/trust with zero evidence you're trustworthy.
No testimonials. No logos. No reviews. No social proof.
Just "trust me bro" energy.
The fix (30 minutes):
Add 3+ trust signals:
Customer testimonials:
- Real names (not "John D.")
- Real photos (not stock images)
- Specific results ("increased conversions 34%" not "great tool!")
Social proof:
- "Join [X]+ users" (use real numbers)
- Company logos (if B2B)
- "As featured in" badges (if you have press)
Reviews/ratings:
- G2 / Capterra badges
- App store ratings
- Google reviews
Security badges:
- SSL certificate (padlock in URL)
- Payment security (Stripe, PayPal badges)
- "Money-back guarantee"
Where to put them:
- Near CTA buttons
- Above fold (if strong)
- Middle of page
- Footer
7. Amateur Design Mistakes
The problem:
Little things that scream "I used a template and didn't customize it."
Common amateur mistakes:
Default placeholder text still visible
- "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..."
- "Heading goes here"
Misaligned elements
- Buttons not centered
- Text left-aligned next to right-aligned image
- Inconsistent spacing
Low-quality images
- Pixelated logos
- Blurry photos
- Images stretched to wrong ratio
Broken links
- "Coming soon" pages
- 404 errors
- Links to nothing
The fix (30 minutes):
Checklist:
- Remove ALL placeholder text
- Align elements to grid
- Export logos at 2x resolution
- Test every link
- Use consistent spacing (8px increments)
Related Reading
Looking unprofessional is just one issue. Here are other common problems:
- High Bounce Rate? - Why visitors leave immediately
- Not Converting? - 10 conversion killers
- Traffic But No Sales? - When you get visitors but no buyers
- How to Get Honest Feedback - Get brutal truth, not compliments
8. Slow Load Time
The problem:
Your site takes 8 seconds to load. Looks unprofessional because it feels slow and broken.
Fast sites feel polished. Slow sites feel cheap.
The fix (30 minutes):
Quick wins:
Compress images:
- Use TinyPNG or Squoosh
- Target: under 200KB per image
- Convert PNG → WebP
Remove unnecessary scripts:
- That analytics tool you forgot about
- Unused font files
- Social media widgets you don't need
Use a CDN:
- Cloudflare (free tier)
- Vercel (free for side projects)
- Netlify (free tier)
Lazy load images:
<img src="hero.jpg" loading="lazy" />
Target:
- Under 3 seconds on mobile
- Under 2 seconds on desktop
The 3-Hour Professional Makeover
You have 180 minutes. Here's how to transform your unprofessional site:
Hour 1: Basics (60 min)
- Replace stock photos (20 min)
- Fix typography to 2 fonts max (15 min)
- Choose professional 3-color palette (15 min)
- Test and fix mobile layout (10 min)
Hour 2: Content (60 min)
- Break up text walls (20 min)
- Add 3 trust signals (testimonials/logos) (30 min)
- Fix alignment and spacing (10 min)
Hour 3: Performance (60 min)
- Compress all images (20 min)
- Remove unnecessary scripts (10 min)
- Test load time, optimize until under 3sec (30 min)
Result: Professional-looking site that builds trust instead of destroying it.
How to Know What Makes YOUR Site Look Unprofessional
You're too close to see it objectively.
Get your site roasted by 6 AI experts:
- Designer Bear: Spots amateur design mistakes, bad colors, font chaos
- UX Bear: Finds confusing layouts and broken mobile
- Developer Bear: Catches slow load times and technical issues
- Copywriter Bear: Highlights walls of text and unclear messaging
- Marketer Bear: Sees missing trust signals
- CEO Bear: Identifies what's costing you money
Time: 2 minutes Cost: Free basic roast, or $26.99 one-time / $29.99/month for Deep Dive
Real Example: Scammy → Professional
Before (looked like a scam):
- Generic stock photos everywhere
- 5 different fonts
- Neon colors
- Broken mobile layout
- Zero trust signals
- 9-second load time
- Bounce rate: 81%
After (looks legit):
- Real team photos
- 2 fonts (Inter for everything)
- Clean 3-color palette (blue, gray, white)
- Mobile-first design
- 4 testimonials with photos
- 2.3-second load time
- Bounce rate: 43%
Same product. Professional design. 2.5x more conversions.
The Psychology of "Looking Professional"
Visitors use design quality as a proxy for product quality.
Unprofessional site =
- "This product probably doesn't work"
- "I'll get ripped off"
- "They don't care about quality"
- "This is a scam"
Professional site =
- "This looks legit"
- "They know what they're doing"
- "I can trust them with my money"
- "Professional company, professional product"
Stop Looking Like a Scam
You have one chance to make a first impression.
Fix the 8 things making you look unprofessional.
Find Out What's Making You Look Unprofessional →
Get roasted. Fix it. Look legit.