Guides
Plain-English UX guides
Practical advice from the team at Grid Design on making websites easier to understand and use.
Drip pricing UK law: show the full price up front
Since April 2025 UK firms must show unavoidable fees in the first price. Learn what counts, how to display it and how to check your own site in 15 minutes.
6 minute read
Website pop-ups: do they hurt conversions or your SEO?
Do pop-ups hurt conversions or Google rankings? What Google says, what experiments show, and how to use a pop-up without losing visitors.
6 minute read
Cookie banner UK: do you need one in 2026 and how to design it
The UK cookie rules changed in 2026. Find out whether your site still needs a banner, what it must do, and how to design it so it doesn't cost you enquiries.
6 minute read
How fast should a website load? The targets that matter
Google's targets for a good load time, why phones decide your score, whether speed affects sales, and a 30-minute check you can do without a developer.
6 minute read
How much does a UX audit cost in the UK?
Real UK prices for a UX audit, from a free checklist to a £15,000 agency project: what you get at each level and how to choose the right one.
7 minute read
The best UX audit tools in 2026, compared honestly
Automated UX audits, speed, accessibility, behaviour analytics and research tools compared: what each is for, what it isn't, and how to combine them.
8 minute read
Getting visitors but no enquiries? Here's what to check first
Your website gets visitors but the phone isn't ringing. A plain-English order of checks for service businesses: your message, the next step, trust, forms, mobile and speed, and how to tell when it's the wrong visitors.
7 minute read
Visitors but no sales? Find out where your shoppers give up
Your shop gets visitors but nobody buys. Use Shopify's own reports to find the stage where shoppers drop out, then fix that stage: the traffic, product pages, the basket or checkout.
7 minute read
People add to basket, then leave. Here's why
Shoppers add to cart but don't buy. The usual reasons, from surprise delivery costs to forced accounts, missing payment options and fiddly mobile checkouts, and what to change for each.
6 minute read
Website looks bad on phones? How to find and fix the problems
Why websites look different or broken on phones, how to check yours on a real phone and in Chrome, and where to fix it in WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and Shopify.
7 minute read
Do you need a new website, or just a few fixes?
A neutral self-check: the signs that mean a rebuild is worth it, the signs that fixes will do, how to tell if a website looks outdated, and how to decide before you spend thousands.
7 minute read
How to make your website look professional and trustworthy
Looking professional is mostly about trust: clear wording, real photos, consistent styling, readable text, visible contact details and real proof. Practical fixes you can make without a redesign.
7 minute read
High bounce rate? What it means now and what to fix
In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate means something different from what it used to. What it measures now, when a high figure is a problem, and the fixes that bring it down.
7 minute read
What's a good conversion rate for a small business website?
Why published conversion rate averages rarely compare with your site, how to measure your own properly, and how to improve it. No made-up benchmarks.
6 minute read
How to do a UX audit of your website, step by step
A practical, plain-English method for auditing your own website's user experience: what to check, in what order, and how to decide what to fix first.
9 minute read
Website accessibility in the UK: what the law expects and how to check your site
A plain-English guide to the Equality Act, the public sector accessibility regulations, the European Accessibility Act and WCAG 2.2, with a practical checklist for small businesses.
8 minute read
Why isn't my website converting? 12 common UX problems and how to fix them
The UX problems we see most often when auditing small business, shop and SaaS websites, why they cost you customers, and what to change.
7 minute read
Check your own site
Get a score for your website and your top problems, with screenshots, in about 2 minutes. Free, no card needed.