We audit a lot of early-stage products. The same five issues keep eating conversion rates.
1. Designing for the demo, not the user
The dashboard looks amazing with sample data. Real data arrives messy, empty, and long. Design every state: loading, empty, error, and the ugly-real.
2. Five fonts, zero hierarchy
Every element screams; nothing is heard. Pick one typeface, three sizes, and let whitespace do the shouting.
3. Onboarding that explains instead of shows
Nobody reads the tour. Put the user one click from value and explain the rest in context.
4. Mobile as an afterthought
If your checkout was designed at 1440px, half your revenue is fighting the layout. Mobile-first is cheaper than mobile-fix.
5. No single primary action per screen
Every screen should answer: what do you want me to do right now? If two buttons compete, the user loses.
