In March, Forrester published a report based on 12 years of conducting 1,500 website user experience reviews. The results? Only 3 percent of evaluated sites earned a passing score in terms of the user experience. That's just 45 websites over 12 years.

Adele Sage, a Forrester customer experience analyst and author of the report, says that websites are falling into the same old usability traps as they did a decade ago. From not making fonts easy to read to task flow problems (e.g., adding extra steps when completing a process), web designers are still getting site design wrong. This aspect of the customer experience may seem insignificant, but web design done right—in other words, designing so customers stay and can complete purchases and other tasks with ease—enhances customer satisfaction and potentially increases purchases and the likelihood to recommend.

Sage highlights three categories of problems that commonly plague website design that when addressed can significantly improve the customer experience. The first is text legibility and clearly detailing privacy statements. She recommends using 10 to 12 point dark sans serif font against a light background.