I do think there is something like the uncanny valley effect. The distinction is likely "no design"/minimalism vs "bad design". Some pages show very clearly th

I do think there is something like the uncanny valley effect. The distinction is likely "no design"/minimalism vs "bad design". Some pages show very clearly that the focus was not on designing a good looking appealing page, either minimal on purpose, or just a bit dated (like hackernews, or old reddit). Not bad, it's familiar, functional, fine. Other pages are designed to do other things; for example evoke desire, excitement and/or delight (like Apple, Stripe). Then there are pages that want to be Apple, but don't quite succeed. A lot of websites that use Bootstrap or material design are like that. It's superficial design, they have some of the styles, but it's very clear there is a lack of design, lack of storytelling, lack of substance. It's a bit cringy to look at, it evokes negative feelings. That doesn't mean all is lost, even experienced designers often go through that phase in the design process, they just are unlikely to release it haha. Keep asking yourself questions; What do I want it to do? Why isn't it doing it right now? Why does it look off? Look at examples that do achieve what you want, what exactly is it that is different? Etc etc. And then iterate, iterate, iterate. Design often looks simple/obvious, but it takes a lot of practice, perseverance and struggle to get good at it.