The 5 website mistakes you [might] make that will sabotage your business

Published : 2025

I was at a lunch recently, and was asked, in my expert opinion, what I thought the most common website mistakes or issue small businesses encounter when making a website, or paying someone to make a website.

My answer was the trigger for putting down on “paper” this list, stemming from my many years of experience in helping people to articulate what they want from technology. As a technical analyst, business analyst, business process architect, de facto marketing person in a startup, and now, bespoke website agency owner, and technology strategist.

It’s a big step, getting your business online, and it’s completely normal to feel a bit overwhelmed by the tech side of things. It’s also completely normal to miss the mark in your communication with your developer, or web designer, or agency that you’ve engaged. So, if you’re thinking about a new website, or wondering why your current one isn’t quite hitting the right targets, let’s talk about the top 5 mistakes I frequently see, and more importantly, how you can steer clear of them.

1. Overestimating what you actually need

Or as I sometimes call it, the “Kitchen Sink Approach”. This is a classic! I see so many passionate business owners, brimming with fantastic ideas, and their own pet-peeves about websites they use regularly. They think they need a huge, complex website with every conceivable feature, “to make it easy” for people. They’re picturing the enterprise-level services, all automated for them, working 24/7 to bring them clients, and leads; when what they really need right now is a simple, beautiful, fit for purpose, sturdy, efficient foundation of a website, with a modest reasonable investment in some initial SEO and good, searchable, indexed content.

The truth is, for most small businesses, starting lean is more effective, both in terms of cost, and impact. A well-designed, functional website that deftly presents your core services and handles customer interactions smoothly is far more powerful than an overly complex one that drains your resources and takes ages to launch. My advice? Prioritise. Build one thing for your first, immediate business goal, factor in clear articulation of the services, invest in an SEO strategy with someone who understands both your industry and the basics of optimisation for search.

You can always expand and add to the website later, as long as you caveat on number two below. Don’t let the allure of every bell and whistle, and new whizz bang trend, lead to unnecessary overcapitalisation.

2. Expecting your designer, developer and/or agency to read your mind.

“I want it to be modern and fresh, but also classic.”

“Just make it… look good.”

“everything you need is on our facebook page.”

Developer Confused By Vague Requirements - The 5 Website Mistakes You [Might] Make That Will Sabotage Your Business

Sound familiar? Believe me, I’ve heard variations of these vague, descriptions many, many times! While I truly appreciate the succinct and concise, a five-word description of something, or access to a vast trove of random posts and images in a facebook group simply isn’t enough for your website designer to truly grasp your vision, or understand your business.
And it’s nowhere near enough for your developer and designer to create and architect something unique to you.

And yes, thinking of your developer and designer as a team of architects for your online space is the right angle to take. They will need several pieces of information to start creating your blueprints. The more detailed you can be about your brand’s personality, your target audience, and your specific goals for the website (now and in the future), the better we can translate your unique vision and voice into a digital reality. And, the winning combo in all of this, is if you can show us the websites you like, and dislike, and tell us why you feel that way about them.

You would not believe the power in expressing how you want a design to “feel” when you look at it, or interact with it.

Effective communication is so much more than saying something, and expecting everyone to have the same understanding of that phrasing. You cannot assume that the designer and developer know your industry acronyms, or the way your market or clients expect things to work.

Clearly articulated expectations, that do not rest on any assumptions, are the foundation of a successful, collaborative design process that truly delivers the results you’re looking for.

3. Customer Journey, UX, and UI are not different flavours of the same thing.

This one causes a surprising amount of confusion, and while I do find that a lot of marekting experts will intuitively know and understand that the customer journey is one thing, they themselves often confuse UI and UX. Knowing that these are, is fundamental to understanding how your website actually works for your customers. Let’s break down these crucial terms, because they’re definitely not interchangeable:

Customer Journey: Imagine your lead, or potential client’s entire path from first hearing about you, to becoming a loyal customer, and perhaps even recommending you. Your website is a hugely important stop on that journey, but it’s not the whole trip. A Customer Journey is the articulation their entire interaction with your business, and how each of the stops along the way align with them, your values. and your lead funnel, or marketing plan.
User Experience (UX): This is all about how a person feels when they’re using your website. It’s about how easy it is to get what they want. Is it intuitive? Are there too many clicks to get something that should be simple to find? Is the process smooth and enjoyable? A good UX means your visitors feel confident and satisfied, leading to more conversions and repeat visits. UX is also about considering that in some things, going with an industry norm is actually the right thing to do. For example – the Contact Page, should be called Contact. And most websites put it to the far right of the top, or somewhere in the footer, or even both places. Why? Because that’s where people expect it to be, and being too quirky can lead to frustration. Don’t call it “The Bat Signal” , or “Summon the Darkeness” even if your business is a Comic Book store, when someone want a phone number they’re not going to be happy clicking around to find the page that has it, because they assumed The Bat Signal was some sort of group for clients.
User Interface (UI): This is what you actually see and to a degree the functionality of the things that you interact with on the website – the buttons, the menus, the colours, the fonts, the images, and the overall layout. UI is the visual and functional layer that contributes to the UX, but it’s important to remember that a just being beautiful doesn’t automatically guarantee a great user experience on any website. Buttons that don’t work, menus that lead to dead pages, redirect loops that crash the site – all of these functional things are as important as being aesthetically pleasing.

Understanding these distinctions helps us build a website that not only looks great but also works incredibly hard for your business by guiding your customers effortlessly, and enjoyably down the journey to engaging your service, or buying your product.

If you’re interested in UX and exploring more about the art and science of the Customer Journey – there are some useful links at the end of this article.

4. No, another plugin is not going to solve your business process problem.

Oh, the allure of the plugin! Especially on platforms like WordPress, Drupal, or Shopify where there’s a plugin for almost everything, and they are incredibly powerful tools. They can certainly extend functionality beautifully. Having said that, it’s a significant blind spot to believe that every problem or desired feature can, or should, be solved by simply adding another plugin.

The truth is, accumulating too many plugins can actually slow down your website, possibly introduce security vulnerabilities, and every additional plugin increases the risk of conflicts that break other parts of your site. So, before you dive into the plugin directory, I always encourage clients to ask: Is this absolutely essential? Are we solving or hiding the problem ?

And if it is, essential to solve a problem then we explore if this can this be achieved through simpler design, existing features, or perhaps a small, targeted customisation. Sometimes, the most elegant and efficient solution isn’t another add-on, but a thoughtful design choice or a more streamlined approach.

5. Don’t believe the “Done in a Week!” fantasy for a brand new website

If you ever encounter a developer who promises a fully functional, completely unique front-end design, along with an entirely bespoke backend, all delivered within a week… please, walk away. Seriously.

Villainous Riddler Inspired Web Dev Bursting Through A Yellow Paper Wall, Making Website Mistakes — Image Generated on ChatGPT-4o-min with the following prompt: Generate an image for me – with a cartoon villain, inspired by the riddler , bursting through a bright yellow paper wall with a happy, manic smile on their face and pointing to the right of the image at a black computer monitor screen

Building a truly effective, custom-designed website; one that genuinely reflects your unique brand, speaks to your ideal customers, and functions flawlessly, it takes time.

There are crucial phases involved: in-depth discovery and research, meticulous design and likely a couple of iterations of this, robust development, thorough testing, and often several rounds of refinement and tweaking.

While quick templates do exist, and they absolutely have a place in the web development community and ecosystem – if you want a bespoke solution that delivers real, lasting value, then you have to invest in a considered, intentional, thoughtful process.

Don’t fall for, or demand unrealistic timelines; instead, choose a technology partner who understands their craft and delivers quality that will truly support your business for years to come.

So, there you have it, five key areas where a little foresight can save you headaches and expense!

And remember, these missteps are totally normal; every business owner who’s worked with a developer or agency has tripped up on one or two at some point. Catching them early, and avoiding them means you can setup your business for success from day one.

Ready to tackle these or any other website pitfalls together? If you’d like a hand defining your requirements or need support with any of the above, please feel free to get in touch with us.

I’d love to help you bring your online presence to life!