Top 5 major mistakes organisations make with websites

New clients who come to us are often in the following positions: brand-new organisations needing a digital presence, businesses looking for a refresh, or those expanding their services.

For clients who want us to take on an existing website, we often run a scoping exercise to assess whether they need a refresh or a full redesign. While it might seem like we’d push for the latter, we genuinely evaluate what’s in place, lay out the pros and cons, and let the client decide. That said, sometimes it’s immediately clear that a refresh isn’t an option.

Often, it’s because of these five major mistakes:

1. It’s a pre-built, off-the-shelf theme

WordPress is brilliant, we love it. It’s user-friendly, flexible, and can be budget-friendly. But many off-the-shelf themes are built with bloated code and drag-and-drop page builders that cater to everyone… and serve no one particularly well.

You end up constrained by how the theme wants you to do things, rather than what your site actually needs. These themes can be difficult to customise, introduce performance issues, and make maintenance unnecessarily complicated. Furthermore, they can use plugins that aren’t regularly updated, leaving you open to vulnerabilities.

2. Inaccessible design and functionality

It still baffles us that so many websites are built in ways that block people from using them. The Government Digital Service says “having accessible websites and mobile applications (apps) is vital for 16.1 million disabled people in the UK.” Inaccessible design means they may be excluded from using websites: a report published in 2019 stated that 69% (4.3 million) of disabled internet users were found to have clicked away from websites with accessibility barriers.

Whether it’s low contrast colours, missing alt text, inaccessible forms, or navigation that doesn’t work with a keyboard or screen reader, the result is the same: people are shut out.

It’s like only having stairs at the entrance to your shop, meaning wheelchair users can’t come in. On top of that, many companies then spend money on SEO or PPC to send people to a site they physically or cognitively can’t use. It’s wasted budget and poor ethics.

3. Speed isn’t prioritised

Website speed is not just a “nice to have”. It directly affects user experience, bounce rates, SEO, and conversions. Yet too many websites are weighed down with unoptimised images, bloated JavaScript, unused plugins, and missing caching.

Users won’t wait around. If your page takes more than a few seconds to load, you’ve likely already lost them. Google won’t be kind either. Optimising speed is one of the easiest wins with tangible returns, and yet it’s often overlooked, with priority given to the aesthetics or heavy media files. As an aside, a slow-loading site is probably a carbon-heavy site – if you’re trying to be a more environmentally-friendly company, your slow site is letting you down.

4. Style over substance

We all love a good-looking site, but clever design should never come at the cost of usability or clarity.

Too often we see flashy animations, cryptic icons, and unconventional layouts that look “cool” but leave users confused. If users can’t quickly find what they need or understand what the business does, the design has failed, no matter how slick it looks.

Function should come first. Great design should elevate content and guide the user, not distract them.

5. Not mobile-first

It’s 2025, yet we’re still seeing websites primarily designed for desktop, with mobile tacked on as an afterthought. This results in clunky layouts, functionality that doesn’t work on mobile, tap targets that are too small, and confusing navigation on smaller screens.

Mobile traffic often accounts for 60-80% of visits, depending on the site. If your site doesn’t prioritise that experience, you’re giving most users a poor first impression. Mobile-first design isn’t just about making things smaller or narrower, it’s about simplifying journeys, speeding things up, and designing for touch from the start.

In summary

If your website isn’t performing as it should, whether that’s driving enquiries, engaging your audience, or supporting your services, these five issues are often to blame.

We’ve worked with a huge range of sectors including charities, education, local government, and healthcare, and we consistently see the same mistakes holding organisations back regardless of their industry or even organisation size.
This guide is designed to help you quickly assess whether your site is working for you, or against you. If you’re not sure, ask us for a free website audit. We can quickly tell you the top issues holding your website back.