7 Common Website Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Your website could be costing you customers right now, and you might not even know it.

It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You’ve invested in a site, but the enquiries aren’t coming through. The problem usually isn’t your offer or your business. It’s the small, fixable mistakes hiding in plain sight that send visitors running to competitors.

Let’s cut through the noise. Here are seven common website mistakes UK businesses make, and exactly how to avoid them.

1. Unclear Value Proposition

When someone lands on your homepage, they should know within three seconds what you do, who you help, and why they should care. Too many websites bury this crucial information under vague taglines or industry jargon.

“Welcome to our website” tells visitors absolutely nothing.

“Professional services for modern businesses” is just corporate waffle.

If your headline could apply to any business in any industry, it’s not working hard enough. Your value proposition should be specific, benefit-focused, and immediately clear.

How to fix it:

Lead with clarity. Your headline should answer: “What do you do?” and “How does that help me?”

Instead of generic fluff, try something like:

• “Fast, modern websites for UK tradespeople”
• “Accountancy that saves Derby businesses time and tax”
• “Emergency plumbing in Burton, 24/7 response”

Test this: show your homepage to someone unfamiliar with your business for five seconds. If they can’t explain what you do, rewrite your headline.

Learn more about clear messaging in our Launch Package

2. Poor Mobile Experience

Over 60% of UK web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site isn’t optimised for small screens, you’re turning away more than half your potential customers before they even read a word.

A poor mobile experience isn’t just annoying, it’s a trust killer. Pinching to zoom, tiny buttons, horizontal scrolling, and text that’s impossible to read all scream “this business doesn’t care about my experience.”

How to fix it:

Test your site on your actual phone right now. Can you easily:

• Read all the text without zooming?
• Tap buttons with your thumb without misclicking?
• Navigate the menu without frustration?
• Fill out a contact form without rage-quitting?

If any of these are difficult, you need a mobile-first redesign. Modern frameworks like Astro (which we use at Mapletree Studio) handle responsive design beautifully, ensuring your site works perfectly on every device.

Don’t guess, test. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test or simply hand your phone to a friend and watch them try to use your site. Their confusion is your feedback.

3. Slow Loading Times

Every extra second your website takes to load costs you conversions. Research consistently shows that 53% of mobile visitors abandon sites that take longer than three seconds to load.

Speed isn’t just about impatience, it’s about trust. Slow websites feel outdated, unprofessional, and unreliable. If your site lags, visitors assume your business does too.

How to fix it:

Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights right now. It’ll tell you exactly what’s slowing you down.

Common culprits include:

• Massive, uncompressed images (switch to .avif or .webp format)
• Bloated WordPress plugins or page builders
• Unoptimised JavaScript and render-blocking resources
• Slow hosting or lack of a CDN

At Mapletree Studio, we build static sites using Astro and host them on Cloudflare Pages. The result? Sites that load in under a second, even on slower connections.

Speed matters. If you’re not sure where your site stands, we can audit it for you.

We’ve written more about this here: Why Your Website Feels Slow

4. Too Many CTAs (or None at All)

Every page should guide visitors towards one clear action. But too many websites either overwhelm visitors with competing buttons, or leave them wandering aimlessly with no clear next step.

“Click here!” “Download now!” “Call us!” “Subscribe!” “Get a quote!” “Book a demo!”

When everything’s important, nothing is. Visitors freeze, confused about what to do, and then leave.

On the flip side, sites without any clear CTA are like shops with no doors. Visitors want to engage, but they don’t know how.

How to fix it:

Decide what you want visitors to do on each page. Usually, it’s one of these:

• Contact you for a quote
• Book a consultation
• Call your business
• Sign up for something

Make that action obvious. Use a single, prominent CTA button above the fold, and repeat it at natural points throughout the page.

Your CTA should be benefit-led, not generic:

• “Get Your Free Quote” beats “Submit”
• “Book a Free Consultation” beats “Contact Us”
• “See Our Work” beats “Click Here”

Less choice, more conversions. We cover this in depth in our post on landing pages that actually convert.

5. Hidden Contact Information

Nothing kills trust faster than making it difficult to contact you. If visitors have to hunt for your phone number, email, or address, they won’t. They’ll assume you’re either shady or incompetent, and they’ll leave.

This is especially damaging for local businesses. People want reassurance that you’re real, nearby, and reachable. Burying contact details in a footer or behind a form is a missed opportunity to build confidence.

How to fix it:

Put your contact information where it’s visible:

• Phone number in the header on every page
• Clear “Contact” link in the main navigation
• Address in the footer (especially if you’re a local business)
• Consider a sticky “Call Now” button on mobile

For local trades, mentioning your location builds trust. “Based in Burton-on-Trent” or “Serving Derby and surrounding areas” signals that you’re nearby and available.

Make it ridiculously easy for people to reach you. We always include clear contact details on every site we build. See how we structure one-page websites for maximum clarity.

6. Autoplay Videos and Annoying Popups

Few things irritate visitors more than aggressive interruptions. Autoplay videos with sound, popups that appear instantly, and intrusive chat widgets that block content all create friction and annoyance.

You’ve experienced this yourself. You land on a site, a video blares unexpectedly, a popup demands your email before you’ve read a word, and a chatbot obscures half the screen. Your instinct? Close the tab.

How to fix it:

Respect your visitors. If you use video, make it click-to-play. If you use popups, delay them until visitors have engaged with your content (at least 15-30 seconds), or trigger them on exit intent.

Chat widgets can be useful, but don’t let them dominate the screen. Position them subtly in the corner and avoid aggressive auto-open messages.

The goal is to remove friction, not create it. Every element on your site should help visitors, not annoy them.

At Mapletree Studio, we strip away the noise. Our sites are clean, purposeful, and interruption-free. No gimmicks, just clarity.

7. Ignoring Accessibility Basics

Accessibility isn’t just about legal compliance, it’s about reaching everyone who wants to use your site. And it’s not just screen readers and keyboard navigation. Accessibility includes readable fonts, proper colour contrast, and clear navigation.

Around 20% of the UK population has some form of disability. Ignoring accessibility means excluding a massive chunk of potential customers, and it also harms your SEO. Search engines favour accessible, well-structured sites.

How to fix it:

Start with these basics:

• Use sufficient colour contrast (dark text on light backgrounds, or vice versa)
• Ensure text is readable without zooming (minimum 16px font size)
• Add descriptive alt text to all images
• Make your site fully keyboard navigable (test it by unplugging your mouse)
• Use clear, descriptive link text (avoid “click here”)

Accessibility and simplicity go hand in hand. The cleaner and more logical your site structure, the easier it is for everyone to use.

We’ve covered this in detail here: The Importance of Website Accessibility for Small Businesses.

Your Website Should Work For You, Not Against You

These mistakes are common, but they’re also fixable. The good news? Small changes can have a big impact. A clearer headline, faster load times, or better mobile experience can transform your site from a liability into your best salesperson.

At Mapletree Studio, we build websites that avoid all these pitfalls from day one. Clean, fast, conversion-focused sites that do exactly what they’re supposed to do: attract visitors and turn them into customers.

We don’t overcomplicate things. We don’t add unnecessary features. We focus on what works: clarity, speed, and purpose.

If your current site is making any of these mistakes, we can help. Whether it’s a full redesign or a targeted fix, we’ll make sure your website works for your business, not against it.

Get in touch for a free consultation, and let’s turn your website into something that actually delivers.