The cost of a poorly designed website: like leaks in your business roof
If the cost of a poorly designed website feels a bit vague, think of it like a leaky roof.
From the street, your premises might look fine. But inside, water is dripping into the stock room, warping the floorboards and quietly racking up repair bills. You don’t see the damage every day – until suddenly, you do.
Your website works the same way.
You might not get angry emails about it. It might technically “work”. But if the design is poor, it’s quietly draining money from your business every single day.
In this article, we’ll unpack the real cost of a poorly designed website, how to spot the leaks, and what to do to fix them.
What do we mean by a "poorly designed" website?
Let’s clear something up: poor design isn’t just about ugly colours or old‑fashioned fonts.
A poorly designed website is any site that makes it harder for visitors to become customers.
Common signs include:
- It’s hard to find key information (prices, services, opening hours)
- The site is slow to load
- It looks broken or cramped on mobile
- The contact or booking process is confusing
- The content is full of waffle but light on answers
- Buttons and links are unclear or buried
It might look “OK” at a glance, but if it isn’t helping people take the next step, it’s costing you.
1. Lost enquiries and sales (the obvious cost)
This is the big one.
Imagine 100 people walk into your physical shop. If 20 of them normally buy, you’re happy.
Now imagine your shelves are a mess, the till is hidden at the back, and the lights flicker. People still come in, but only 5 buy. You’d notice that drop very quickly.
Online, that same thing happens silently.
- Visitors arrive from Google or social media
- They can’t quickly see what you do, what it costs, or how to contact you
- They hit the back button and try a competitor instead
Even a small drop in conversion adds up:
- 1,000 visitors per month
- 3% become leads/customers = 30 enquiries
- A poor design knocks that to 1% = 10 enquiries
If each customer is worth £300, that’s £6,000 per month you’re not making.
Over a year, that’s £72,000 in lost potential revenue – all because your website quietly got in the way.
2. Wasted marketing spend (pouring water into a cracked bucket)
Many SMEs invest in:
- Google Ads
- Facebook/Instagram ads
- Leaflets and flyers
- Local sponsorships
- SEO and content
All of that is designed to send people to one place: your website.
If your site is poorly designed, you’re effectively pouring water into a cracked bucket.
You’re paying for clicks, but your site isn’t doing its job when people arrive.
A simple example
- You spend £500 per month on Google Ads
- That brings 400 visitors
- A strong, well‑designed site converts 5% = 20 enquiries
- A poor site converts 1% = 4 enquiries
Your cost per enquiry just went from £25 to £125.
The marketing agency looks expensive. The ads look ineffective. But often, the website is the weak link, not the marketing.
3. Damage to trust and reputation (first impressions count)
Your website is often the first impression people get of your business.
If your site looks dated, cluttered or broken, visitors don’t think:
“This business probably has a great service but a slightly neglected digital presence.”
They think:
“If they cut corners on their own website, will they cut corners with me?”
It’s harsh, but it’s human.
A poorly designed website can create doubts like:
- Are they still trading?
- Are they professional?
- Will they look after my data?
- Can I trust them with a big purchase?
For industries that rely heavily on trust – trades, legal, finance, medical, childcare – that first impression is crucial.
You might be brilliant at what you do. But if your site doesn’t reflect that, some people will never give you the chance to prove it.
4. Higher support and admin costs (answering the same questions)
A well‑designed website answers common questions clearly:
- What do you do?
- Who is it for?
- How much does it cost?
- How do I book/contact you?
- What happens next?
A poorly designed website leaves all of that fuzzy.
The result?
- More phone calls asking the same basic questions
- More emails to reply to
- More back‑and‑forth before someone books
That’s time you (or your team) are paying for.
If your staff spend an extra 30 minutes a day answering avoidable questions, that’s over 10 hours a month. Multiply that by an hourly rate, and you’re looking at hundreds of pounds a month in hidden admin costs – all because the website didn’t do its job.
5. Lost staff productivity (when your team avoids the website)
Here’s a subtle one most business owners don’t think about.
If your website is clunky, confusing, or embarrassing to use, your own team will avoid it.
You’ll hear things like:
- “Don’t look at the website, I’ll just email you the info.”
- “I don’t bother with the blog, it’s too much hassle to update.”
- “Let’s not send people there, the prices are out of date.”
That means:
- Sales staff can’t confidently direct prospects to helpful pages
- Marketing is harder because nothing is centralised
- Offers and updates get stuck in email chains instead of on the site
Your website should be a tool your team love using, not something they work around.
When it’s designed well, it becomes:
- A single source of truth for information
- A library of answers they can send in one click
- A place they’re proud to show off on calls and in pitches
6. Missed opportunities on mobile (pocket‑sized disasters)
More than half of web traffic now happens on mobile.
If your site isn’t designed with mobile in mind, you’re effectively locking the doors for half your visitors.
Signs your mobile experience is costing you:
- Text is tiny and hard to read
- You have to pinch and zoom to click anything
- Buttons are too small for thumbs
- Pop‑ups cover the whole screen and are hard to close
- Forms are fiddly with too many required fields
Imagine trying to book a table or request a quote while juggling a coffee and your commute. If your site isn’t effortless on a phone, people simply won’t bother.
7. SEO and visibility problems (hiding your shop down a back alley)
Search engines like Google care a lot about:
- How easy your site is to use
- How fast it loads
- Whether it works well on mobile
A poorly designed site usually struggles in all three.
That means:
- You slide down the search results
- Competitors with better sites move above you
- You have to spend more on ads to get the same visibility
It’s like moving your physical shop from the high street to a side alley, then wondering where the footfall went.
8. The emotional cost: stress, embarrassment and hesitation
Let’s be honest: there’s also an emotional side to all this.
Many business owners quietly feel:
- Embarrassed to send people to their website
- Nervous about being judged on it
- Stressed every time they need to update something
You might find yourself saying things like:
- “Our website’s a bit out of date, but…”
- “Ignore the design, the info is there somewhere.”
That hesitation can hold back:
- Partnerships (you don’t want bigger brands seeing your site)
- PR and press (you don’t want journalists linking to it)
- New marketing campaigns (you don’t want to drive traffic to it)
A good website doesn’t just make money; it also gives you confidence to promote your business boldly.
How to spot if your website is quietly costing you
You don’t need to be technical. Here are some simple checks you can do this week.
1. The 5‑second test
Show your homepage to someone who doesn’t know your business (friend, family member) and ask them to look for 5 seconds.
Then ask:
- What do we do?
- Who do we do it for?
- What should you do next on this page?
If they can’t answer clearly, your design is getting in the way.
2. The mobile test
Grab your phone and try to:
- Find your prices or main services
- Fill in your contact form
- Call you from the site
If you get frustrated, so do your customers.
3. The honesty test
Ask yourself:
- Am I proud to send new contacts to my website?
- Does it genuinely reflect the quality of what we offer?
- If a competitor had this exact site, would I be worried?
If the answer is no, your website is probably underperforming.
When to fix it – and what to prioritise
You don’t always need a complete tear‑down and rebuild. Sometimes, fixing a few key leaks makes a big difference.
Quick wins to reduce the "leaks"
- Clarify your message on the homepage: what you do, who for, and what to do next
- Simplify your navigation so visitors can find key pages in one or two clicks
- Improve your contact/booking process – fewer fields, clearer steps, big buttons
- Check mobile layouts and fix anything that looks cramped or broken
- Add clear calls‑to‑action on every page (call, book, enquire, get a quote)
When it’s time for a full redesign
It’s usually worth investing in a new website when:
- The design is more than 4–5 years old and looks dated
- It’s difficult or expensive to update content
- Your business has changed (new services, pricing, locations)
- You’re investing in marketing but not seeing results
Think of it like replacing that leaky roof properly instead of constantly moving buckets around.
Turning your website into a reliable business asset
A well‑designed website should:
- Bring you consistent, qualified enquiries
- Support your marketing instead of wasting it
- Build trust before you even speak to someone
- Save your team time by answering common questions
- Make you proud to show it off
At Los Webos, we build websites for UK SMEs that do exactly that – fast, beautiful, SEO‑friendly sites designed to convert visitors into customers.
If you suspect your current site is quietly leaking money, we can help you:
- Review what’s working (and what isn’t)
- Prioritise the fixes that will make the biggest impact
- Plan a sensible, step‑by‑step redesign that fits your budget
Ready to find out what your website is really costing you?
If you’d like an honest, jargon‑free look at your existing site, get in touch with Los Webos.
We’ll walk you through what’s holding it back, where you’re losing visitors, and how a better design could turn your website from a leaky roof into one of your most reliable business assets.
No pressure, no hard sell – just clear advice and practical next steps.
Contact Los Webos for a website review and stop your site quietly draining your profits.