The Cost of a Poorly Designed Website: Why Leaky Buckets Don’t Grow Businesses
If you’re wondering whether your current site is “good enough”, here’s the uncomfortable truth: the cost of a poorly designed website is usually much higher than the cost of a new one.
Think of your website like a bucket you’re pouring customers into. You can spend more on ads, social media, networking and SEO – but if the bucket is full of holes, most of those potential customers will simply leak out.
This article walks through the hidden costs of a bad website, using simple examples and real-world numbers, and shows you what to fix first.
What does a “poorly designed” website actually mean?
Let’s clear this up quickly. A poorly designed website isn’t just one that looks a bit dated.
It’s a site that:
- Confuses visitors instead of guiding them
- Loads slowly or breaks on mobile
- Makes it hard to contact you or buy from you
- Doesn’t reflect how professional you are in real life
You can have a gorgeous site that’s badly designed if it doesn’t actually help people do what they came to do.
Good web design isn’t just decoration. It’s more like shop layout, signage and staff training all rolled into one.
1. Lost enquiries and sales: the silent killer
This is the big one – and the easiest to underestimate.
Imagine you run a local service business – say, a plumbing company.
- You get 1,000 website visitors a month
- Your current site converts 1% of visitors into enquiries (10 enquiries)
- A well-designed site could realistically convert 3% (30 enquiries)
If you close 40% of enquiries and your average job is £200:
- Current site: 10 enquiries → 4 jobs → £800/month
- Better site: 30 enquiries → 12 jobs → £2,400/month
That’s £1,600 a month left on the table – over £19,000 a year – just because the website isn’t doing its job.
How bad design causes lost enquiries
Common culprits:
- No clear next step – Visitors land, have a quick look, and think “What now?”
- Confusing navigation – People can’t find prices, services or contact details quickly
- Weak or hidden calls-to-action – No obvious “Call us”, “Book now” or “Get a quote”
- Overwhelming pages – Walls of text, no clear structure, no scannable sections
If people have to think too hard, they don’t. They hit the back button and try your competitor.
2. Wasted marketing spend: paying to send people to a dead end
Spending money on ads or SEO while using a poorly designed website is like paying to send customers to a shop where the door is jammed and the lights are off.
You’re technically getting visitors, but they’re not becoming customers.
A quick example with numbers
Say you spend £500/month on Google Ads and get 500 visitors.
- Poor site: 1% convert → 5 enquiries
- Decent site: 4% convert → 20 enquiries
Your cost per enquiry is:
- Poor site: £500 ÷ 5 = £100 per enquiry
- Better site: £500 ÷ 20 = £25 per enquiry
Same ad spend. Same visitors. Very different result.
When your site is badly designed, every marketing pound is working four times harder than it needs to.
3. Damage to your brand: first impressions stick
People judge your business in seconds.
Your website is often the first interaction someone has with you. If it looks messy, outdated or broken, visitors quietly make assumptions:
- “If they don’t care about their website, will they care about my job?”
- “If it’s this confusing to get a quote, what’s it like to work with them?”
- “Are they even still in business?”
The restaurant menu test
Think about walking past a restaurant and checking the menu in the window.
- If it’s clean, clear and up to date, you think: they’re on top of things.
- If it’s faded, out of date, with prices scribbled over, you wonder: what’s the kitchen like?
Your website is your online menu in the window. A poorly designed one doesn’t just fail to impress – it actively puts people off.
And here’s the thing: most people who are put off won’t tell you. They’ll just never call.
4. Poor user experience: when visitors have to "work" to use your site
User experience (UX) is just a fancy way of saying how easy and pleasant your site is to use.
A poorly designed website often:
- Loads slowly, especially on mobile
- Has tiny text or buttons you can’t tap
- Uses low-contrast colours that are hard to read
- Forces people to pinch and zoom on phones
- Has broken links or forms that don’t send
The supermarket trolley analogy
Using a badly designed website is like trying to do your weekly shop with a trolley that:
- Pulls to the left
- Has a wonky wheel
- Keeps getting stuck on corners
Can you still shop? Yes.
Do you enjoy it? No.
Do you stay longer than you have to or come back next week? Probably not.
Your visitors feel exactly the same when your website makes their life harder than it needs to be.
5. SEO and visibility: bad design hides you from Google
Google’s main job is to send people to websites that give them a good experience.
If your site is poorly designed, it often sends signals Google doesn’t like:
- High bounce rates (people leaving quickly)
- Slow loading times
- Not mobile-friendly
- Confusing structure
Over time, this can mean:
- Lower rankings for your key search terms
- Less organic (free) traffic
- Becoming invisible when local customers search for what you do
You don’t need to be an SEO expert, but you do need a site that’s technically sound and easy to use. That’s a huge part of modern web design best practice.
6. Operational headaches: when your website makes your life harder
The cost of a poorly designed website isn’t just about visitors – it affects your team too.
Common problems:
- You can’t update it easily – So prices, services and photos are always out of date
- No clear way to capture enquiries – Leads get lost in inboxes or DMs
- No integration with your tools – Booking systems, calendars, CRMs all separate
This leads to:
- More time spent on admin and chasing
- Missed messages and lost opportunities
- Frustration every time you need to change something
Your website should feel like an extra pair of hands, not another job on the list.
7. Opportunity cost: what you could be getting instead
This is the bit most businesses overlook.
A good website doesn’t just avoid problems – it actively creates opportunities:
- Collecting email addresses and building a mailing list
- Letting customers book or buy 24/7
- Answering common questions so your team spends less time on the phone
- Showcasing case studies that help you win bigger, better clients
If your current site is just a basic online brochure, you’re likely missing chances every day to:
- Upsell existing customers
- Automate simple tasks
- Reach people beyond your local area
In other words, the cost of a poorly designed website isn’t just what it loses – it’s what it never lets you gain.
8. How to tell if your website is costing you money
Here’s a simple checklist you can run through in 10 minutes.
Ask yourself (and a friend) these questions
Open your site on your phone and pretend you’re a new customer. Then ask:
- Do I instantly understand what this business does and who it’s for? (within 5 seconds)
- Is there a clear, obvious next step? (call, book, get a quote, buy)
- Can I find pricing or at least how pricing works easily?
- Is it easy to contact the business in more than one way? (form, phone, email, maybe WhatsApp)
- Does the site look trustworthy and up to date? (recent photos, current year in the footer, no broken bits)
- Does it load quickly and work properly on my phone?
If you’re hesitating on more than one or two of these, your website is almost certainly costing you enquiries.
9. What “good” looks like: practical web design best practices
You don’t need a huge, complicated site. You do need one that gets the basics right.
Here are some simple web design best practices that make a big difference:
Clear messaging
- A headline that says what you do and where you do it
- A subheading that explains who you help and how
- Plain English – no buzzwords
Strong calls-to-action
- One main action per page (e.g. “Get a free quote”)
- Buttons that stand out and use clear language
- Contact options on every page
Mobile-first design
- Designed to work beautifully on phones first
- Big, tappable buttons
- No pinching and zooming needed
Fast and reliable
- Optimised images (no massive files)
- Reliable hosting
- Regular checks for broken links and forms
Proof and trust
- Testimonials and reviews
- Logos of clients or partners
- Clear contact details and (if relevant) a physical address
These are the sort of foundations we build into every Los Webos site because they directly affect leads and sales.
10. When to fix vs when to rebuild
Not every poorly designed website needs to be thrown away.
You might just need improvements if:
- The site is relatively modern and mobile-friendly
- The branding still reflects your business
- Most of the issues are around clarity, layout or calls-to-action
You probably need a rebuild if:
- The site isn’t mobile-friendly at all
- It takes ages to load or breaks regularly
- You can’t edit it without a developer
- The design looks like it’s from another decade
Think of it like a shop fit-out:
- A lick of paint and better signage can go a long way
- But if the building is crumbling and the wiring’s dodgy, it’s time for a proper refurb
Ready to plug the leaks in your website bucket?
If any of this has made you wonder how much your current site is really costing you, that’s a useful nudge – not a reason to panic.
At Los Webos, we specialise in websites for UK SMEs that actually earn their keep:
- Clean, modern designs focused on results
- Fast, mobile-first builds that Google (and your customers) love
- Clear calls-to-action and simple user journeys
If you’d like an honest, jargon-free view of how your site is performing – and what it would take to fix it – get in touch with Los Webos for a friendly website review. No pressure, no tech waffle, just practical ideas to turn your website from a leaky bucket into a reliable 24/7 salesperson.
Looking for more ways to improve your online presence? Ask us about content strategy, local SEO and how to structure your service pages for better rankings and conversions.