Top 5 Mistakes Small Businesses Make With Their First Website

Avoid These Common Pitfalls and Start Strong Online

🚀 Your Website Is Your Digital Shopfront — But Is It Working For You?

Launching your first website is exciting.

It’s a major step for any small business — your digital home, your brand’s first impression, your 24/7 salesperson.

But all too often, small business owners unknowingly make decisions that limit their site’s effectiveness, growth potential, or even credibility.

At Bitstream Media, we’ve helped dozens of businesses fix (or rebuild) their websites after these exact issues.

Let’s walk through the top 5 mistakes we see — and how you can avoid them to build a better, smarter first website from the start.

❌ Mistake 1: Choosing the Wrong Platform

Many businesses start with “whatever’s cheapest and easiest.”

That usually means:

• A proprietary site builder (Wix, CrazyDomains, GoDaddy, Squarespace)

• A package bundled with their domain registrar

• A DIY platform with no future upgrade path

⚠️ The problem?

You end up locked in:

• You can’t easily export your site

• SEO tools are limited

• You pay more for add-ons

• You can’t scale your functionality

✅ Better approach:

• Choose WordPress (or another open-source platform) that you fully own

• Ensure it can grow with you (eCommerce, blog, integrations)

• Work with a platform that prioritises speed, SEO, and flexibility

Need help deciding?
Read: Landing Pages vs Full Websites: Which Do You Need?

Read: The Hidden Costs of Using Cheap Website Builders

❌ Mistake 2: Designing for Yourself, Not Your Customers

You might love neon green.

You might like fancy fonts.

You might want all your services jammed into one long paragraph.

But your website isn’t for you — it’s for your visitors.

⚠️ What happens when you design emotionally:

• The site feels confusing

• Visitors can’t find what they need

• Trust is eroded instantly

✅ Better approach:

• Focus on clarity and conversion, not just aesthetics

• Use intuitive navigation

• Guide visitors to take the next step (book, buy, enquire)

Pro Tip:
Simple doesn’t mean boring.
Clean design = trusted brand.

❌ Mistake 3: Ignoring Mobile and Speed Performance

Most small business owners build their first website on a desktop — then never check how it behaves on mobile.

⚠️ The result:

• Buttons too small to tap

• Text that’s hard to read

• Pages that load slowly (especially on 4G or regional internet)

• Google rankings that tank

✅ Better approach:

• Use a mobile-first design (start designing from a phone perspective)

• Optimise images (use WebP, compress files)

• Choose fast hosting and a performance-focused theme

• Install a caching plugin (LiteSpeed Cache, WP Rocket)

Need to test?
Use: Google PageSpeed Insights

Read: What Really Impacts Website Speed (and What Doesn’t)

❌ Mistake 4: Treating SEO as an Afterthought

Many small businesses:

• Skip keyword research

• Don’t write helpful content

• Use headings incorrectly (or not at all)

• Forget about meta titles and descriptions

Then months later…

“Why isn’t my site ranking?”

✅ Better approach:

• Use an SEO plugin (Rank Math, Yoast)

• Identify target keywords for each page

• Use proper headings (H1, H2, H3)

• Write 300+ words per page of clear, relevant content

• Add alt text to every image

Pro Tip:
SEO is a long game.
Start early, and your website works harder for you over time.

Want help?
Read: Top 10 SEO Mistakes Small Businesses Make

❌ Mistake 5: Thinking a Website is “One and Done”

This is the big one.

So many small businesses launch their website, then walk away:

• No blog updates

• No content refresh

• No security patches

• No review of what’s working

⚠️ The result:

• Outdated info turns away customers

• Rankings drop

• Forms break without notice

• Leads dry up

✅ Better approach:

• Treat your website like an ongoing business tool, not a brochure

• Update content regularly (blog, services, testimonials)

• Perform security and plugin updates monthly

• Review analytics quarterly

• Redesign or refresh every 2–3 years

Reminder:
Your website isn’t a project — it’s a platform.

Read: Why Your Website Isn’t a One-Time Project

🛠️ Bonus Mistakes (That Also Deserve Attention)

🙈 No Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

What do you want visitors to do?

• Book a call?

• Request a quote?

• Buy a product?

If your site doesn’t make that obvious on every page… you’re leaving money on the table.

🔒 No SSL Certificate (Or Broken HTTPS)

This is a trust killer.

If visitors see “Not Secure” in their browser, they’ll leave.

SSL is free with most hosting providers now — no excuse.

📄 Missing Legal Pages

Even basic websites need:

• Privacy Policy (especially with forms or analytics)

• Terms of Use (especially for stores or online bookings)

Free tools like Termly or PrivacyPolicies.com can help — or talk to a legal advisor.

🔍 How to Know If You’ve Made These Mistakes

✅ Use this quick checklist:

🧠 Real-World Example: From DIY Disaster to Digital Asset

We worked with a local service provider who:

• Built their own site on a drag-and-drop platform

• Had one single long page with no headings

• No contact form

• No mobile optimisation

The result:

• They ranked nowhere in Google

• Mobile users bounced quickly

• They had 0 leads from the site after 9 months

After a rebuild:

• PageSpeed jumped from 28 → 91

• Bounce rate dropped by 35%

• Enquiries came in within 2 weeks of launch

✅ Lesson: It’s never too late to fix your foundation.

🚀 TL;DR: 5 Website Mistakes to Avoid

✋ Want to Build It Right the First Time?

At Bitstream Media, we help small businesses:

• Choose the right platform

• Build strategic, fast-loading, mobile-first websites

• Avoid costly rebuilds later

📞 Book a free first-website strategy session

💬 Ask us a quick question

🌐 Visit bitstreammedia.com.au

Let’s make your first website your strongest marketing tool.