After talking about why a professional Sunderland website designer matters and how to choose the right one, I want to cover something just as important: the mistakes I see all the time with local business websites. The good news is, every one of these can be fixed.

1) Slow Load Times

It’s simple: if your site is slow, people leave. I’ve tested Sunderland business sites that take over 10 seconds to load on mobile. That’s a disaster. The fix is usually straightforward: compress images, use proper hosting, and make sure caching is set up. A professional designer will handle this as part of the build.

2) Poor Mobile Experience

More than half of Sunderland’s customers will check your site on their phone before deciding whether to call or visit. If the menu is hard to use or the text is too small, they won’t stick around. The solution is responsive design tested on different devices, not just a desktop monitor.

3) Weak SEO

It’s not enough to have a nice-looking site. If it doesn’t include proper headings, meta titles, descriptions, and internal links, Google won’t rank it. I’ve seen businesses pay for sites that had none of this. If you’re not sure about your own site, ask me for a free SEO check.

4) No Clear Calls to Action

Your site should make it easy for people to take the next step. Whether that’s calling you, booking a service, or visiting your shop. Too many local sites bury their contact details or forget to include call-to-action buttons. Fix this by having your phone number and contact button visible on every page.

5) No Maintenance Plan

Websites aren’t set-and-forget. Without updates, they become insecure and break. I’ve seen Sunderland businesses lose their sites because no one maintained them. The fix is either learning the basics yourself or hiring someone like me to keep it secure and updated.

Wrapping Up

Avoiding these mistakes saves you money, brings in more customers, and keeps your business ahead of the competition. If you want me to take a look at your site and give you a quick report, get in touch. And if you missed the earlier parts of this series, check out Why Sunderland Businesses Need a Professional Website Designer and How to Choose the Right Website Design Company in Sunderland.