After building and fixing websites for years, one thing has become painfully clear.
Most of the problems I solve today are not “new”. They’re the same old mistakes repeating across different clients, different industries, and different budgets.
These patterns show up whether the project is for a startup, a local business, a freelancer, or a growing team. And honestly, some of them are so preventable that I figured it’s worth sharing here on Dev.to.
Think of this post as a behind-the-scenes look at what developers quietly fix every day.
1. The “Plugin for Everything” Approach
This is the classic.
Client: “Can you add a slider, popup, chat, analytics, sticky header, fancy menu?”
Developer: “Sure.”
Result: 42 plugins and a page load time slower than a government website from 2003.
Most issues I fix:
- Duplicate functionality
- Conflicting scripts
- Bloated page builders
- Nulled plugins injected with malware
Keeping a site lean is underrated.
2. Choosing the Cheapest Hosting
Cheap hosting feels like saving.
But slow hosting becomes expensive later.
A site on a weak shared server:
Takes forever to load
Crashes on traffic
Has unstable PHP versions
Fails on simple updates
The irony is that moving to better hosting often costs less than repairing the damage done by the cheap one.
3. No Image Optimization at All
I’ve had clients upload DSLR-sized 8MB photos directly to the site.
Multiple times.
Symptoms:
- CLS issues
- Slow rendering
- Poor mobile experience
- Terrible Core Web Vitals
Image compression alone can cut load time by 40 percent.
4. Building Without a Content Plan
Many projects start like this:
Client:
“Build the site. I will send content later.”
Developer:
“Sure.”
Three weeks later, the site has dummy text, awkward spacing, and last-minute changes.
Sites break not because code is wrong, but because the content was never planned.
Good content architecture = cleaner dev work.
5. Ignoring Mobile Completely
Still shocking but true.
I often fix sites where:
- Buttons overlap
- Menus don’t open
- Images overflow
- Text is unreadable
Hero sections break on small devices
Since 70 percent of traffic is mobile, this should be the first thing designed, not the last.
6. DIY SEO Misconceptions
A few things I repeatedly see:
- 7 H1 tags on one page
- Missing meta descriptions
- Zero schema
- No alt attributes
- Wrong canonical URLs
- 404 pages everywhere
SEO isn’t magic.
It’s structure.
Ignoring the basics hurts visibility.
7. The “Set It and Forget It” Mindset
Websites need maintenance.
But many businesses treat them like one-time purchases.
Then they deal with:
- Broken forms
- Outdated plugins
- Security issues
- Hosting suspensions
- Random downtime
A small monthly check-up could prevent almost all of these.
8. No Backup Strategy
At least 20 times, a client has said:
“Everything is gone after an update… do you have a backup?”
Me: “Do you?”
Them: “…”
One good backup policy can save a project.
And sometimes, a business.
9. Zero Understanding of Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals matter more than most clients understand.
Some pages drop rankings simply because:
- LCP is 4 seconds
- FID is too slow
- CLS jumps on mobile
- JS bundles are massive
Optimizing these factors creates instant improvements.
10. Expecting Custom Results from Template Budgets
This one is universal.
Clients want:
Custom UI
Custom animations
Custom backend
Custom dashboards
…but with a themeforest budget.
Templates are fine.
Just don’t expect them to behave like a full custom build.
What Developers Can Learn From These Patterns
If you’re a dev working with clients, here’s what I’ve learned over the years:
- Set expectations early
- Document everything
- Build processes
- Educate clients gently
- Keep your stack lean
- Always maintain control of hosting and security
Clients don’t intentionally break their sites.
They just don’t know what we know.
That’s where our value comes from.
If you work with small businesses or local clients, and you deal with these issues often, I run a web development service in Chennai where I handle these exact kinds of problems for real clients. If you ever want to see how I structure projects on the business side, here’s the link:
https://sanishtech.com/website-development-company-in-chennai/
No pitch. No push. Just sharing in case it’s useful or you’re curious how I approach client projects outside the dev side.
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