5 Common Mistakes Clients Make When Editing Their Own Website
Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. While the ability to edit your own website offers flexibility and cost savings, it can also lead to unintended issues. Many clients, eager to update their content, unknowingly make mistakes that can impact functionality, user experience, and even search engine rankings.
Here are five of the most common mistakes clients make when editing their own websites—and how to avoid them.
1. Breaking the Design and Layout
One of the biggest mistakes clients make is unintentionally disrupting the design and layout of their website. Many modern websites use templates or content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace. When clients add new content, change fonts, or adjust spacing without considering the existing design framework, it can lead to an unprofessional and cluttered look.
My client came to me as her website was unrecognisable and she urgently needed to fix it and bring it back to the design I had made for her. She had changed her theme and in turn the whole site adjusted in this case poorly to the new setting leaving her with a mess of a site. She was very relieved that it was simple to restore and business could continue unaffected.
How to Avoid It:
- Stick to the existing design guidelines, including font styles, colours, and spacing.
- Use the website’s preview feature before publishing changes.
- If unsure, consult a web designer to ensure your edits maintain a professional look.

2. Uploading Large, Unoptimized Images
A common error is uploading high-resolution images without resizing or compressing them. Large images slow down page loading speed, which negatively affects user experience and search engine rankings.
The right image size if important too small a file size and even professional look unclear and if too large your website will be sluggish and slow. Ask you website designer if in doubt and chances are your website might already have a plugin to support your needs.
How to Avoid It:
- Use tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to compress images before uploading.
- Resize images to the required dimensions before adding them to your site.
- Use web-friendly formats like JPEG for photos and PNG for transparent graphics.

3. Accidentally Deleting Important Elements
In an attempt to clean up or reorganize their site, clients sometimes delete essential sections, buttons, or forms without realizing their importance. This can lead to broken links, missing information, or even lost sales opportunities.
A client rang me in a panic he had deleted his class booking options and urgently needed this to receive bookings. I had a set of notes from setting up his booking system which allowed me to recreate his booking sequence and automatic emails. I managed to get him up and running within a few hours and his classes were available to be booked.
How to Avoid It:
- Always create a backup before making major edits.
- If using a CMS, check if it has a revision history feature to undo accidental deletions.
- Seek professional help if you’re unsure about removing a section.

4. Neglecting SEO Best Practices
Clients often change text or headings without considering SEO implications. Altering keywords, removing meta descriptions, or using incorrect header tags can reduce the site’s visibility in search engine results.
How to Avoid It:
- Maintain proper heading structure (H1 for main titles, H2-H3 for subheadings).
- Avoid removing or drastically changing text that contains important keywords.
- Use SEO plugins (if on WordPress) to guide you through best practices.

5. Not Testing Changes on Different Devices
Many clients make updates without checking how they appear on mobile devices. Since over half of web traffic comes from mobile users, failing to test responsiveness can lead to a frustrating experience for visitors.
A client recently let her husband loose on her website and he didn’t know the page builder and accidently made a mistake with the home main image, unfortunately only PC users got to see the new hero image and information and mobile the old image. On this occasion asking your web designer for a few pointers would have avoided this after all there are often easy tutorials if you know where to look and you probably aren’t the first to ask this question. Balance on balance even if you pay for an hour of your website designers time it often saves you countless more hours fumbling around for the solution yourself after all you don’t have the same skillset.

Know someone who would also get great value from this post? Simply share