Why So Many Businesses Are Getting Burned by Web Designers — And What We Can Do About It

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had several heartbreaking conversations with business owners who shared stories of how they were misled, ghosted, or outright scammed by their previous website developers.

These aren’t isolated incidents. This is becoming an unfortunate pattern in the industry.

Here are just a few of the stories we heard:

• A client paid 50% upfront to a company recommended by their business mentor. The company disappeared after putting up a domain using someone else’s images. Worse, they harassed the client when asked to correct it.
• Another client had already worked with three different development companies—each time receiving unfinished, subpar, or incorrect websites—before finally finding us.
• One business had their site go live, only to realize it looked nothing like what they had envisioned or agreed upon.
• And one client told us they paid for a website in November of last year. Today, it’s still not live.

As a digital agency with over 90+ combined 5-star reviews across Google and Facebook, these stories don’t just frustrate us—they genuinely break our hearts.

The Damage Goes Beyond One Project

When a client is burned like this, the damage doesn’t stop at the money lost or the incomplete website. They lose trust—in the process, in agencies, and in professionals who actually care and work with integrity.

We’ve been in this industry for years. Our team includes people with backgrounds in computer engineering, web development, software testing, project management, SEO, and Google Ads. We’ve seen firsthand what it takes to build not just a great website or app—but a long-term, results-driven online presence.

So it deeply troubles us when we see a growing trend of people starting “agencies” after watching a few YouTube tutorials, offering web design or SEO services, and taking on projects they’re not qualified or ready to deliver. Learning is great—everyone starts somewhere. But charging clients and failing to deliver? That’s unethical. And it’s damaging all of us.

A Message to New Agencies and Freelancers

We understand the grind. We’ve been there. But here’s the truth:
If you’re going to take on a client’s project, you owe them transparency, skill, effort, and communication. When you ghost a client or deliver half-baked work, you’re not just hurting them—you’re damaging trust in the entire industry.

So here’s our message, heart to heart:

Please learn with integrity. Communicate honestly. Know your limits. Deliver what you promise. And remember—it’s not just a “project.” It’s someone’s dream, someone’s business, someone’s future.

To the Business Owners Who’ve Been Burned

If you’re reading this and have had a bad experience—we get it. You’re frustrated. Disappointed. Maybe even ready to give up on having a professional website altogether.

Don’t.

There are people in this industry who truly care. There are agencies—like ours—who treat your project like it’s our own. We don’t overpromise. We don’t vanish. And we won’t leave you with a website you can’t be proud of.

If you need honest advice, a second opinion, or someone to just help you fix what others have broken—we’re here.

You can call us, email us, or simply send a message. Let’s build something that works—together.
 Phone: 021 791 234
 Email: info@ultimatewebdesigns.co.nz

Ultimate Web Designs – Building Websites with Heart, Strategy, and Integrity.