Most small business owners overpay for their website because they don't know any better. Here are the 5 most common (and expensive) mistakes I see:

1. Paying for premium themes you don't need

90% of what business owners want can be done with free themes + a page builder. That $200 theme is usually just a fancy demo you'll never replicate.

2. Installing 30+ plugins

Every plugin is a potential security hole and speed killer. Most sites only need 8-12 plugins max. The rest are bloat.

3. Not setting up caching

A single free caching plugin can make your site 3-5x faster. Slow sites lose customers — Google confirmed it affects your search ranking too.

4. Ignoring backups until it's too late

I've seen business owners lose months of work because they assumed their host was backing things up. Set up automated backups on day one. It takes 5 minutes.

5. Hiring an agency for changes you could make yourself

That $150/hr agency fee for updating your homepage? You could learn to do it in 20 minutes. WordPress isn't code — it's clicking buttons.

If any of this sounds familiar, you're not alone. This is exactly what we teach inside WP Launchpad — practical WordPress training so you stop overpaying and start owning your web presence.