Where Bad Sites Come From

Tracing the root causes of ugly, slow, and useless local-business websites—so you can avoid them.

Part of the series: • Overview • Do You Really Need a Website? • Taming the Google Maps Wild West • Where Bad Sites Come From (you are here) • PDF Menus → Microsites • AI-Generated Instant Sites • Time-Slot Deals for Any Business • Curating Google Maps Listings • The Microsite Flywheel • A Freemium Model Owners Trust • Roadmap & Next Steps

1 | The Paradox of the Bad Local Website

Everyone complains about clunky restaurant sites and unresponsive salon pages.
Yet those same businesses keep commissioning (or ignoring) them.
Result: a web littered with autoplay music, PDF menus, and 1999 design vibes.

If you’re asking whether you need a site at all, start with Do You Really Need a Website?; this article assumes you’ve said “yes—something.”

2 | Four Supply Channels for Bad Sites

Channel	Typical Budget	Why Businesses Choose It	Common Pitfalls
DIY Builders (Wix, Jimdo, SiteW)	€0–€15 / mo	“I can drag-and-drop!”	Heavy scripts → slow load; zero SEO; owner fatigue
Marketplace Freelancers (Fiverr, Upwork)	€100–€500 one-off	“Cheap & quick”	Cloned themes, no maintenance plan, vanish after payment
Local “Friend Who Codes”	Pizza & thanks	“Mate will sort it”	Hobby code, no backups, single-point failure
Small Digital Agencies	€2–5 k build + €50 / mo	“Professional look”	Lock-in hosting, upsell treadmill, slow change requests

For the historic angle on restaurants specifically, see PDF Menus → Microsites.

3 | Root Causes Behind Each Channel

3.1 DIY Builder Trap

Template fatigue—everything looks the same.
Feature bloat—unused widgets add MBs of JavaScript.
SEO blinders—owners don’t tweak meta tags or alt text.
Update paralysis—after launch, nobody logs in again.

3.2 Freelance Roulette

Time-boxed gigs: “Two revisions only” leaves bugs uncaught.
Theme-forest syndrome: same theme reused 100× in your city.
No SLA: site breaks on plugin update → ghosted.

3.3 Friend-Coder Syndrome

Night-project enthusiasm evaporates in month two.
Personal GitHub → no staging / CI pipeline.
Single point of knowledge = long-term risk.

3.4 Agency Lock-In

Monthly retainer covers minor edits; major ones cost extra.
Proprietary CMS = leaving means rebuilding from scratch.
Relies on heavy plugins (sliders, analytics) → performance drag.

See how an owner-curated overlay can complement or replace these in Curating Google Maps Listings.

4 | The 6-Point “Site Rottenness” Test

Test	Pass Mark	Warning Sign
Mobile Speed	< 3 s on 3 G	6 s+ / layout shifts
Core Info Above Fold	Name, hours, CTA visible	Giant hero video first
Last Update Date	< 90 days	“© 2016” footer
Menu / Service List	Live HTML	PDF or image scan
SSL & Privacy	HTTPS, cookies banner	“Not Secure” badge
Booking / Contact Flow	≤ 3 taps	Mailto: link only

Add these into your quarterly audit calendar; see A Freemium Model Owners Trust for automated reminders.

5 | Case Files

5.1 “Beard & Brew Barbers”

Source: Friend-coder (React SPA).
Issue: 4 MB bundle, fails on older Android.
Fix: Swapped to microsite + Time-Slot Deals for Any Business widget.
Outcome: 28 % lift in weekday seats.

5.2 “La Nonna Pizzeria”

Source: Upwork WordPress theme.
Issue: Menu as JPEG; no alt text; CLS warnings.
Fix: AI-generated instant site (see AI-Generated Instant Sites).
Outcome: PageSpeed 92 → 99; online orders +17 %.

5.3 “Bloom Boutique Hotel”

Source: Agency package with proprietary CMS.
Issue: €120 / hr change fee; outdated gallery.
Fix: Hybrid: keep CMS for blog, add overlay + microsite for quick promos.
Outcome: Promo landing loads in 1.2 s; 35 % higher direct-booking margin.

6 | Decision Matrix: Keep, Fix, or Rebuild?

Current State	Keep As-Is	Patch (Overlay)	Full Rebuild
Loads <3 s, mobile OK, easy edit	✅	—	—
Slow but platform stable	—	✅ (add overlay, strip junk)	—
Can’t edit, friend vanished	—	—	✅ (instant site)
Agency lock-in, high fees	—	✅ (overlay + gradual migration)	→ Evaluate

Overlay concept detailed in Taming the Google Maps Wild West.

7 | Choosing a Better Path Forward

Audit with the 6-point test.
If < 3 fails → quick overlay & microsite.
If 3+ fails → generate new site with AI pipeline.
Integrate upsell hooks via The Microsite Flywheel for long-term growth.

8 | Avoiding Future Decay

Guardrail	Implementation
Auto-updates	Platform patches templates & security weekly
Modular CMS	Swap components without rebuild
Performance Budgets	Max 150 KB CSS + JS per page
Owner Training	15-min video onboarding; ongoing tooltips

Our roadmap adds live Performance Score alerts—see Roadmap & Next Steps.

9 | Key Take-Aways

Bad sites are born from cost-cutting shortcuts or over-engineered lock-ins.
Diagnose with a simple mobile-first checklist.
Overlays and AI-generated microsites give a fast escape hatch.
Future-proof with guardrails, not one-off redesigns.

10 | Next Reads

Taming the Google Maps Wild West – Fix your listing before fixing your site.
AI-Generated Instant Sites – See a new site spin up in minutes.
A Freemium Model Owners Trust – Understand the cost path.