Web design: why so many businesses end up with a website they don't like (and how to get it right)

When a business ends up with a website it doesn't like, what we usually see is that it was given an adapted template (a pre-made design meant for any business, with the business's colours and text dropped in) rather than a website built around the business. That's why it looks like others, loads slowly on mobile, depends on plugins from other companies that need constant updating and, sometimes, it isn't even clear who owns it. To get it right, ask to see the website on your phone before paying, make sure the domain (your website's address) is in your name or that whoever manages it commits in writing to transferring it to you, and work with someone who answers when something breaks.

We see it often in Tenerife. A business decides it needs a website, compares quotes, picks an agency and pays. A few weeks later the website is live and it works, and yet, when the owner opens it in front of a customer, they feel a little embarrassed to show it.

This article is written for people who run a business. We'll look at what usually goes wrong in web design, how to spot it on your own website, what a well-made website should have and what to ask before you commission yours.

What we usually see in the websites people show us

When a business on the island shows us the website it already has, the complaints are very similar:

• It looks like lots of others. It has the same header, the same icons and the same layout as many other websites; swap the logo and it could belong to any business in any city.
• It's slow on mobile. And that's where it shows most: according to Google (2016), 53% of mobile visits are abandoned if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
• It looks rushed. Some businesses have many years of history, well-kept premises and a personal touch, and a website that looks like it was put together in an afternoon.
• Every change means waiting. Asking for an edit means an email, a few days' wait and, sometimes, an invoice.
• It's unclear who owns it. Sometimes the domain (the website's address) and the hosting (the server where it's published) are in the agency's name with nothing in writing, and the owner doesn't know what would happen if they stopped paying.

Notice that all of these complaints are about the result, and that result usually comes from how the website was built.

Why it happens: the template model

A common way of building websites for small businesses goes like this: the builder starts from a template (a pre-made design meant for any business), changes the colours, drops in your text and adds plugins (add-ons from other companies that provide extra features) so it does what you need. Then the website gets published.

It makes sense for whoever builds it, because with a template a website can be put together quickly, and the more websites they put together, the more they sell. The problem is what the template carries underneath:

• Weight. Because it's designed for any business to use, it loads code for everything anyone might need, even if your website only uses part of it. Your customers notice that excess every time they wait for it to load.
• Generic design. It's made to look fine in any sector, which is why it's hard for it to stand out in yours.
• Dependency. Every plugin has to be kept up to date. When one update clashes with another, the website breaks, and it tends to happen when nobody is watching.
• A ceiling. When you want something the template didn't plan for (bookings, a quote calculator or a menu with photos that load fast), it has to be patched, and patches show.

We're not saying that a website built with WordPress (a content management system, in other words a program for building and editing websites) is bad by definition, because there's decent work done that way. Even so, when a website with the problems above reaches us, what we usually find underneath is a template with lots of plugins.

What a well-made website should have

If you're going to pay for a website, this is the minimum it should have. Keep it as a checklist for comparing quotes:

A design that starts from your business. The design should come from your business, your photos and your customers, rather than from a template that everything is fitted into. If you're asked to choose between three themes (that's what templates are called), you're being offered a template website.

Fast loading on mobile. To check, open your website on mobile data with Wi-Fi turned off and count until you can read it. Speed also helps you show up on Google, although it matters more that each page clearly explains what you do.

Ready to show up on Google in your area. Your business should appear when someone searches for what you do “in Tenerife”, “in Santa Cruz”, “in La Laguna” or “in Adeje”, or in your own city if you're not on the island. That's prepared while the website is being built: each page has to explain what you do and where, so Google understands it.

Easy to contact. A WhatsApp or call button that's always visible lets people visiting on their phone message or call you in one tap.

In Spanish and English if you work with tourists or foreign residents. In the south of the island and a good part of the north, a Spanish-only website leaves out many of your customers.

Up-to-date legal pages. You need the legal notice and the privacy and cookie policies adapted to Spanish and EU regulations. It sounds boring until a fine arrives.

A website that belongs to you. The safest option is to have the domain in your name. If whoever builds your website registers it in theirs to manage it, as we do, what matters is that they commit in writing to transferring it to you when you ask or if you leave. That way you can switch providers if you ever want to. If someone makes that difficult, it's a warning sign; we explain it in who owns your website's code.

Someone who answers. When something breaks with a full house, you need the person who built the website to answer and fix it.

What to ask before you commission your website

Before paying, ask whoever is going to build your website these questions. The answers will tell you more than the quote:

To compare, our web design prices in Tenerife are published, fixed and IGIC included, and we explain what drives the price of a website in general in how much a website costs in 2026.

Does it matter whether the agency is in Tenerife or on the mainland?

Distance alone doesn't make a website better or worse. There are good agencies in Madrid and in Santa Cruz.

What does change is this:

• Knowing your customer. Knowing how your customer searches, what earns their trust and which towns matter in your sector helps the website speak to them clearly. If whoever builds it lives on the island, they know that first-hand.
• Tourism and the seasons. The website should be ready before high season starts, and whoever builds it should understand that your August customer and your January customer are not the same.
• Meeting in person. In Tenerife we come to your business, and half an hour sitting with a laptop on the table solves more than ten emails.

If your business is on another island or elsewhere in Spain, we work remotely via WhatsApp, phone, email or video call, as we do with Namelaka, a pastry shop in Mataró, and with Noudaxana, a restaurant in the same town.

Even so, what weighs most on the result is how the website is built, wherever the person building it happens to be.

Why Zelerix exists

We're a studio founded in 2026 that does web design in Tenerife, and we started precisely because of everything above: because of the businesses that have already paid for a website and still don't have one that represents them.

This is how we work:

• We code every website from scratch. We write the code with only your business in mind, with no templates or WordPress, so it loads fast on mobile. For example, the website of Pollo Frito Chino, a fried chicken buffet in La Laguna, scores over 90 out of 100 for mobile speed and 100 for SEO (how well prepared it is for Google) in Lighthouse, Google's tool (September 2026).
• We build every website so Google understands what you do and where. With the new website we built for them, Demoliciones Tenerife reached 4th place on Google for “demoliciones tenerife” in under 4 months (September 2026), ahead of companies with more than 30 years in the sector; we tell the story in the Demoliciones Tenerife case.
• We give you clear timelines. A landing page (a one-page website) is ready in 3-5 working days, and a corporate website of up to 5 pages in 5-8, from the moment we have your text and photos.
• The website is yours. The code is yours from delivery (if you pay in instalments, once you've finished paying). We register, renew and manage the domain ourselves, so you don't have to worry about it, and if you ever leave the maintenance plan, we transfer it to you and give you the website so you can take it wherever you want; it's in writing in our terms.
• The person who builds your website answers you. Whoever designs and codes your website is the one who helps you on WhatsApp, by phone, by email or, if you're in Tenerife, in person.
• You see your website before paying. We prepare a free demo for you to see on your phone; if you like it, we finish it, and if you'd rather leave it, you owe us nothing.

We've built websites for a hair salon, a tattoo studio, a restaurant in La Laguna and a demolition company on the island, and for a pastry shop and a restaurant in Mataró. You can see them in our website portfolio. They're businesses that needed a website that lived up to the service they give in person.

How to tell if your current website is costing you customers

Before deciding anything, run this two-minute test:

1. Open your website on your phone using mobile data, with no Wi-Fi. If it takes longer than 3 seconds (roughly the time it takes to say your full name), some of your visitors will leave before they see it; you can also measure it with our free speed test.
2. Search Google for what you do plus your area, for example “renovations Tenerife” or “dental clinic Santa Cruz”. If you're not on the first page, your website still has work to do.
3. Show it to someone who doesn't know your business and ask them what you do and why they should choose you. If they can't tell you within ten seconds, the website needs to explain it better.
4. Ask yourself whether you could switch providers tomorrow without losing your domain or your website.

If you fail two or more, you'd be better off with a website built around your business, made by someone who looks after it as if it were their own.

In short

The disappointments with web design that we see most often share the same origin: someone bought a template believing they were buying a website made for their business. A well-made website is designed around your business, loads fast on mobile, shows up on Google in your area, speaks your customers' languages and can go with you if you switch providers.

If your current website falls short on any of this, tell us what you have and what you need and we'll tell you clearly what can be done, what it costs and how long it takes.