# How One "Cheap" Web Designer Almost Cost a Business Everything (Until FloLoop Stepped In) Canonical URL: Published: 2024-09-06 Source: FloLoop () At FloLoop, we’re committed to helping small businesses avoid the common pitfalls of working with unreliable web developers. We recently sat down with Mitchell Branch, co-founder of Genesis Mobile Cigar Lounge, who shared his story of how a bad website design experience cost his company more than just lost money. Below is a summary of the video above. Feel free to watch the full interview which is about 30 minutes. ### **Meet Mitchell & Understand The Spark Behind Genesis Mobile Cigar Lounge** Mitchell and his girlfriend, Allison, launched Genesis Mobile Cigar Lounge after Allison came home from a school event where she saw a mobile gaming trailer for kids. That sparked an idea: why not offer a mobile cigar lounge for adults at events? They started small, growing their inventory and participating in local events, festivals, and shows to get their name out there. Business was going well, and they saved up enough to invest in what they thought would take them to the next level—a professional website. ### **Enter the "Cheap" Web Designer** Looking to expand their reach online, Mitchell began researching web developers and came across Bark.com. After submitting a service request, he was flooded with offers from developers. One stood out with a seemingly professional portfolio and an appealing price tag of $3,500, which was in line with their budget. Confident they had found a good partner, they moved forward. ### **The Hidden Costs Start to Pile Up** What seemed like a fair deal quickly turned into an expensive ordeal. The web developer began quoting extra fees for every additional feature, such as adding cigar listings to the product pages. Mitchell and Allison started noticing significant hidden costs, including unnecessary plugins and inflated charges for routine updates. What should have been a straightforward build spiraled into constant requests for more money, far exceeding the original quote. ### **The Control They Didn't Have** Perhaps the most troubling part of Mitchell’s experience was the developer's control over their domain name and hosting. The developer had registered everything under their own account, making it impossible for Mitchell and Allison to access their own site without going through the developer. By the time they realized this, they had already printed banners, business cards, and marketing materials—all with the domain name that they no longer fully controlled. ### **A Website That Didn’t Deliver** When the site was finally live, it wasn’t what they had hoped for. The design was cluttered, and there were glaring mistakes, including misspelled words like "weddings" (appearing as "weedings") and broken links that Mitchell himself had to fix. The website lacked a clear call-to-action, an essential element for driving conversions. The developer had left them with a page that was overwhelming in content, poorly formatted, and lacked basic user experience principles. ### **Lessons Learned** Mitchell’s experience highlights the risks many small business owners face when working with developers who don’t have their best interests at heart. His advice to other entrepreneurs? Be wary of hidden costs, maintain control over your domain and hosting, and make sure your developer understands your vision and business goals. I had the pleasure of meeting Mitchell only after he spent an absurd amount of money and time on a site that not only cost more than what was promised but never actually delivered on his desired outcome. At FloLoop we not only specialize in avoiding exactly these kinds of problems but we literally built an all-in-one website and marketing platform so no one would have to have the same experience as Mitchell. Our platform is designed to help businesses build a website and complete funnel without hidden fees or surprises, putting control back in your hands where it belongs. If you'd like to build a plan for your small business website and funnel just click "[Free Blueprint Session](https://floloop.com/schedule/free-website-funnel-blueprint-planning-session)" in the navigation.