What are the biggest mistakes businesses make in custom website projects?

The biggest mistakes in custom website projects are: failing to document requirements fully before development begins (leading to scope additions mid-project), choosing a development partner without verifying their version control practices, code documentation standards, and testing methodology, and not planning for post-launch support from the outset.

Businesses also frequently underestimate the time required for User Acceptance Testing (UAT), launching with unresolved bugs rather than allowing the QA phase its full duration. Another critical mistake is building without a staging environment, meaning all changes are made directly to the live site, creating risk of downtime or data loss. Finally, projects where the development partner does not provide handoff documentation leave the business unable to make changes or onboard a new agency without effectively rebuilding from scratch.