05/12/2026
A freelancer messaged us last week.. “I paid $99 for my website. Why does it look like I paid $9?”
I went and looked. Here’s what we told her.
Cheap-looking websites aren’t cheap because of money. They’re cheap because of decisions.
Three decisions, specifically:
1. Too many fonts. A cheap site uses 4 different fonts because the builder thought “more variety = more interesting.” A premium site uses one font in two weights. That’s it.
2. Too many colors. A cheap site has gradients, drop shadows, neon accents, AND a stock photo background. A premium site has one accent color used sparingly. White space does the rest.
3. Too many “next steps”. A cheap site has 5 buttons on the homepage: “About,” “Services,” “Portfolio,” “Blog,” “Contact me NOW!” A premium site has one button. One.
Here’s the brutal truth:
clients can’t articulate why one site looks cheap and another looks expensive. They just feel it. And they decide who to hire based on that feeling in about 5 seconds.
The good news:
every one of these is a 30-second fix. You don’t need a redesign. You need fewer choices.
Save this 🔖 and if your site is wearing too many outfits at once, strip it down. Or build a new one in 10 minutes (click link in bio) 👌🏻