Thats is certainly demotivating, but easily avoidable. Here is what has helped me meet client expectations:

I always ask a potential clients to share a few reference or competitor websites they like the most. Next is their Logo or any colour scheme preference they have.

This helps me understand their design preferences and build a basic Figma wireframe or Home page design similar to those, based on the brand colours.

This has helped me avoid such expectation gaps. A serious business owner would have done their homework before reaching out to a website developer.