Your website might look fine to you, but visitors decide in seconds whether to stay or leave. Here are twelve common problems that quietly send customers to competitors. See how many apply to yours.
First impressions
- It's slow. If your site takes more than a few seconds to load on a phone, many people leave before it appears.
- It doesn't work well on phones. Tiny text, buttons too close together or sideways scrolling. Most local searches happen on mobile.
- It's not clear what you do. Visitors should understand what you offer, and where, within five seconds.
- It looks outdated. An old design makes people wonder if you're still in business.
Getting in touch
- Your phone number is hard to find. Put it at the top, and make it tappable on mobile.
- There's no clear next step. Every page should tell people what to do next: call, book or get a quote.
- Your contact form is long or broken. Ask only for what you need, and test it regularly.
- No one replies quickly. Not strictly a website problem, but slow replies lose leads you worked hard to get.
Trust
- No reviews or proof. Show real reviews, photos of your work and any guarantees.
- No real photos. Stock photos everywhere make you look like everyone else. Show your actual team and work.
- Out-of-date information. Old hours, discontinued services or a 2019 copyright date all hurt trust.
Being found
- It doesn't show up on Google. If you're not found for your main service and city, the site can't do its job, no matter how good it looks.
How did you score?
- 0 to 2: You're in good shape. Keep things fresh.
- 3 to 5: Some quick fixes could bring in noticeably more enquiries.
- 6 or more: Your website is probably costing you work every month. It may be time for a rebuild.
Quick fixes you can do today
- Add your phone number and a "Book a call" button to the top of every page
- Rewrite your homepage headline to say exactly what you do and where
- Add three to five real reviews to your homepage
- Test your contact form from your phone
- Update your hours, services and footer year
Not sure where your site stands? Our free website health check covers speed, mobile, SEO and how well the site turns visitors into enquiries, in plain English, with no obligation.