If you have a small business, your website is likely the first point of contact between your business and a potential client. But if your website is sluggish, dated, or confusing, it may be driving away more customers than it’s attracting.
Inspired by Stanford University’s Web Credibility Project, here are 10 key signs your website is losing you customers and how to fix them in a hurry.
1. Your Website Isn’t Mobile-Friendly
With more than 60% of traffic on the internet being mobile-driven, a mobile-friendly website is not longer an option. When users have to pinch, zoom, or scroll left and right, they’ll leave.
Takeaway: Mobile-friendly websites are preferred by Google in search.
Action Item: Use responsive design and test your site on phones and tablets regularly.
2. Your Site Is Too Slow to Load
A delay of just one second can decrease conversions by up to 20%. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, you’re losing customers.
Takeaway: Page speed is a Google ranking factor.
Action Item: Compress images, use lazy loading, and consider a faster hosting provider.
3. Your Site Looks Outdated
An old, clunky design gives the impression that your business is behind the times—or worse, untrustworthy.
Takeaway: Bounce rate increases with poor design and can influence rankings.
Action Item: Update your design every 2–3 years to stay current and competitive.
4. Poor Navigation and User Experience (UX)
If users cannot find what they are looking for, they will leave and never come back.
Takeaway: A good UX improves dwell time and reduces bounce rate.
Action Item: Streamline menus, add a search bar, and have every page have a clear direction forward.
5. Your Value Proposition Isn’t Clear
When a user comes to your homepage, they should be able to understand what you do, who you help, and why they should use you immediately.
Action Item: Craft a strong headline and sub-headline that speak to your target customer’s pain points.
6. Your Website Isn’t SEO Optimized
If your website isn’t appearing on Google, you’re not visible to new customers looking online for your services.
Takeaway: Use search-relevant keywords within your headlines, content, and meta tags.
Action Item: Conduct keyword research and follow on-page SEO best practices.
7. Your Contact Information Is Hard to Find
Don’t make potential buyers hunt for your phone number or email address.
Action Item: Put a contact button in the top menu, and include all the contact details in your footer.
8. Missing Trust Factors
Before they’ll purchase or contact you, users need to trust you. If your website lacks testimonials, reviews, or security aspects, you’re losing trust.
Action Item: Add customer reviews, Google reviews, SSL encryption, and well-known trust badges.
9. Your Website Doesn’t Convert
Traffic is fantastic, but if visitors aren’t converting to leads or customers, your website isn’t performing.
Takeaway: Conversion-optimized content reduces bounce and increase engagement.
Action Item: Use effective calls-to-action (CTAs), easy-to-use forms, and easy service pages.
10. You Can’t Update It Easily
If you require a developer for every tweak to content, you’re behind. Agility is key in today’s fast-paced business environment.
Action Item: Switch to a CMS such as WordPress or Webflow with ease of edits and content updates.
Upgrade Your Website Now.
If your site exhibits any of these symptoms, chances are, it’s losing you leads, sales, and trust. The better news? You can fix these things, and the reward can be tremendous.
Need help? Spindelwynn provides professional small business web design that converts.
Contact us now for a free website assessment!