15 Signs Your Website Isn’t Converting (and How to Fix Them)
You’ve poured your heart, soul, and energy into your business, but you’re still left asking: why isn’t my website getting leads? This is a frustrating reality for thousands of business owners. You have the traffic, but your inbox is empty. Most people will leave a website within 10 to 20 seconds, and while this is sometimes related to the aesthetics of the site, it can also be caused by creating just enough friction for the user to click off before taking action.
In this article, I’ll cover common mistakes that cost small businesses clients and how to know if your website needs a redesign. I’ll also walk you through simple fixes to correct these mistakes and help your website convert.
1) It Doesn’t Match or Reflect Your Brand
First impressions are often made with your website so if your potential clients click through and see a site that doesn’t match the in person branding or experience, this will leave them feeling confused and likely to click off before taking action.
Do a quick check: do your colors and fonts match your brand? Is your design generic or is it tailored to your business? Is it obvious that you’re using stock photos or are your images curated to convey your brand’s feeling? These seemingly little details can go a long way, especially with people who are seeing your business for the first time online.
The Fix: Match colors, fonts, and photos to your brand. If you don’t have branding picked out yet, choose a color palette and 2 to 3 fonts that feel like what clients experience when they do business with you.
2) It Takes Too Long to Load
Even if your branding is beautiful, visitors won't stick around if your website is slow. Did you know that over 50% of mobile users will leave a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load? While that’s a lot of potential business to be losing out on if your site loads slowly, load speed also directly impacts how high you rank with search engines like Google.
This is why it’s vital to take the necessary steps to optimize your website’s loading speed. This means making sure you optimize your images by using an image compressor (this reduces size while retaining the quality), only use video where it’s absolutely necessary, and avoid too many animations.
The Fix: Optimize your images by using an image compressor online. Also limit the number of videos and animations on your website, only using these where necessary.
3) It’s Difficult to Navigate
This might seem like a simple concept but I see this mistake all the time with small business owners. If your navigation has too many links or the page names are confusing, then it’s working against you. Additionally, if your site is missing key information or that information is hard to find, then visitors will struggle to get the details they need and are more likely to leave.
The Fix:
Keep your top navigation to 6 links or less (these should be the most important pages, like services, portfolio, contact, etc.). If you have more links than this, the rest should go in your footer.
Make your top navigation page names plain, clear, and succinct. This removes friction and confusion for users so they know exactly where to go.
Repeat important information throughout your site. For example, your contact information is important and should be on your contact page and in your footer as a minimum.
4) It Isn’t Mobile Friendly
It’s no surprise that the majority of user traffic is driven by mobile devices. This number currently sits around 60% of users at the time of writing this blog post, but it will most likely continue to trend upwards. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, that’s a large chunk of potential leads you’re missing out on.
To prevent this issue, make sure that your text is big enough to read and that your buttons are big enough to click as well as far enough apart from each other for people with larger thumbs. Your mobile layout should be clean and organized.
The Fix: Make sure your text and buttons are big enough and spaced far enough apart. The cleaner and more organized your mobile layout looks, the better.
5) There’s No Clear Call To Action
When users visit your website, they are looking to be guided. If they reach the bottom of a page and are ready to take action, you want it to be easy for them to take that next step so they can work with you! If it’s not, you risk losing them as a potential client.
If you’re stuck on what call to action to have at the bottom of each page, think about it like this: what is the ideal path you want your visitors to take? If it’s something like Home > About > Services > Contact, reflect that on each page (e.g. put a link and CTA to visit the Services page at the end of the About page).
The Fix: Make sure each page has a clear call to action. Whether that’s linking to another page on your website or encouraging them to take a different action like contacting you or scheduling an appointment.
6) Your Copy Talks About You More Than Your Client
A common mistake with website copy is the business talking more about themselves instead of their audience. As much as possible, shift from using “I” or “We” to using “You”. This is especially important on your About page, which really isn’t about you but more so about how you can solve your client’s problem. You want them to feel seen, understood, and like your solution would actually help them with their issue.
The more you can step into your ideal client’s shoes and write to that person in your copy, the more it will resonate with them and the better chance you’ll have of converting them.
The Fix: Use “You” language as much as possible and speak to your client’s pain points and how your approach can relieve them. Write your copy as if you are your client and imagine what you would want to know or learn in order to feel comfortable taking action.
7) Your Photos Don’t Align With Your Brand
If your photos are blurry, an inconsistent style, or look like generic stock photos, they’re hurting your chances of getting more leads. Photos are a huge part of your overall design and they’re important because while not everyone will read the text on your site, they will see your images.
Also it’s important to note, images are processed by the brain much faster than text. If they’re low quality, this makes you seem unreliable and unprofessional. On the other hand, if your images are high quality and match your business, this builds trust and reinforces your branding.
The Fix: Use high quality, clear images. Try to avoid stock photos and use original images of your business or photos that match the feeling of your business.
8) Your Contact Information is Missing or Hard to Find
It’s pretty hard to get leads if your visitors can’t figure out how to get in touch. Your contact information should be clear and easy to find on your website. This means making sure to include a contact button in your header navigation, including a contact section on your home page, and if you’re using a contact form, having your contact information nearby for visitors who want to reach out directly instead of using the form. It’s also crucial to have multiple ways someone can get in touch with you, such as email, phone number, and contact form, for example.
The Fix: Provide multiple ways visitors can contact you (contact form, email, phone number, etc.). Include a contact button in your navigation, a contact section on your home page, and put your direct contact information next to your contact form.
9) It’s Lacking Trust Signals
Testimonials, a portfolio, an about section or page, frequently asked questions, and credentials are all great opportunities to build trust, but if you’re lacking these then visitors might have a hard time taking the next step.
Testimonials show visitors that real people have trusted you before. A portfolio lets them see your work for themselves. Together, those two things build confidence before someone ever reaches out. Additionally, an About page is a chance to connect with your audience to let them know you understand their pain points and that you can help solve their problem.
The Fix: Show off your good reviews, your past work, and credentials throughout your website. Ideally have multiple paths to get to your portfolio if you have one, and many different but positive testimonials on multiple pages.
10) The Design is Inconsistent
One of the biggest mistakes I see is businesses investing years into creating an incredible in-person experience while their website still feels like an afterthought. If your design is inconsistent with your branding then this can feel confusing or overwhelming for potential clients.
Having too many colors and fonts or different colors and fonts from your branding creates a kind of chaos that ends up losing your visitors’ trust. By staying consistent with your design throughout the site and staying true to your business branding you come off as trustworthy and professional.
The Fix: Simplicity is key here. Choose 5 (or less) colors and 2 to 3 fonts that match your brand for your website’s design.
11) Basic SEO is Missing
SEO is so important for not only driving traffic to your website, but driving the right traffic to your website, aka the people most likely to convert. Making sure your basic SEO is complete and accurate is vital.
Basic SEO includes your page titles, meta descriptions (the blurb that shows up in search engine search results), and alt text on your images.
The Fix: Make sure you have alt text for all images and all SEO descriptions filled in. For a complete checklist on Squarespace SEO, check out this article.
12) It’s Not Clear What You Do or Who You Serve
Within the first few seconds of visiting your website, your visitors should have a good idea about what you actually do. This is where your headline and hero section come in.
An effective hero section usually has three things: a simple, clear headline stating what you do and who your target audience is, a photo that shows this, and a clear call to action guiding your visitors to the next step you want them to take.
Example: Florida Wedding & Elopement Photographer
For Couples That Want to Remember The Details
Button: Reserve Your Date
It’s important to use simple language here and avoid industry lingo, especially if your target audience is not in your industry!
The Fix: Use your hero section and headline to tell people what you do. Use simple terms here so visitors can easily understand your business right away.
13) It Hasn’t Been Updated in Years
If your website hasn’t been updated in years, there’s a good chance that your services, photos, or information is outdated, and potentially some of your links are broken as well. If you’re also having trouble converting the leads you do get, this could be why.
All of these things cause friction with users on your site, resulting in your business looking unreliable and not trustworthy. When given the choice, potential clients would much rather work with a business that has an updated website with accurate information that has working links.
The Fix: Go through your website and make updates. Test all of your links. Double-check that your information is accurate and remove anything that’s outdated. (Or if you’d rather skip these steps, hire a web designer to do a website redesign and refresh for you.)
14) It Doesn’t Feel Like You or Your Business
I believe that every business has a soul, so if your website doesn’t feel like you or the essence of your business, that’s a major disconnect that could be deterring potential clients. I've seen beautiful businesses lose credibility simply because their website didn't reflect the quality of what they actually offer.
People want to connect with you and your business, and the personality behind it is what makes you different from your competition. Your website should be a reflection of what you’ve worked so hard to build.
The Fix: Continue to make small changes that feel aligned with your business. Alternatively, you can hire a brand designer if you need help nailing down your colors, fonts, logos, etc. or a web designer if you have your branding but need help with a website redesign.
15) You’re Embarrassed to Share It
Being embarrassed to share your business website is often the biggest sign that your website isn’t converting and it’s time for a redesign. If you find yourself avoiding sending your website to potential clients, friends, and colleagues, there’s probably a reason behind that.
When your website is working properly for your business and it feels true to your brand, you’ll be excited to send people there.
The Fix: Ask friends and colleagues for feedback on your website and make necessary adjustments. Alternatively, you can hire a professional web designer to redesign your website.
Conclusion
There is no such thing as a perfect website, but your website should be working for your business instead of working against it. If this list feels overwhelming, start by tackling one or two things to improve. Every improvement you make is another step closer to creating a website that you love, and one that lets your business shine online.
If you've worked through this list and realized your website needs more than a few tweaks, that's okay too. Sometimes a fresh start is the right solution. At Sunrise Edit Co., I design websites that reflect the heart and soul of a business so your online presence feels just as intentional as the experience you provide in your business.
☀︎ Musings From the Studio
I’ve noticed that a lot of business owners try to do too much with their websites. I believe there’s something beautiful about a website that’s cohesive in design and simple in its messaging. Usually this translates to less being more. When I'm designing, I try to resist adding something just because I can. Sometimes the most impactful choice is holding back: leaving a little more negative space, consistently using only a few design elements, or narrowing down the color palette.
