You're investing in marketing, posting on social media, and handing out business cards. People are visiting your website. But they're leaving without calling, emailing, or buying anything.
The problem usually isn't your product or service — it's your website. Here are five common mistakes we see on small business sites throughout Port Huron and Southeast Michigan.
1. No Clear Call to Action
The most common mistake: visitors land on your site and don't know what to do next. Your homepage should answer three questions within five seconds:
- What do you do?
- Who do you do it for?
- What should I do next?
That third question is the call to action — "Call Now," "Get a Free Quote," "Book an Appointment." It needs to be obvious, above the fold, and repeated throughout the page.
Fix: Add a prominent button with a clear, compelling call to action on every page. Make your phone number clickable on mobile.
2. Slow Load Times
We covered this in depth in a previous post, but it bears repeating: 53% of mobile visitors leave if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load. Every second counts.
Common culprits include unoptimized images, too many plugins, and cheap shared hosting.
Fix: Test your site at PageSpeed Insights. If your mobile score is below 50, you have work to do.
3. Not Mobile-Friendly
Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site looks cramped, has tiny text, or requires pinching and zooming, you're losing the majority of your visitors.
Google also uses mobile-first indexing, which means it primarily looks at the mobile version of your site for ranking purposes. A desktop-only site is an SEO liability.
Fix: Open your site on your phone right now. If it's not fully usable, a responsive redesign should be your top priority.
4. Outdated Content and Design
A website with a copyright date from 2018, stock photos from the early 2010s, or a "latest news" section that hasn't been updated in two years sends a clear message: this business might not be active.
Customers judge your attention to detail by your website. If the site looks neglected, they'll wonder if your service is too.
Fix: Update your copyright year, refresh your photos, and remove any content that's clearly outdated. Consider a redesign if the overall look feels dated — design trends evolve, and sites older than 3-4 years typically show their age.
5. Missing Contact Information
You'd be surprised how many business websites make it hard to find a phone number or address. If a visitor has to click through three pages to figure out how to reach you, most won't bother.
Fix: Put your phone number in the header of every page. Make it clickable on mobile. Include a contact form that's short and simple — name, email, message is usually all you need. If you have a physical location, embed a Google Map.
The Compound Effect
These mistakes don't exist in isolation. A slow site with bad mobile experience AND no clear call to action? That's a triple hit. Each problem compounds the others, and your conversion rate reflects it.
The good news: fixing these five issues is straightforward and often doesn't require a complete rebuild. Start with the easiest wins and work your way through the list.
Want us to audit your website? Contact us for a free review. We'll identify exactly what's working, what's not, and what to fix first.