Your website works around the clock. It never calls in sick, never takes a vacation, and never closes. But what if it’s actively working against you?
That’s what happens when hidden mistakes quietly push visitors into the arms of your competitors. Most business owners have no idea these problems exist until they see the numbers.
Let’s fix that.
1. Your Site Loads Too Slowly
Speed isn’t just a technical detail. It’s a business killer.
Research from Google shows that as page load time goes from one second to three seconds, the probability of a visitor bouncing increases by 32%. At five seconds, that jumps to 90%. Source: Google/SOASTA Research
For a business generating $10,000 per month in online revenue, a two-second delay could cost you around $140,000 per year in lost sales. That’s not a typo.
The fix: Compress images, enable browser caching, use a CDN, and consider switching to a faster hosting provider. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights (https://pagespeed.web.dev/) will tell you exactly what’s slowing your site down.
2. No Clear Call to Action
What do you want visitors to do? Call you? Fill out a form? Buy something?
If your site doesn’t make that obvious, visitors will make up their own minds. Usually, that means clicking away.
The best converting sites have one primary action per page, and they make it impossible to miss. Your CTA button should contrast with the rest of your design, use action-oriented language (“Get Your Free Quote” instead of “Submit”), and appear above the fold.
3. Your Website Looks Outdated
People judge a book by its cover. Online, that happens in milliseconds.
A site that looks like it was built in 2015 makes visitors question whether your business itself is outdated. They wonder if you’re still in business. They wonder if they’ll get proper support.
The solution doesn’t always mean a complete redesign. Updating your typography, refreshing your color scheme, adding modern spacing, and ensuring mobile responsiveness can make a three-year-old site look current.
4. Confusing Navigation
When visitors can’t find what they’re looking for, they don’t stick around to figure it out. They leave.
Keep your navigation simple. Limit top-level menu items to five or seven. Use clear labels that describe what users will find (“Our Services” is better than “Solutions”). Include a search function if you have more than 20 pages.
One restaurant we worked with had a navigation menu with 15 items. After paring it down to six and adding a prominent “Order Now” button, their online reservations increased by 67% in 30 days.
5. No Trust Signals
Will this business actually deliver? Can I trust them with my money?
These are questions every visitor asks. If you don’t answer them, they’ll look elsewhere.
Trust signals include client testimonials, industry certifications, years in business, guarantees, secure payment badges, and professional associations. Place them strategically near your CTAs where doubt typically surfaces.
6. Your Forms Are Too Long
Every field you add to a contact form drops conversions. A study by Formstack found that removing just one form field can increase conversion rates by up to 25%.
Ask yourself: do I absolutely need this information right now? Middle names, phone numbers, and company sizes might seem helpful, but they create friction. Get the minimum you need to start the conversation, then gather more details later.
7. Not Mobile-Friendly
Over 60% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices. If your site doesn’t work well on phones, you’re ignoring the majority of potential customers.
Mobile-friendly means more than just fitting on a small screen. It means buttons big enough to tap, text readable without zooming, and forms that work with on-screen keyboards.
Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning they primarily evaluate your site based on its mobile version. A poor mobile experience directly hurts your search rankings.
8. Poor Copywriting
Your website copy either sells or it doesn’t. Vague, jargon-filled text confuses visitors and kills conversions.
The fix is simple: write like you talk. Explain benefits, not just features. Use the word “you” more than “we.” Answer the question every visitor has: “What’s in it for me?”
One home renovation company we worked with had copy that read “We provide premium construction services with attention to detail.” We changed it to “Get a beautiful new kitchen in 3 weeks, with one point of contact from start to finish.” Their inquiry rate doubled.
9. Missing Contact Information
It sounds obvious, but countless businesses hide their phone number, email, or address. Visitors who want to buy can’t figure out how to reach you.
Place your phone number prominently in your header. Put your address on the contact page (and consider a Google Maps embed). Make your email easy to find. The harder you make it to contact you, the fewer inquiries you’ll get.
10. No Analytics Tracking
You can’t fix what you don’t measure.
If you’re not tracking website visitors, you have no idea which pages work, where visitors leave, or what drives conversions. Google Analytics (https://analytics.google.com/) is free and provides incredible insights.
Set up goals for key actions: form submissions, phone calls, purchases. Review your data weekly. Look for patterns. Then test changes based on what the numbers tell you.
11. Ignoring Security
Browser warnings about insecure websites send visitors running. Beyond that, security vulnerabilities can lead to hacked sites, stolen customer data, and expensive recovery.
Every business needs an SSL certificate (that “https” in your URL). Keep your platform, plugins, and themes updated. Use strong passwords and consider a web application firewall.
Google explicitly states that security is a ranking factor. An insecure site won’t just lose visitors—it will lose search visibility too.
The Bottom Line
Your website is either winning or losing customers every single day. Most businesses have at least three or four of these mistakes quietly eating away at their revenue.
The good news? Every single one of these problems has a solution. You don’t need a massive budget or a complete redesign. You need to identify the issues and fix them one by one.
Start with the problem that’s easiest to solve. Track your results. Then move to the next one.
Your bottom line will thank you.
Need help identifying which mistakes are hurting your site the most? We’d love to take a look. Head to yourwebteam.io/get-started and let’s talk about growing your business.
Richard Kastl
Founder & Lead EngineerRichard Kastl has spent 14 years engineering websites that generate revenue. He combines expertise in web development, SEO, digital marketing, and conversion optimization to build sites that make the phone ring. His work has helped generate over $30M in pipeline for clients ranging from industrial manufacturers to SaaS companies.
