Website Red Flags: 7 Signs Your Business Site is Costing You Customers

Introduction

Your website should be working as your best salesperson. It is available 24/7 to capture leads, educate prospects, and win trust. But for many SMEs, websites are outdated, clunky, or unclear. This leads to potential customers clicking away and calling competitors instead.

Here are 7 red flags that signal your site is costing you customers, and how to fix them.

Red Flag 1: Slow Load Times

Customers today have long lists of things they need to do in a day, waiting on your website to load is not one of them. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, you’re losing traffic.

How to fix it:

1. Test speed at PageSpeed Insights. Then use the insights to determine what you need to change.

2. Compress images with TinyPNG.

3. Use a reliable hosting provider.

Red Flag 2: Poor Mobile Experience

Over 60% of UK searches happen on mobile. If your site isn’t responsive, you’re invisible to half your audience.

How to fix it:

1. Test using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

2. Use a mobile-first design (bigger fonts, easy-to-click buttons).

3. Avoid pop-ups that block small screens.

Red Flag 3: Weak or Missing Calls to Action (CTAs)

A website with no clear next step leaves visitors guessing. As intelligent as your website visitors are, they need strategically placed CTAs to subtly guide them towards the actions you want them to take.

How to fix it:

1. Add clear CTAs like “Book a Free Call” or “Request a Quote”.

2. Place CTAs in multiple spots: top, middle, and end of each page.

3. Make buttons stand out with contrasting colours.

Red Flag 4: Outdated Design

A dated site signals a dated business. Many customers equate website design with business credibility.

How to fix it:

1. Use a clean, modern layout with lots of white space.

2. Refresh your branding (fonts, colour scheme).

3. Update your site at least every 3 years.

Red Flag 5: No Trust Signals

Consumers tend to trust the word of other consumers; this is why your website needs to show strong proof points to strengthen your credibility and encourage prospective customers. If your website is not showing reviews, testimonials or case studies, there's a high chance that Customers won’t risk buying from you.

How to fix it:

1. Add client testimonials and case studies.

2. Show logos of clients/partners.

3. Embed Google Reviews for authenticity.

Red Flag 6: Confusing Navigation

If users can’t find what they need in 3 clicks, they leave. Your goal should always be to make the journey to conversion as short and impactful as possible.

How to fix it:

1. Keep your main menu to 5 items max.

2. Use clear labels: Services, About, Contact.

3. Add a search bar if you have a lot of content.

4. Add clear CTAs and navigation on each page so customers know where to go next.

Red Flag 7: Weak SEO Basics

At its most basic level, your website should have keywords that tell search engines what you do. No keywords, missing metadata, and unstructured content mean you’re invisible to Google.

How to fix it:

1. Add unique meta titles and descriptions.

2. Use H1 and H2 tags with relevant keywords.

3. Get a developer to create and validate structured data markup with as much relevant information as possible.

4. Submit your sitemap via Google Search Console.

Conclusion

Your website is often the first impression customers have of your business. If any of these 7 website red flags apply to you, your website is not reaching its full potential.

Want to know if your website is operating as it should? Claim your free website audit from us to see exactly what's working, what's not, and three growth-focused recommendations for improvement.