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12 signs your website is costing you customers

Most websites do not fail loudly. They quietly lose visitors who leave without a word. Use this checklist to spot the leaks and decide whether you need a fix or a full redesign.

By Mian Tamur, Foviq Studio7 min read

Last updated:

On this page
  1. The 12 signs
  2. Fix or redesign?
  3. What to do this week
  4. Frequently asked questions
  5. Sources & References

The 12 signs

  1. It is hard to use on a phone. Tiny text, pinch-to-zoom, buttons too close together. Test on your own phone, not just your laptop. Google now predominantly uses the mobile version of a page for indexing and ranking, so a weak mobile page affects search too [4].
  2. It loads slowly. Large images, heavy scripts and cheap hosting add up. People leave before the page appears.
  3. The first screen does not say what you do. A visitor should know what you offer, for whom and where within a few seconds.
  4. There is no obvious next step. If nobody can find how to contact you, they will not.
  5. The contact form does not work, or you are not sure it does. Submit it yourself, today, and confirm it arrives.
  6. It looks dated. Old layouts, mismatched fonts and low-quality images make a good business look neglected.
  7. It has no real proof. No reviews, no project examples, no credentials. Visitors cannot tell you from anyone else.
  8. Services are lumped onto one page. Search engines and visitors both prefer one clear page per service.
  9. It does not appear in search for your own name or service. Check titles, descriptions and whether the pages are indexed.
  10. It is missing basic security. If the browser shows a "not secure" warning, fix it now.
  11. It is hard for you to update. If changing a phone number needs a developer and a week, the site will go stale.
  12. You cannot see how it performs. No analytics means no idea what works.
Why first impressions decide so muchVisitors form an opinion of a page almost instantly [1], and the look of a site is the factor people mention most often when they explain how they judge credibility [2][7]. Research on reading behaviour also shows people scan rather than read word by word [3], which is why a clear first screen and clear headings matter more than long copy.

Fix or redesign?

Many of these have small fixes: compress images, rewrite the headline, add a clear button, repair the form, switch on HTTPS. If most of the list is true, or the site is built on something you cannot change, a redesign is usually cheaper than patching.

A redesign is the right call when:

  • The layout was never designed for phones.
  • The platform limits what you can do and you keep working around it.
  • The brand has changed and the site no longer matches.
  • You are adding services, locations or features the structure cannot hold.

Whatever you choose, protect what already works. Keep the web addresses that bring traffic, or set up proper redirects, so you do not lose search visibility when pages move.

What to do this week

  1. Open your site on your phone and try to contact yourself.
  2. Search your business name and main service and see what appears.
  3. Run the page through a free speed test and note the slowest page.
  4. Rewrite the first screen in one sentence: what you do, for whom, where.
  5. Add one real review or project example near the contact button.

Want a second opinion? Send us your site and we will tell you plainly what to fix first. You can also read how a strong site brings in leads.

The short versionCheck the phone experience, speed, first screen, contact path and proof. Fix the cheap things first, and redesign when the structure is the problem.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I redesign my website?

There is no fixed schedule. Redesign when the site no longer fits your business, does not work well on phones, or is hard to update. Small fixes in between keep it healthy.

Will a redesign hurt my search rankings?

It can if addresses change without redirects or content is removed. Keep the URLs that already bring traffic, or redirect them properly, and rankings are usually protected.

Sources & References

  1. Research paperAttention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression!Lindgaard, Fernandes, Dudek and Brown. Behaviour & Information Technology, 25(2), 115-126, 2006
  2. Research paperHow do users evaluate the credibility of Web sites? A study with over 2,500 participantsFogg et al. Proceedings of DUX 2003, ACM
  3. ArticleHow Users Read on the WebNielsen Norman Group
  4. OfficialMobile-first indexing best practicesGoogle Search Central
  5. OfficialWeb Vitalsweb.dev, Google
  6. OfficialWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2W3C Recommendation, 2023
  7. Research paperCredibility judgments in web page design: a brief reviewSelejan, Muresanu, Popa et al. Journal of Medicine and Life, 9(2), 115-119, 2016

Statistics are quoted from the sources above and describe the studies they come from. Results for your own site will vary.

Topics
  • website redesign
  • conversion
  • mobile
  • audit

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