Most small business websites do not fail because they are ugly. They fail because a visitor cannot tell within five seconds what you do, cannot find a phone number, and sees no indication of price.
All ten mistakes below are fixable. Eight of them without rebuilding anything.
Want to know which of the ten apply to yours?
Request a free website review and you will get the findings in priority order.
Priority first
Not every mistake deserves equal attention. This table shows what to tackle first.
| Mistake | Impact | Effort to fix |
|---|---|---|
| 1. It does not say what you do | Very high | Low |
| 2. Hidden phone number | Very high | Very low |
| 3. No indication of price | High | Low |
| 4. Slow on mobile | High | Medium |
| 5. Copy written about you, not the customer | High | Medium |
| 6. No proof | Medium | Low |
| 7. Form with too many fields | Medium | Very low |
| 8. Outdated content | Medium | Low |
| 9. No baseline SEO | Medium, long term | Medium |
| 10. No measurement | Indirect | Low |
Start with the first three rows. That is an afternoon’s work and it usually moves the numbers within two weeks.
1. It does not say what you do, for whom, or where
A visitor decides within seconds whether they are in the right place. If your homepage says “Welcome to our website”, you have spent those seconds.
The fix: one sentence at the top answering three things — what you do, who for, and in which area. “Air conditioning servicing and repair for homes and shops in Ioannina” is enough.
2. Hidden phone number
On many sites the phone number appears only on the contact page — and sometimes as an image, which cannot be tapped on a phone.
The fix: the number at the top of every page, as a tel: link so it dials with one tap. On mobile, a fixed call button at the bottom.
3. No indication of price
“Request a quote” with no range at all repels two groups: those who cannot afford you, and those who fear they cannot afford you. The second group are your customers.
The fix: give a range or a starting point. “From €450” or “typical projects €800–€1,800”. You will get fewer pointless calls and more serious ones.
4. Slow on mobile
Over three quarters of traffic to local businesses arrives on mobile. A site taking more than four seconds loses visitors before anyone sees what you sell.
The fix: compress images to WebP, remove unused plugins, enable caching. Measure before and after with PageSpeed Insights.
5. Copy written about you, not the customer
“We are a dynamic company with many years of experience” says nothing. The customer is not looking for a CV, they are looking for a solution.
The fix: write the problems you solve, in the words the customer uses. A quick test: if you could swap your name for a competitor’s and the copy still works, the copy says nothing.
6. No proof that you do the work
Without photographs of your work, reviews or client names, the visitor only has your word for it.
The fix: three reviews on the homepage with name and date, and at least five genuine photographs of your work. How to collect reviews legitimately is in our guide to Google reviews.
7. A form with eleven fields
Every extra field cuts completions. Forms asking for a tax ID, an address and “how did you hear about us” before you have even spoken stay empty.
The fix: three fields — name, how to reach them, what they need. Ask the rest on the phone.
8. Outdated content and dead links
Opening hours that no longer apply, last Christmas’s offer, a link to a page that no longer exists. The cost is not technical, it is credibility.
The fix: a quarterly check on hours, prices, services and links. Fifteen minutes.
9. No baseline SEO
Page titles like “Home”, no meta descriptions, two H1s on the same page, images with no alt text.
The fix: a unique title and description per page, one H1, descriptive filenames. For a local business, start with our local SEO guide.
10. No measurement
Without Analytics and Search Console, you do not know how many people arrive, from where, or where they leave. So you are fixing blind.
The fix: set up both today. They are free and take twenty minutes.
How to check your site in 15 minutes
Open it on your phone, not your computer, and do the following with a timer.
- Five seconds on the homepage. Can you tell what the business does? Ask someone outside the business to try too.
- Find the phone number. How many clicks? Does it dial?
- Find a price. Is there even a range?
- Fill in the form. How many fields? Did a confirmation arrive?
- Test the speed in PageSpeed Insights.
- Check the opening hours and two or three links.
Note everything that failed. That is your task list, in order.
Want us to do it?
Send us your site’s address and you will get a written report of the findings and what to fix first.
When fixing is not enough
If the site runs on unmaintained technology, you cannot change the copy yourself, or it has no SSL at all, then you are talking about a rebuild rather than fixes.
The criteria and the process — without losing rankings — are in our guide to website redesign.
And if you are not sure you need a site at all, start with why your business needs a website.
Frequently asked questions
What do these fixes cost?
Most are a few hours of work. Typically €150–€600 if you commission them together.
Will I rank higher on Google if I do them?
Some help directly (speed, titles, structure). The rest improve conversion — how many of your visitors actually call.
Should I show prices if my competitors don’t?
Yes — precisely for that reason. It is one of the few places you can stand out at no cost.
What if I have no photos of my work?
Start with your phone, in natural light. Five genuine photographs beat twenty stock images.
Do I also need a cookie banner?
If you run analytics or embedded content, yes. See what applies in our guide to GDPR and your website.
This week’s job
Fix the first three: say in one sentence what you do, put a tappable phone number on every page, and add a price range.
That is two or three hours of work, and it usually produces the first measurable result before you touch SEO at all.
Next step
Book a free 30-minute call with the team at The Dev Alley. We will walk the ten points together and you will leave with a task list, not a quote.