You built a website. You're proud of it. But nobody's calling.
It might look fine on your desktop. But one of these common website mistakes could be quietly costing you customers.
I fix websites for Louisville small businesses. Most of the mistakes I see aren't design problems. They're simple, fixable issues that owners either don't know about or haven't gotten to yet.
Here are the seven I see most, and how to fix each one. If you can't tell what's wrong, a Website Rescue diagnostic is the fastest way to separate a quick fix from a rebuild.
1. Slow Load Times
If your homepage takes five seconds to load on a phone, a lot of people won't wait for it.
Speed affects two things. It's the first impression for a customer on a phone. And Google says its Core Web Vitals, its measures of loading speed and page stability, are used by its ranking systems.
Relevance still comes first, so a fast page won't beat a better answer. But a slow page doesn't help you.
What slows a site down? Usually one of three things:
- Oversized images: photos that are much bigger files than they need to be
- Too many plugins or scripts: WordPress sites get bloated fast when nobody's watching
- Weak hosting: a cheap, crowded or outdated server
How to fix it: Test your site with Google's free PageSpeed Insights. If it's slow on mobile, make that your first fix.
When I do this work, I compress images, cut code the site doesn't need and move hosting when hosting is the problem. On WordPress, start with what to check first on a slow WordPress site.
2. Not Mobile Optimized
You scroll through your site on your phone and it looks... okay. For a lot of your customers, that phone screen is the only version of your site they'll ever see.
Google looks at it the same way. It uses the mobile version of your site's content for indexing and ranking.
What does "not mobile optimized" look like?
Text too small to read. Buttons you can't tap. Images that run off the screen.
Sideways scrolling. Menus that don't collapse. Forms that are hard to fill out with a thumb.
How to fix it: Open your site on your own phone. Try to call yourself, find a service and fill out the form. Then run it through PageSpeed Insights.
A good web designer builds mobile-first, which means they design for phones first and then scale up to desktop. Everything should be responsive, so it adapts to any screen size.
3. Missing or Broken Security
If your site doesn't have an SSL certificate, Chrome shows "Not secure" next to your web address. It has done that for every HTTP page since Chrome 68 in July 2018.
An SSL certificate is what puts your site on HTTPS instead of HTTP. It encrypts the connection between your site and your visitor.
It's not optional anymore. It's the baseline.
A lot of small business sites still get this wrong. Sometimes there's no certificate at all. Sometimes it expired and nobody renewed it.
Either way, visitors see a warning before they see your business. Google also lists secure pages as part of good page experience.
How to fix it: Look at your address bar right now. If it says "Not secure" next to your web address, call your web host. Most hosts include a free certificate, and it's usually a quick fix.
"But My Site Looks Fine to Me"
I hear this all the time. You open your site on your desktop and it looks great. So you figure everyone sees what you see.
They don't.
Someone on an iPhone sees a different layout. Someone on a weak cell signal watches it load in slow motion. Someone on a tablet or an older browser might see broken pieces.
That's why testing matters. You have to see your site the way your customers do.
Check it on an iPhone, an Android phone and a tablet. Try it on cell data, not just the office Wi-Fi. Try a couple of browsers.
It's a common story. A contractor's site looks great on the office computer but is hard to use on the phone a customer is holding in a flooded kitchen. If you don't want to do this testing yourself, hire someone who will.
4. Poor Calls-to-Action
A call-to-action is the button or link that tells someone what to do next, like "Call us," "Book now" or "Get a quote."
A lot of small business sites have weak ones, like "Submit," "Click here" or "Learn more."
Buttons that blend into the page. Buttons that don't match what the customer actually wants to do.
Your visitors are interested. If the next step is hard to find or unclear, they'll call someone else.
A good call-to-action is easy to see and says exactly what happens next, like "Call for a free estimate," "Book your appointment" or "Get your free consultation."
Not "Submit." Not "Click here."
How to fix it: Go through every page.
Does each one have a clear next step? Can you find the phone number in under 3 seconds? Does the main button stand out from everything around it?
If any answer is no, start there. I go deeper on this in why your website isn't getting calls.
5. Missing or Outdated Contact Information
You'd be surprised how many websites bury the phone number.
Some hide it behind a contact form. Some put it in tiny text in the footer. Some don't list it at all.
Your phone number is the fastest path from "I'm interested" to "I'm calling." Make it easy to find and easy to tap. On a phone, it should be one tap to call.
Same with your address. If customers come to you, put it in the footer of every page, not just the contact page.
Keep it the same everywhere: your website, your Google Business Profile, directories and social media. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results.
How to fix it: Phone number in the header of every page. Address in the footer. Everything matches your Google Business Profile. One tap to call on mobile. That's the baseline.
6. Generic or Missing Content
Some websites read like templates.
Generic headlines. Stock photos. Vague service descriptions.
Nothing that tells a customer why they should hire you instead of someone else.
Your content should answer the questions customers actually ask.
What exactly do you do, and where? What does the process look like, and what does it cost?
If your site doesn't answer those clearly, people go looking somewhere else.
Be specific. "We build websites" is weak. "I build websites for Louisville contractors so they get more calls from people searching Google" tells the right customer they're in the right place.
How to fix it: Rewrite your homepage, service pages and about page. Answer the questions.
Use your own voice, not corporate jargon. Name the areas you serve. Show some personality.
7. No Analytics or Data Tracking
You don't know how many people visit your site, where they come from, what pages they look at or whether they call.
A lot of small business websites launch without analytics. Then... silence. The owner has no idea what's working.
You can't improve what you don't measure. Without numbers, you can't tell whether a redesign helped, which pages matter most or whether the website brings in any business at all.
How to fix it: Set up Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console. Both are free. Add the Meta Pixel if you run Facebook ads.
Set up call tracking so you know which sources bring in phone calls. Then look at the numbers once a month and adjust.
Want Me to Check Your Site?
The $250 diagnostic checks all seven and tells you what it would take to fix them. The fee is credited if you book a Rescue Sprint or rebuild within 30 days.
The Bottom Line
A lot of websites aren't pulling their weight. Usually it's not because they're ugly. It's because of fixable problems like these: slow pages, rough mobile layouts, security warnings, weak buttons, hidden contact info, generic copy and no data.
Every one of them can be fixed.
I built Smither Psychiatry's site, then went back and fixed the technical problems holding it back. Between April and August 2026 it moved from page 3 to page 1 on Google for "psychiatrist louisville ky." That's from the practice's own Search Console data.
Your website should be bringing you customers. If it isn't, start with this list. Find the problem and fix it.
