Let’s discuss a particular phenomenon I observe with small UK businesses quite frequently. You have spent a few thousand pounds on a website. It looks great. You’re quite happy with it. Then…crickets. No one is filling out your contact form. The phone isn’t ringing. Assuming you’ve set it up, you are looking at Google Analytics. People are landing on your page, glancing at it, then leaving for your competition. You’re right – there are about five reasons why small business websites fail. Fix these, and you will start seeing real results instead of just having an attractive digital brochure.
Your homepage is weak.
Your homepage should answer three questions in about ten seconds. What does your business offer? Where can people get your services? How can people hire you?
Please save company history for the about page. Yes, that page that no one reads. Yes, we know. No one reads it, but, again, It’s another story. Your phone number is nowhere to be found There is no way for your potential clients to reach out to you. This drives me insane. You’ve got your phone number somewhere on your website. It is probably your best way of closing new business. You’ve instead buried it at the bottom of the page in some tiny text.
Put it at the top. Make it clickable on mobile. Make it available on every page. I have a client, a roofing company in Kettering, who remarkably increased the number of inquiries they received just because they added a huge, obvious \”Call Now\” button to the top of their mobile site, even before we got to do any search engine optimizations or implement any crazy marketing campaigns. Your contact form is annoying \”Please provide details of your requirements, preferred contact times, and how you heard about us.\” I just want a quote to get my bathroom done. I shouldn’t have to write a f$%@ing essay to get you to quote my bathroom. Less is more when it comes to forms. You need to get the details when you call back.
Improve it correctly. Choose a different one next week. You don’t have to rip out and redo the entire site (but if your site is bad, then maybe you should!). Little improvements here and there help a lot. And unlike the majority of marketing advice where you have to wait weeks or months to see results, these adjustments can start generating you more inquiries almost immediately. Your website needs to do more than look nice. It needs to work for you. Have it earn its keep.