Top 5 Mistakes Small Businesses Make on Their Website
Top 5 Mistakes Small Businesses Make on Their Website
Your website is your digital storefront, working 24/7 to attract customers and grow your business. But many small business websites make critical mistakes that drive potential customers away and hurt search engine rankings.
After helping hundreds of St. Louis small businesses improve their websites, we've identified the top 5 mistakes that consistently cost businesses customers and revenue. The good news? They're all fixable!
1. Not Mobile-Friendly
This is the biggest mistake we see. Over 60% of website visitors browse on mobile devices, yet many small business websites still look terrible on phones.
Why This Hurts Your Business:
- Customers leave immediately if your site doesn't work on phones
- Google penalizes you in search results
- Lost sales when mobile shoppers can't purchase
- Poor mobile experience damages your reputation
How to Fix It:
Test your website on multiple devices. Can visitors easily:
- Read all text without zooming?
- Click buttons and links?
- Fill out contact forms?
- Navigate the menu?
If not, it's time for a mobile-friendly redesign. Modern websites use responsive design that automatically adjusts to any screen size.
2. Slow Loading Speed
40% of visitors abandon websites that take longer than 3 seconds to load. Every second of delay reduces conversions and increases bounce rates.
Common Causes of Slow Sites:
- Unoptimized images (huge file sizes)
- Too many plugins or scripts
- Poor hosting
- No caching
- Inefficient code
How to Fix It:
- Test your speed using Google PageSpeed Insights
- Optimize images before uploading (aim for under 200KB each)
- Enable caching to store static content
- Upgrade hosting (budget hosting won't cut it for business sites)
- Delete unused plugins and scripts
Professional website maintenance services include ongoing performance optimization.
3. Unclear Value Proposition
Visitors should understand within 5 seconds what you do and why they should choose you. Yet many small business websites fail to communicate this clearly.
Common Problems:
- Generic headlines like "Welcome to our website"
- Industry jargon that customers don't understand
- No explanation of what makes you different
- Important details buried in subpages
How to Fix It:
Your homepage should immediately answer:
- What do you do? (Clear, specific description)
- Who do you serve? (Your target customer)
- Why choose you? (Your unique advantage)
- What should they do next? (Clear call-to-action)
Instead of "Welcome to ABC Company. We provide quality solutions," try "St. Louis HVAC Repair & Installation. Same-day service, 24/7 emergency repairs. Family-owned since 1985."
4. Missing or Weak Calls-to-Action
Many small business websites are essentially digital brochures – they provide information but don't guide visitors toward taking action.
What Happens Without Clear CTAs:
- Visitors read your content then leave
- No lead generation
- No sales conversions
- Wasted website traffic
How to Fix It:
Every page should have a clear call-to-action:
- Homepage: "Get a Free Quote" or "Schedule Consultation"
- Service pages: "Contact Us About [Service]"
- Blog posts: Link to relevant services or contact form
- About page: "Ready to work together? Contact us"
Use action verbs, make buttons stand out visually, and place CTAs above the fold and at the end of content.
5. Poor or No SEO
If potential customers can't find your website in Google, it might as well not exist. Yet many small business websites are invisible in search results due to poor SEO.
Common SEO Mistakes:
- No local SEO optimization
- Missing page titles and meta descriptions
- Duplicate content
- No content strategy or blog
- Poor site structure
- Slow loading speeds
- Not mobile-friendly
How to Fix It:
For local St. Louis businesses:
- Include "St. Louis" and relevant neighborhoods in your content
- Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile
- Get listed in local directories
- Collect customer reviews
- Create location-specific content
Professional web design services include SEO optimization from the start.
Bonus Mistake: No Clear Contact Information
We see this too often: businesses hide their phone number, make email addresses hard to find, or bury contact information in footer fine print.
Make it ridiculously easy for customers to reach you. Display your phone number prominently in the header, include contact info in the footer on every page, and have a dedicated contact page with multiple options.
How to Audit Your Own Website
Use this checklist to identify problems:
- Mobile test: View your site on your phone. Does everything work?
- Speed test: Run Google PageSpeed Insights. Score above 70?
- 5-second test: Ask someone to look at your homepage for 5 seconds. Can they explain what you do?
- CTA check: Is there a clear action to take on every page?
- Google search: Search for your business. Do you appear?
- Contact test: Can you find contact info in under 5 seconds?
Need Help Fixing These Mistakes?
At Broccoli Mango Club, we specialize in helping St. Louis small businesses create websites that actually work. Whether you need a complete website redesign or just want to optimize your existing site, we can help.
We'll audit your current website for free, identify problems, and provide honest recommendations about how to improve performance and generate more leads.
