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5 Signs Your Melbourne Business Website Is Losing You Customers

Your website could be silently killing your business. Every day, potential customers land on your site—and leave without calling, without booking, without buying. They're finding your competitors instead. Here are the 5 warning signs your website is costing you sales, and exactly how to fix them.

Sign #1: Your Website Is Painfully Slow

The Problem: 53% of mobile users abandon websites that take longer than 3 seconds to load. Every second of delay costs you customers.

How to Check:

1. Visit PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev)
2. Enter your website URL
3. Check your mobile and desktop scores

What the scores mean:

• 90-100 (Green): Excellent - keep it up!
• 50-89 (Orange): Needs improvement
• 0-49 (Red): Critical - losing customers daily

Common Speed Killers:

1. Massive Images

• That 5MB photo from your DSLR camera is way too big
• Images should be under 200KB each
• Fix: Compress images using TinyPNG or ImageOptim
• Fix: Use WebP format instead of JPG/PNG

2. Too Many Plugins

• Each plugin slows down your site
• Fix: Remove plugins you don't actually use
• Fix: Find lightweight alternatives

3. Cheap Hosting

• $5/month shared hosting = slow websites
• Fix: Upgrade to quality managed hosting ($20-50/month)
• It pays for itself in retained customers

4. No Caching

• Your website rebuilds from scratch on every visit
• Fix: Enable caching (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache)
• Reduces load time by 50-70%

Sign #2: It's a Nightmare on Mobile

The Problem: Over 70% of web traffic is now mobile. If your site doesn't work perfectly on phones, you're losing the majority of potential customers.

Mobile Deal-Breakers:

1. Text Too Small to Read

• Users shouldn't have to pinch and zoom
• Fix: Minimum 16px font size
• Fix: Good contrast (dark text on light background)

2. Buttons Too Small to Tap

• Fat fingers can't hit tiny buttons
• Fix: Minimum 44x44 pixels for tap targets
• Fix: Space them apart (no accidental clicks)

3. Horizontal Scrolling

• Nothing says "old website" like side-scrolling on mobile
• Fix: Use responsive design that adapts to screen size
• Fix: Test on real phones, not just browser resize

4. Pop-ups That Won't Close

• Pop-up covers the whole screen with no X button
• Fix: Make sure pop-ups are easily dismissible
• Fix: Delay pop-ups (wait 30 seconds)
• Fix: Better yet: don't use aggressive pop-ups

How to Test:

1. Pull out your actual phone
2. Visit your website
3. Try to complete a simple task (find your phone number, book a service, etc.)
4. If it's frustrating for YOU, it's worse for customers

Google's Mobile-Friendly Test: Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check if Google considers your site mobile-friendly. This affects your search rankings.

Sign #3: Your Design Screams "2015"

The Problem: First impressions matter. An outdated website makes potential customers think your business is outdated too.

Telltale Signs of an Old Website:

1. Slider/Carousel on Homepage

• Those auto-rotating image sliders? Nobody clicks them
• They slow down your site
• Fix: Replace with a strong static hero image and clear message

2. "Welcome to Our Website"

• Wasted space. Visitors already know they're on a website
• Fix: Lead with your value proposition: "Melbourne's Fastest Plumber" or "Custom Websites That Generate Leads"

3. Social Media Icons That Go Nowhere

• Facebook page last posted in 2019?
• Fix: Update social profiles regularly OR remove the icons

4. Flash Elements (Yes, Still)

• Flash died years ago and doesn't work on mobile
• Fix: Replace with modern HTML5/CSS animations

5. Stock Photos That Look Like Stock Photos

• You know the ones: overly-happy office people in awkward poses
• Fix: Use real photos of your team, your work, your location
• iPhone photos > fake stock photos

Modern Design Principles:

• Clean: Plenty of white space, not cluttered
• Clear: Obvious where to click and what to do
• Fast: Loads quickly, responds instantly
• Focused: Each page has one primary goal

Sign #4: No Clear Call-to-Action

The Problem: Visitors land on your site, look around, and... then what? If you don't tell them what to do next, they'll leave.

Common CTA Mistakes:

1. Hidden Phone Number

• Your phone number is buried in the footer or on a separate contact page
• Fix: Put your phone number in the header on EVERY page
• Fix: Make it clickable (tel: link) so mobile users can tap to call

2. Generic "Submit" Buttons

• "Submit" is boring. "Click Here" is meaningless.
• Fix: Use action words: "Get My Free Quote", "Book Now", "Start Your Project"

3. Too Many Options

• Paradox of choice: too many options = no action
• Fix: One primary CTA per page
• Fix: Make it stand out (contrasting color, size)

4. Forms That Ask Too Much

• Name, email, phone, address, date of birth, mother's maiden name...
• Each field you add = 10% more abandonment
• Fix: Ask only what you NEED (name + email/phone)
• Fix: Save detailed questions for later

Effective CTAs:

Sign #5: Invisible on Google

The Problem: If people can't find you on Google, your website might as well not exist.

Quick Test:

1. Google your business name + "Melbourne"
2. Google your main service + "Melbourne" (e.g., "web designer Melbourne")
3. Are you on page 1? Page 2? Nowhere?

If you're not on page 1, you're invisible. 75% of users never scroll past the first page of results.

Common SEO Problems:

1. No Keywords

• Your pages don't mention what you actually do
• Fix: Include location + service keywords naturally
• Example: "Web designer in Melbourne specializing in small business websites"

2. Duplicate or Missing Meta Descriptions

• Every page says the same thing or nothing at all
• Fix: Write unique, compelling descriptions for each page
• Fix: Include keywords and location
• 150-160 characters that make people want to click

3. Broken Links

• Links to pages that don't exist (404 errors)
• Google hates this, users hate this
• Fix: Use tools like Screaming Frog to find broken links
• Fix: Fix or remove them

4. No Google Business Profile

• Not claiming your Google Business listing = invisible for local searches
• Fix: Claim and optimize your profile (free!)
• Fix: Get reviews (massive ranking factor)

5. Slow Site (Yes, Again)

• Google uses page speed as a ranking factor
• Slow site = lower rankings
• Fix: See Sign #1

Basic SEO Checklist:

How to Fix Your Website (Action Plan)

DIY Quick Wins (Do This Week):

1. Speed Test: Run PageSpeed Insights, compress obvious problem images
2. Mobile Test: Browse your site on your phone, fix obvious issues
3. Add Phone Number: Put click-to-call phone in header
4. Fix CTAs: Make buttons bigger, use action words
5. Claim Google Business: If you haven't already (takes 10 minutes)

When to Call a Professional:

If you're checking 3+ of these boxes:

• Site is more than 5 years old
• PageSpeed score under 50
• Not mobile responsive
• No organic traffic from Google
• Bounce rate over 70%
• You've tried to fix it yourself and it's overwhelming

At this point, a redesign might be cheaper and faster than trying to fix everything piece by piece.

The Real Cost of a Bad Website

Let's do the math:

Your Next Steps

1. Audit your website using this checklist
2. Prioritize the biggest problems first (usually speed + mobile)
3. Fix what you can yourself (quick wins)
4. Get professional help for the technical stuff
5. Track results with Google Analytics

Your website should be your hardest-working employee—generating leads, building credibility, and making sales 24/7. If it's not doing that, it's time for an upgrade.

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Related Articles:

• Local SEO for Melbourne Small Businesses
• How Much Does a Website Cost in Melbourne?