Most websites lose customers quietly. Someone lands on your site, sees something that makes them doubt you, and goes back to Google to try the next business. The usual causes are small and fixable: a security warning, a layout that breaks on a phone, slow pages, out-of-date details, a hidden phone number, a contact form that doesn't deliver, generic stock photos and no evidence you are a real business.
Each sign below comes with a test you can do yourself today. This article is about first impressions and trust. If people stay and read but still don't get in touch, that's a different problem, covered in why your website gets traffic but no leads.
1. Visitors are told your site is not secure
If your site doesn't use HTTPS, Chrome marks it as not secure, and Google's Chrome help page explains that someone may be able to view and change the information visitors send through it. Hardly reassuring for a visitor about to type their details into your enquiry form.
Google has also announced that from Chrome 154, planned for October 2026, the browser will ask people's permission before it first opens a public site without HTTPS. For some visitors, that warning will appear before your homepage does.
Test it today: open your homepage and contact page in Chrome on your computer and on your phone, typing the address both with and without "www". Nothing should be flagged as not secure. If anything is, ask whoever looks after your hosting to move the whole site to HTTPS.
2. The layout breaks on a phone
A site can look fine on your computer and fall apart on a phone: text you have to pinch to read, buttons too close together, a menu that won't open, a pop-up you can't close. Someone searching between jobs won't persevere.
Test it today: open your site on your own phone, and ideally on a second, older phone. Read the homepage, open the menu, find a service and reach the contact page. Note every moment you had to zoom or scroll sideways.
3. It's slow to load
To a visitor, a slow page doesn't feel like a technical fault. It feels like a business that isn't quite on top of things, and the back button is always quicker.
Test it today: paste your homepage into PageSpeed Insights, which reports on both mobile and desktop. Start with mobile. Google classes a Largest Contentful Paint (roughly, when the main content appears) of 2.5 seconds or less as good. Then try your site on your phone using mobile data. If it drags, our guide on how to make your website load faster covers the fixes that matter most.
4. The information is out of date
A copyright line that says 2019. A news page whose latest post is three years old. Old prices, a team member who left, a social media icon linking to an abandoned account. None is serious alone, but together they make a visitor wonder whether you're still trading. It's worse when your site contradicts your Google listing, because the customer can't tell which to believe.
Test it today: read your site like a stranger, with a notepad. Check the footer year, your most recent post, prices, opening hours and team details, and click every social icon. Then compare your phone number, address and hours with your Google Business Profile (our setup guide covers this). If you can't keep a news page current, remove it.
5. There's no clear phone number or location
A visitor who is ready to call shouldn't have to hunt. For local businesses, location is part of the decision: an electrician with no town mentioned makes the customer ask whether you cover their area, and most won't bother. If you work from home and would rather not publish your address, name the towns you cover instead.
Test it today: open your homepage on your phone and look for your number. It should be visible straight away or one tap into the menu. Tap it; your phone should offer to dial. Then check your service area is written in plain words on the homepage.
6. The contact form doesn't actually work
This is the most expensive sign, because nobody tells you. The visitor thinks they got in touch, you never hear from them, and they assume you ignored them. Forms fail for dull reasons: enquiries going to the inbox of someone who has left, landing in spam, or breaking quietly after a website update.
Test it today:
- On your phone, using mobile data, fill in the form as a customer would, with a personal email address that isn't linked to the business.
- After pressing send, check there's a clear message confirming it went through and saying what happens next.
- Check the enquiry arrives, including in the spam or junk folder, and find out who else gets a copy.
- Reply to it, and make sure your reply reaches the personal address rather than bouncing back to the website.
- Repeat the test after every change to your website.
7. The photos look like everyone else's
Stock photos aren't wrong, but a smiling team in headsets tells a visitor nothing about you. A clear photo of your actual van, shop front, treatment room or team shows there are real people behind the site. It's part of looking like yourself, which we cover in how branding helps small businesses.
Test it today: in Chrome on a computer, right-click the main image on your homepage and choose "Search with Google Lens". According to Google's help page, the results include websites with the same or a similar image. If yours turns up everywhere, your visitors may have seen it too. Then ask: does any homepage photo show your own premises, work or people?
8. Nothing proves you're a real business
People are rightly wary of websites they can't check. Before they share their details or pay a deposit, they look for signs of a real, accountable business: a full business name, a physical address, a named owner or team, and any trade memberships you hold.
If you trade as a limited company, some of this isn't optional. GOV.UK guidance says your website must show your registered number, registered office address, where the company is registered and that it is a limited company.
Test it today: spend two minutes on your own site trying to find out who runs the business, where it's based and how you'd check it exists. Then look your company up on the Companies House register and make sure the name and address match your website.
The eight tests at a glance
| Sign | Quick test |
|---|---|
| Security warning | Check your key pages in Chrome for a not secure flag |
| Broken mobile layout | Use the site on two different phones |
| Slow loading | Run PageSpeed Insights and start with mobile |
| Out-of-date information | Check dates, prices and hours against your Google listing |
| Hidden contact details | Find and tap your number on a phone |
| Broken contact form | Send yourself a test enquiry and reply to it |
| Stock-photo sameness | Search your main image with Google Lens |
| No proof you're real | Compare your site with your Companies House record |
What to do if several of these fail
Most of these are small jobs that you, or whoever manages your site, can fix quickly. Start with the contact form, because that failure costs the most. If the list is long, or your site is so awkward to update that nothing stays current, starting again can be simpler than patching. That is what our web design and development service is for, and if a few fixes are all you need, we'll say so.