5 Signs Your Website Is Costing You Customers
Your website might look fine to you, but slow load times, poor mobile experience, and outdated design are silently driving customers to your competitors. Here's how to tell — and what to do about it.
Your website is your hardest-working employee. It's the first thing potential customers see, it works 24/7, and it never calls in sick. But what if that employee was actually turning people away?
Most business owners don't realize their website is underperforming because they're too close to it. You built it (or paid someone to build it) years ago, it "works," and you've moved on to other priorities. Meanwhile, your competitors have upgraded — and your customers have noticed.
Here are five signs your website is quietly costing you business.
1. It Takes More Than 3 Seconds to Load
Google's own research shows that 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Every additional second increases bounce rate by roughly 32%.
Think about your own behavior: when was the last time you waited patiently for a slow website? You didn't. You hit the back button and clicked the next result. Your customers do the same thing.
What to check: Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights. If your mobile score is below 50, you're losing visitors before they even see your content.
Quick wins:
- Compress images (most sites serve images 5-10x larger than needed)
- Remove unused plugins and scripts
- Enable browser caching
- Switch to a faster hosting provider
2. It's Not Mobile-Friendly
Over 60% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices. If your site isn't responsive — meaning it doesn't automatically adapt to different screen sizes — you're alienating the majority of your visitors.
Common mobile problems include:
- Text too small to read without zooming
- Buttons too close together to tap accurately
- Horizontal scrolling required to see content
- Pop-ups that cover the entire screen
Google also uses mobile-first indexing, which means it primarily uses the mobile version of your site for ranking. A poor mobile experience doesn't just frustrate users — it tanks your search visibility.
3. Your Design Looks Dated
Web design trends evolve fast. A site that looked modern in 2020 can look outdated today. And while aesthetics might seem superficial, they directly impact trust.
Stanford's Web Credibility Research found that 75% of users judge a company's credibility based on their website design. If your site looks like it hasn't been updated in years, visitors assume your business hasn't either.
Signs of an outdated design:
- Stock photos that look generic or staged
- Cluttered layouts with too much text
- No clear visual hierarchy
- Missing or inconsistent branding
- No social proof (testimonials, reviews, case studies)
4. Visitors Can't Find What They Need
If someone lands on your site and can't figure out what you do, how to contact you, or where to find your services within 10 seconds, they're gone.
Poor navigation is one of the most common website killers. This includes:
- Too many menu items competing for attention
- No clear call-to-action on the homepage
- Important information buried deep in subpages
- Contact details hidden in the footer with no other way to reach you
The fix: Every page should have one primary action you want the visitor to take. Make it obvious. Make it easy. Remove friction wherever possible.
5. You're Not Showing Up in Search Results
If you Google your own business name and don't appear on the first page, you have a problem. If you Google the services you offer in your city and don't appear at all, you have a bigger problem.
Common reasons your site isn't ranking:
- No SEO strategy (title tags, meta descriptions, headings)
- Thin or duplicate content
- Missing Google Business Profile
- No backlinks from other reputable sites
- Technical issues (broken links, missing sitemap, slow speed)
SEO isn't magic — it's methodical. And it compounds over time. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll see results.
What to Do About It
The good news: none of these problems are permanent. A modern, well-built website can transform your online presence and start generating leads instead of losing them.
Here's where to start:
- Audit your current site — Use free tools like PageSpeed Insights and Google Search Console to identify the biggest issues.
- Prioritize mobile — If your site doesn't work perfectly on a phone, that's job number one.
- Simplify your messaging — Clear beats clever. Tell visitors what you do, who you do it for, and how to get started.
- Invest in speed — A fast site improves everything: user experience, SEO rankings, and conversion rates.
- Get professional help — Sometimes the most cost-effective move is bringing in experts who can diagnose and fix issues quickly.
Your website should be your best salesperson, not your biggest liability. If any of these signs sound familiar, it might be time for a fresh start.
Want to know exactly how your website stacks up? Get a free website evaluation from ScalarTek — no pressure, just honest insights on what's working and what's not.