How can you objectively tell that your website isn’t working? Key indicators don’t lie: low traffic or thousands of bounces, declining or zero conversions in analytics. Add to this an outdated design, problems with speed/adaptability, and your own indifference, there you have it, the top 5 warning signs that require immediate audit and corrective measures in web development or SEO promotion.
Be honest: have you ever walked into an empty store? It’s beautiful, clean, with goods on the shelves… but you feel like something is wrong? You are alone, the salesperson has disappeared somewhere, and even the music is not playing. Strange? Now imagine that your website is just such a store on the Internet. You spent money on creating the site, it looks nice… but it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t sell, it doesn’t attract, it doesn’t convert.
How can you understand this before you go into the red? A website doesn’t cry or complain. But it gives clear signals, symptoms that cannot be ignored. Here are the top 5 of them.
Symptom №1: silence on the line, visitors are not coming
Conduct an experiment. Go to your website. Imagine that you are a customer. What do you see? Is it immediately clear what the business does? Is it easy to find the information or product you need? Do you feel like doing something, placing an order, calling, leaving a request?
Now take a look at the numbers (they don’t lie):
- A meager number of visitors: if you have 100-200 visits per month, and your competitor in the same niche has thousands, that’s a sign. Perhaps the problem is SEO optimization? No one can find you in search results. SEO website promotion is not a whim, it is a necessity for traffic.
- High bounce rate: this is the percentage of people who visited one web page and that’s it. They left without clicking anywhere. The norm is about 30-50% (depending on the industry). If you have 70%, 80% or higher, it’s cause for alarm! People:
- didn’t like what they saw first;
- didn’t find what they were looking for;
- found the site so inconvenient that they couldn’t stand it.
Why is this important? No traffic means no customers. Period. A website is, first and foremost, a tool for meeting your target audience. If they can’t see it, it’s dead.
Symptom №2: a voice in the wilderness, no interaction and no conversions
Okay, you have visitors (even if not many). But what next? A website is not a shop window that people just look at. It should provoke action.
Alarming signs:
- The buttons are silent: there are very few or no clicks on “Order,” “Learn more,” or “Call.” People are looking, but not doing anything. Why? Perhaps the buttons are unclear, the call to action is weak, or the offer doesn’t interest them.
- Forms are empty: contact forms, feedback forms, newsletter subscriptions, everything is empty. No one wants to leave their details. This could be because the form is too complicated, they are afraid of spam, they don’t trust you (“Why should I give them this?”), or simply because people don’t really need your product/service at this stage.
- The phone isn’t ringing: if the main channel of communication is the phone, and it’s silent even though there is traffic, the problem is definitely with the website. Perhaps the number is hard to find, it’s not clickable on mobile, or the website doesn’t inspire enough trust to make a call.
In simple terms: the website is not fulfilling its main business function, it is not converting visitors into customers or leads. There are different types of websites (landing pages, online stores, corporate websites), but they all have to lead people to the goal.
Symptom №3: the website isn’t working because of its outdated design
The world is changing. What looked great 5 years ago may not look so great today, to put it mildly. But it’s not just about beauty.
What gives the problem away:
- The website design looks “like it’s from 2010”: overly bright colors, outdated fonts, messy layout, unaesthetic photos. This undermines trust. People subconsciously think, “If they don’t care about appearance, how will they care about me/the product?”
- Navigation is a maze: it’s impossible to find the information you need. The menu is confusing, links are hidden, and the site structure is confusing. People quickly lose patience. Website design is first and foremost about user experience (UX), and then about beauty (UI).
- “Website adaptability is… like, is there such a thing?” Try opening your website on a smartphone. Is everything readable? Are the buttons large and easy to tap? Does everything fit on the screen? If not, you are losing a huge part of your audience! Most traffic now comes from mobile devices. The website isn’t working or looks bad on the phone.
- Slow as a turtle: pages take 5-10 seconds to load? Even if the content is great, most people won’t wait. Speed is critical for users and SEO.
Bottom line: if a website is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or simply unpleasant to use, people will leave.
Symptom №4: no growth, analytics are disappointing
Numbers are your most objective advisor. Ignoring metrics is like running a business blindfolded.
What to look for (and what to be afraid of):
- Traffic is falling or stagnating: there has been no positive growth over the last six months to a year. This means that your website is not developing, while the market is moving forward. Your competitors have overtaken you.
- Conversions are below minimum: do you know what percentage of visitors should become customers/leads in your industry? If your rate is significantly lower, your website isn’t working to its full potential.
- High bounce rate on key pages: for example, people visit a product/service page and immediately leave. Or they start filling out a form and abandon it halfway through. This is a direct indicator of a problem with this content or technical aspects (e.g., the form is not working properly).
- Low time on site: people quickly scroll through and leave. They find nothing interesting to read, watch, or do. The content does not engage them.
Just remember: if you don’t analyze statistics (Google Analytics or other tools), you are not managing your website, you are simply an observer. Website analysis is the basis for decision-making.
Symptom №5: your website isn’t working because you’re not using it
This is probably the most telling and at the same time the most ironic symptom. Answer these questions honestly:
- When was the last time you updated the information on the site (news, blog, prices, promotions)?
- Are you proud to give your clients or partners a link to your website? Do you accompany it with the words “but there’s still a lot to do…”?
- Do you use it yourself to find the information you need about your business?
- Do you even remember your website in your daily work?
If the answers are not encouraging, this is a clear signal: the website is not a tool for you, but a burden. It is not integrated into business processes, does not bring any benefits, and, accordingly, does not work for results.
What to do when the website isn’t working? Panic? No! Take action!
If you recognize at least 2-3 symptoms from this list on your website, it’s time to wake up. Creating a website is not the end, but the beginning of the journey. A website is a living organism that needs to be fed, cared for, treated, and developed.
First steps:
- Honest audit: a deep analysis of websites is the first thing to do. Assess the technical condition, speed, adaptability of the website, product quality, content, and SEO. You can try it yourself, but it is often more objective to look at it from the outside, with the help of specialists from a digital agency.
- Analytics: carefully study the metrics. Understand where people are coming from, which pages they linger on, and where they bounce. This will give you clues to the problems.
- Prioritization: you can’t fix everything at once. What is most critical? Speed? Outdated website design? Problems with the mobile version? Zero traffic? Focus on the essentials.
- Action plan: what exactly needs to be changed, added, or removed? Only a clear plan with stages.
- Implementation: will you need a web developer, designer, or SEO specialist? Can you do some of the work yourself (for example, update content)?
When should you consider a complete rebranding or a new website?
- If the website is technically a disaster (outdated CMS, broken code, impossible to update anything).
- If the design and quality of the product are hopelessly outdated and there is no point in “patching” it up.
- If the business has changed dramatically and the website does not reflect this.
- If the cost of constantly “fixing” the old website exceeds the reasonable cost of a new one.
Remember: ordering a website today is not just about the stages of website creation (brief, design, layout, content). It is about creating a tool that will solve specific business tasks: generate leads, sell, increase awareness, and reduce the load on customer support. The full cycle, from idea to website promotion.
Conclusion: listen to your website!
It does not remain silent. It gives signals, through numbers, through user behavior, through your own feelings. Ignoring these symptoms is costly. Web development and ongoing support are an investment, not an expense. An investment in customers, in sales, in business success in the digital world.
Don’t wait until your online store becomes the empty store from the beginning of the article. Diagnose the problems now and start solving them. Because a working website is not a luxury, but a must-have for any business today. Start with an honest look at these 5 symptoms. Good luck!
Would you like to order a website, or are you interested in SEO optimization? Our specialists have extensive experience and understanding of all the important factors. Please contact us. We are the SELECTOR.SPACE team, and we will be happy to help you and provide advice. More interesting publications can be found on our blog. You can contact our digital agency by calling 066 389 02 24, 096 81 00 132 or by emailing office@selector.space.
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