Five Common Website Mistakes That Are Costing You Conversions

If you have an existing website, you may be wondering how to know if it’s optimized in your favor.

Whether you launched it ten years or ten months ago, this checklist will give you five easy ways to assess your website’s current condition (and act as a guide to correct any problems). 

Do You Really Need A Website Checklist? 

The answer is yes! Many of our clients come to The MMC Agency with an existing website that is not working for them. Whether your site was designed by an old friend or a big agency, this checklist will help you discover what’s working (and what’s not). 

We believe that your website is one of your most significant assets but that only applies if it is structured, designed, and maintained in a way that helps your business be successful!

So without further ado, let’s jump into the five things your site needs to be successful. 

1. A Current SSL Certificate

If you’ve ever attempted to visit a site only to be warned by Google that the connection isn’t safe, you understand the value of an SSL certificate. Not only does it boost security for online communications, but it also adds credibility to your business, which is essential for customer trust.  

No one will stay long on a site (if they proceed past the warning at all) that looks suspicious, and it’s definitely not something you want to be associated with your business. 

Check Your Site

How do you know if your site is secure? Take a look at your business domain. A properly secured site shows a dark gray lock to the left side of the domain address and typically starts with HTTPS rather than HTTP. 

What’s Next?

If you had an SSL certificate in the past, you might need to update it with your host. Sites like GoDaddy have an option that requires payment (and installation) annually. If you’ve never had an SSL certificate, start with your website designer or website host to purchase and install a valid certificate. 

Once installed, you may need to update your address to reflect HTTPS instead of HTTP.

2. Quick Site Speed

No one is waiting around for slow sites to load these days, which is why site speed is a critical component of having a successful site. Not only is a slow experience aggravating to users (causing them to leave your site en masse), it is a significant factor in how Google ranks you. 

This tip cannot be overlooked if you want a site that users and Google will love. 

Check Your Site

Visiting your site is not enough to check site speed because many factors can influence it. Instead, use a tool like https://pagespeed.web.dev to get an accurate picture of your site speed. Anything less than green (or 90 out of 100) leaves room for improvement. 

Immediate attention is needed if you’re in the red for mobile or desktop.  

What’s Next? 

Your site speed can be impacted by many factors, including the size of images, use of heavy code, and more. Use the Page Speed tool above to understand what specific issues are holding you back, and work with your team or a qualified website design team to begin making corrections. 

3. A Mobile Optimized Site

More than half of your website traffic is from users on mobile devices. This means the mobile experience is becoming as important, if not more, than the desktop experience. If your site isn’t mobile-optimized, you’re leaving a massive audience behind and likely frustrating them in the process. 

And just like the other things we’ve covered, mobile optimization can also impact your search engine optimization (SEO) results, meaning that mobile matters more than it ever has. 

Check Your Site

Not sure if your site was designed to be mobile-friendly? The best way to check is to pull out your phone and take it for a test drive.

Are items cut off? 

Do you have to scroll right to left to read the copy? 

Do you notice overlapping items or weird spacing? 

Can you easily use the menu, contact form, and other integrations?

If your mobile version doesn’t look as good or better as it does on a desktop, you need to update your site as soon as possible. 

What’s Next?

Depending on your site’s age, structure, and platform, you may need to consider a new website design with a focus on mobile. If your designer simply failed to include this part of the design, however, you may be able to make some updates simply. Contact your website designer or reach out to The MMC team to discuss the best solution to bring your site current. 

4. Proper Disclosures

Terms of use and privacy policies have an important function in your site’s structure. These disclosures typically contain essential information on how you collect and use data, and they add a level of trust for visitors. 

These helpful disclosures also add valuable credibility in the eyes of Google and can help check a positive SEO box that works in your favor. 

Check Your Site

This tip is pretty easy to check for – visit your website and see if you have a privacy policy and terms of use. The links are typically included at the bottom of your website page or in the footer menu. These two disclosures are fairly standard, but it’s also good to include a disclosure that speaks to ADA compliance.  

What’s Next? 

If your site doesn’t have the recommended disclosures, you can work with legal counsel or purchase the files online. At The MMC Agency, we provide our clients with standard templates to help them get started, so check with your website designer if you’re working with one already!

5. Working Links

This tip may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many sites include broken links to files, forms, social media profiles, and even pages. Even if your site structure was perfect, to begin with, if you don’t have a routine maintenance plan, you can expect the occasional breaks as plugins become outdated. 

A site with broken links can not only impact the larger structure, but it can also frustrate your visitors. One mistake may be overlooked, but more than once and you’re asking for a visitor to leave and find a competitor with a more current site. 

Check Your Site

It’s always a good idea to review your site with fresh eyes – not only when it launches but on a regular basis. Click through links on each page and the more obscure connections that can quickly become outdated, such as those that connect social media accounts, disclosures, and even old blogs. 

Another good tip is to look through your website dashboard and ensure your software and plugins are current. 

What’s Next? 

Once you identify a broken link or any problematic areas, put a plan in place to update them as soon as possible. We also recommend adding a check-up to your calendar quarterly, if not monthly. 

Need a partner to support your ongoing efforts? Reach out to The MMC team and ask about our website maintenance options. 

How To Use This Checklist

While by no means a comprehensive website checklist, these five tips can help you assess your overall website health. If you have one or more areas that didn’t pass the test, book a call with our team for a free consultation on how to optimize your website to reach more people and turn more visitors into clients!