The five signs your DIY website might be turning potential clients away, along with a few tips to help you fix it.
Let’s get real for a second, your website is like your virtual handshake. It’s the first impression you’re making on potential clients, and if it’s not working for you, it’s working against you. I know the appeal of the DIY route, it saves money upfront and lets you tinker with your brand vision. But sometimes, that cost-saving mindset ends up costing you big in the long run. If you were meant to be a web designer, you would have been -- do what you do best so your business can thrive!
Here are five signs your DIY website might be turning potential clients away, along with a few tips to help you fix it.
1. Your Website is More Than an Online Business Card
A website should do more than just look pretty. It needs to actively bring in leads, convert visitors into clients, and provide valuable information. Let me tell you about one of my clients, a home stager struggling to stand out in a crowded market. When the stager first came to me, she had a basic DIY site with her contact information and a few before-and-after photos. It wasn’t doing much for her business.
We revamped the site to include a lead capture form, client testimonials, and a blog showcasing staging tips. Most importantly, we focused on giving the site visitors the answers they were searching for upfront, like how staging increases home sale prices and tips for getting started. We also taught the stager how to make her website work to get leads instead of hoping for traction. Very quickly the new website started producing more inquiries than the stager ever received from Instagram. The business grew, the stager even landed a long-term partnership with a real estate agency, and her website is always on page 1 for her market area. That’s the difference a well-thought-out website can make.
Fix It: Think about your website as a tool, not just a placeholder. Add features like lead magnets, calls-to-action, and valuable content to keep visitors engaged.
2. It Looks Dated or Unprofessional
You’ve got about 7 seconds to grab someone’s attention. If your site looks like it was made in 2010 or has mismatched fonts, blurry images, or clunky navigation, visitors are going to bounce faster than you can say “page load speed.”
Fix It: Invest in clean, modern templates or hire a pro who can bring your vision to life without the DIY quirks that scream, “I made this on a Saturday afternoon.”
3. Your Site Isn’t Mobile-Friendly
Fun fact, over 60% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices. If your site looks like a jigsaw puzzle on someone’s phone, guess what? They’re gone. Clients need to be able to scroll, click, and navigate effortlessly, no pinching and zooming required.
Fix It: Use responsive design tools or templates that automatically adjust your site’s layout to fit any screen size. Test it on different devices to make sure it’s smooth as butter.
4. It’s Slow to Load
Nobody’s waiting around for your website to load. In fact, if your page takes longer than 3 seconds, you’re losing nearly half your audience. That’s harsh, but true.
Fix It: Compress your images, clean up any unnecessary plugins, and use hosting services designed for speed. If all that sounds like Greek to you, don’t worry, this is where we can help.
5. It’s Not Clear What You Offer
Imagine walking into a store and not being able to tell what they sell. Frustrating, right? Your website is no different. If your visitors have to dig around to figure out who you are and what you do, they’ll move on to someone who makes it easy.
Fix It: Have a clear headline that tells visitors exactly what you offer and how you can solve their problem. Add a prominent call-to-action (CTA) like “Book a Consultation” or “Learn More.” Also, provide value upfront by addressing common questions or challenges your audience faces. When you give them what they need, they’re more likely to stick around and trust you, not to mention your site will rank better if you have answers to searches, rather than generic information.
Your website doesn’t need to be flashy or expensive, but it does need to work. If any of these five signs hit a little too close to home, it might be time to stop tinkering and get some expert help. You deserve a website that attracts clients, not sends them running.
Let’s fix this together. Book a free strategy session with us today, and let’s chat about how we can turn your website into the powerful tool your business needs.
Because at the end of the day, you should be spending your time growing your business, not Googling how to fix broken links or speed up load times.
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