A website can be beautiful, up to date and reasonably priced, and still not bring in a single enquiry. It happens more often than people admit, and almost never for a mysterious reason. Usually the visitor arrives, cannot immediately tell whether you are the right person or cannot find how to contact you, and leaves without a trace. Nobody writes to tell you.
The good news is that many of these obstacles show up in a simple round of checks, without expensive tools. You need an afternoon, your phone, a sheet of paper and a colleague or family member who does not know the site. Here are seven checks, in the order in which it makes sense to do them.
The seven checks at a glance
1. The home page explains itself, straight away
Open the home page as a customer would, without scrolling. In the visible part there must be a sentence that says what you do, for whom and where: “Physiotherapy practice in Padua for athletes and people with chronic pain”, not “Wellbeing is our mission”. The most effective test is to let someone look at the page for a few seconds and then ask them to repeat what your business does. If they cannot, the problem is in the message, not in the design.
2. The way to contact you is everywhere and it works
A site that does not bring in customers often loses them at the last step. Check that phone and email are visible at the top and bottom of every page, that on a phone the number is clickable and starts the call directly, and that there is a clear call to action (“Request a quote”, “Book a first appointment”) and not a generic “Contact us”.
Then fill in the contact form yourself, from start to finish. Check that the message really reaches you, and in which inbox: many forms have been working badly for months, with emails ending up in spam or not being sent at all. It is a five-minute check that sometimes explains everything.
3. It really works on a phone
Most visitors to a local business arrive from a smartphone. Open the site on yours, on mobile data, and do what a customer would do: read the text without zooming in, tap the menu, press the buttons without mistakes, fill in the form. Note every point where you hesitated. Text that is too small, images that spill off the screen or a banner that covers the content are flaws that weigh more than a weak logo.
4. The speed puts nobody off
A site that loads slowly makes people leave before the page is even visible. For an indicative check you can use PageSpeed Insights, Google’s free tool: paste the address and read the results for mobile. Do not chase the perfect score: look at the most obvious recommendations, typically images that are too heavy or too many elements loaded unnecessarily, and pass them on to whoever looks after the site.
5. There is proof that you can be trusted
People who do not know you wonder whether you are reliable. The site must answer before the question turns into doubt. Look for the presence of:
- the name, face and introduction of the people who actually do the work (an “About us” page with people, not slogans);
- a real address, VAT number (partita IVA) and contact details;
- genuine reviews or testimonials, ideally linked to your Google listing;
- examples of work done, with real photos, where the sector allows it;
- any certifications or memberships of professional bodies.
If all of this is missing, the visitor has to take you at your word. Adding even just two or three concrete elements changes the perception.
6. Every important service has its own page
If you offer four different things and the site packs them into a list on the home page, you are not giving anyone a reason to stay. Every main service deserves a page that explains what it includes, how it works, who it is designed for and how to ask for information. Also check the title of each page (the text that appears in the browser tab and in Google results): if it is generic or the same everywhere, it is a missed opportunity both for the people looking for you and for the people who should be finding you.
7. You know where visitors come from and what they do
Without data you are measuring by gut feeling. Check whether Google Analytics (or a similar tool) and Google Search Console are active on the site. In the latter, the “Performance” report shows which searches you are found for and how many people click. In the former you can see the most visited pages and, if it is configured, how many people press the phone number or submit the form. If this measurement does not exist, it is the first thing to fix, because without it every other change is left to intuition.
A site does not bring in customers when every step (understanding, trusting, getting in touch) takes more effort from the visitor than they are willing to spend.
How to use the results
At the end you will have a list of flaws of different weight. Sort them by how close they are to the moment of contact: a form that does not work or a number that cannot be tapped come before any redesign, because they are obstacles between an already interested customer and your reply. Straight after come the home page message and the proof of trust, which decide whether the person stays. Pages for each service and measurement bear fruit more slowly, but they are what makes the site a lasting asset and not just a shop window.
How well your pages are set up for Google and for AI is something you can see in a few minutes with the free SEO and GEO audit from Trovavio: it flags titles, descriptions, images and structure to fix first.
Where to start tomorrow
You do not need to do everything at once. Tomorrow morning do these three things, in this order: fill in your contact form and check that the email arrives; open the site on your phone and try to call by tapping the number; show the home page to someone for a few seconds and ask them to say what you do. If even one of the three results surprises you in a negative way, you have already found where to begin, and the remaining checks can wait until the afternoon.
