If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, you're losing 40% of your visitors. Here represents what else you're doing wrong.
Your website is not an art gallery. It is a sales rep that works 24/7. It doesn't take holidays, it doesn't call in sick, and it should be bringing you money while you sleep. If it isn't bringing you enquiries, it needs to be fired.
We audit hundreds of trade websites every year. Most of them are pretty enough, but they are built by designers, not marketers. Here are the three most common ways you are burning money.
1. "Contact Us" vs "Get a Quote"
Nobody wants to "Contact Us". That sounds like effort. That sounds like navigating a phone menu or waiting 3 days for an email reply.
They want a result. They want a "Free Quote", a "Site Visit", or a "Strategy Call".
Change your main button text from "Contact" to "Get Your Free Quote" or "Book a Call". We have seen this single change increase enquiries by 30% overnight. It tells the customer exactly what they are going to get.
2. No Trust Signals Above the Fold
"Above the fold" means what people see on their screen before they scroll down. This is prime real estate.
If a customer lands on your site, they are asking one question: "Is this guy a cowboy?"
If they don't see a Checkatrade logo, a Google Star rating, a prominent phone number, or a testimonial within 3 seconds, they are hitting the back button. Trust must be established instantly.
Don't hide your accreditations in the footer. Put them right next to your logo. Show them you are safe.
3. It’s Too Slow on Mobile
80% of your customers are on their phones. They are looking for you while standing in a flooded kitchen, or on a 4G connection on the train.
If your site attempts to load a huge, high-resolution video background or a 10MB image gallery, it will take 5-10 seconds to load.
"53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load." — Google Data
That means if your site is slow, you are literally pouring half of your potential customers down the drain before they even see your company name.
What to Do Now
Open your website on your phone right now. Not your WiFi—use 4G. Does it load instantly? Can you find your phone number in one second? Is it easy to tap the 'Quote' button with your thumb?
If the answer is no, you are losing jobs to the guy whose website is worse looking, but works better.
