Websites rarely fail loudly. They keep loading, the domain keeps renewing, and the customers they lose simply call someone else without telling you why. Six signs mean that is happening: the headline is a slogan, the photos are someone else's, the phone number does not dial, the site was built for a desktop, the form goes nowhere, and there is no person on it. Each one takes a minute to check on your own phone.
They map onto the reasons in why your website isn't generating leads; this is the quick version.
1. The headline is a slogan
Open the homepage on your phone. If the first line says something like "Excellence in every detail" instead of what you do and where, a visitor has to work out whether they are in the right place. Many will not.
The check: could a stranger say what you do and which towns you cover from the first screen alone?
2. The photos are someone else's
Stock photos of models in hard hats, perfect kitchens or smiling patients are easy to spot, and they make a real business look like a template. A visitor deciding whether to trust you wants to see you, your team and your actual work.
The check: is every photo on the homepage of your business, your people or your jobs?
3. The phone number does not dial
Tap your phone number on your own site. If nothing happens, every visitor who wanted to call has to copy it by hand. On a site for a roofer or anyone people call in a hurry, this alone loses calls every week.
The check: does tapping the number open the dialler with it filled in?
4. It was built for a desktop
If you have to pinch to read the text, the menu does not open, or buttons are too small to hit, the site was designed for a computer screen. Most local searches happen on phones.
The check: can you read and use every page with one thumb, without zooming?
5. The form goes nowhere
Forms break silently. They send to old inboxes, land in spam, or stop working after an update. A broken form looks exactly like a site nobody contacts. Contact form not working? has the five-minute test.
The check: submit your own form and see whether it arrives, and how quickly.
6. There is no person on it
No owner's name, no team, no face, no licence number. People hire people, especially for anything that happens in their home or their body. A chiropractor or a salon with no practitioner on the page is asking for trust without giving anything to trust.
The check: can a visitor see who they will be dealing with?
If you found two or more
One sign is a quick fix. Two or more usually mean the site needs more than patching; fix your website or start over helps you decide. Either way, the free website audit checks the ones a machine can check, and the report shows which to fix first.