You don’t have an SSL certificate
Security is a top priority for everyone on the web, especially for business owners wanting to grow. An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between your website and your visitors, so it’s best to have an SSL certificate installed and configured properly on your site.
There are many sites that sell SSL certificates, but my favorite ones are from Certbot because they are free.
Bonus: Having an SSL certificate on your website is also good for search engine optimization (SEO).
Your site takes too long to load
It should take less than 3 seconds to load your website. You may think your website loads very quickly — but that’s because your web browser has most likely saved a version of your website to minimize bandwidth.
Try visiting your website from a different web browser or from another device that has never visited your site to get real-world experience.
You can also use Pingdom Website Speed Test to test how long it takes to load your site.
Your site looks old
About 40% of website users abandon a site if it looks old and tired. Make sure your website is visually pleasing and engaging with good web copy, headings, and strong calls to action.
Keeping your website up to date with fresh content also helps you rank higher with the search engines, and that will boost your web traffic.
You only accept Paypal
I remember back in the days when having a Paypal button on your site was very cool, but we have tons of options now, so use them. If your site has an e-commerce component, you can connect it with a payment gateway like Stripe to accept Visa, MasterCard, & American Express cards right on your website.
You can also combine Stripe with WooCommmerce and offer Google Pay and Apple Pay as your payment options. Here is a screenshot showing how Google Pay appears on a mobile device.
Your site is not mobile friendly
Many small business websites see about 50% of web traffic from mobile devices, so make sure your site looks great on mobile, tablet, and desktop.
Are you making any of these mistakes?
Having a successful website requires time, skill, and dedication, and it’s never too late to make a few minor improvements.
