17 Reasons Your Website Isn't Converting
Find where visitors drop off, why it happens, and what to fix first.
Plenty of the sites we review aren't ugly. They fail because a visitor with a real need can't tell, fast enough, that you're the answer. This guide walks through 17 reasons visitors leave without calling, booking or buying, each with what you'll see on your own site, a quick fix you can make now, and a plain line on when a fix isn't enough.
- Format
- Printable PDF
- Length
- 14 pages
- Use it
- Before you redesign
- Price
- Free
Free download
Get the 17 Reasons Your Website Isn't Converting
Three quick steps, then the PDF is yours to download. We'll email you a copy too.
- Printable 14-page PDF
- Instant download, plus a copy by email
- Plain language, no marketing background needed
- A 17-box self-score checklist
Use it when
What the guide helps with
Step 1 of 4: find out where you stand. Here is when this guide earns its place on your desk.
The traffic looks fine, the phone is quiet
Chapter 1 checks whether the traffic was ever going to call: bots, visits from outside your area, people looking to do it themselves, and searches for your own name.
You can't tell what's driving people away
The 17 reasons are grouped by where they happen: the first six seconds, the path to contact, the reasons to trust you, and what the pages say.
Someone says you need a new website
Chapter 9 sorts the reasons into usually a fix, fix first and rebuild if blocked, and often structural, with the signs that the structure is the real problem.
Leads may be going missing
Form delivery breaks quietly after updates and hosting changes. The guide shows how to test your form and phone from a real phone, and to send every submission to two places.
What you get out of it
What you'll walk away with
- The boxes you couldn't check on the 17-box checklist, and what your total usually means
- A quick fix for each reason, from the headline and the form to proof, photos and tracking
- An order to fix things in, cheapest and highest impact first, with more traffic last
- Your conversions per 100 relevant visits for the last 30 days, and a change log to judge each fix
- A plain answer on whether to fix or rebuild, and what to protect if you rebuild
Who it's for
- Owners whose site gets visits but not enough calls or forms
- Businesses weighing a redesign against fixing what they have
- Marketing leads who want a fix list in order of impact
Chapter by chapter
What's inside the guide
14 printable pages in 9 chapters. Here are four of the pages, then every chapter.
Page 4
Each reason: what you'll see, a quick fix, and when to rebuild instead.
Page 10
The 17-box checklist, and what your total usually means.
Page 11
What to fix first: eight steps, with more traffic last.
Page 13
Fix it, or rebuild it: which reasons are usually structural.
- 01
Before you blame the website
Check that the traffic was ever going to call anybody: bots, location, intent and brand searches.
- 02
The first six seconds
Reasons 1 to 5: headline, audience, next step, speed and mobile.
- 03
The path to contact
Reasons 6 to 10: the ask, the form, leads that go missing, one-size next steps, and clutter.
- 04
Reasons to trust you
Reasons 11 to 14: proof, photos, price, and lowering the risk of choosing you.
- 05
What the pages say, and where
Reasons 15 to 17: copy, dedicated pages and tracking.
- 06
Score yourself
A 17-box checklist and what your total usually means.
- 07
What to fix first
The order that gets the most back for the least money.
- 08
Know whether it worked
A simple way to measure conversions, and a change log to keep.
- 09
Fix it, or rebuild it?
A plain test for when a fix is enough, and what to protect if it isn't.
How to use it
Three steps, straight from the guide
- 01
Open your site on your phone on cellular data, not office wifi, and rule out a traffic problem with the chapter 1 check.
- 02
Read the 17 reasons, then tick every statement on the chapter 6 checklist that is true of your site today.
- 03
Fix the boxes you couldn't check in the chapter 7 order, one change at a time, and write each one in the change log.
Results depend on your market, your competition and your starting point. Nothing in this guide is a guarantee of rankings, traffic or revenue.
Free download
Ready to start? Get your free copy of the guide.
Three quick steps, then the PDF is yours to download. We'll email you a copy too.
- Printable 14-page PDF
- Instant download, plus a copy by email
- Plain language, no marketing background needed
- A 17-box self-score checklist
Go deeper
Keep reading, or hand it to us
Want us to do this for you?
Our conversion audit reviews your pages, forms and analytics to find where visitors drop off, and which fixes are worth making first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about the guide
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