Hey Reader,

I'm back from my birthday break and excited to continue our website series!

Last time we talked about the five essential pages your website needs.

This week?

We're conducting a website audit to identify things that might be quietly driving potential clients away from your site.

And listen... I see these mistakes ALL the time.

Even on websites that look beautiful. Because here's the thing, a pretty website that doesn't convert is just expensive art.

Quick overview of what's inside:

• Common website mistakes are silently costing you clients every single day
• Most of these issues are easy to identify and fix once you know what to look for
• We're covering 7 major mistakes and giving you actionable fixes for each one
• You can audit your own site this week using this checklist

Watch or Listen to Audio

Let's find out what needs your attention on your website...

Think of this as a check-up for your website. Just like you'd take your car in for maintenance, your website needs regular check-ups to ensure everything is working as it should.

The difference between the two?

A broken website costs you money every single day it's not fixed.

7 Website Mistakes That Need Your Attention

...Because they may be costing you clients

1. Slow Loading Speed

What it is: Your website takes more than 3 seconds to load.

Every. Single. Time.

Why it costs you clients:

Here's the brutal truth - 53% of mobile visitors will abandon a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.

They don't wait around.

They hit the back button and end up on your competitor's site instead.

Google also ranks faster sites higher in search results, so slow speed doesn't just lose you the visitors you have, it prevents new people from finding you in the first place.

How to fix it:

• Test your speed using Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix (both free)
• Optimize your images – this is usually the biggest culprit! Use tools like TinyPNG or compress images before uploading
• Enable caching if your platform allows it
• Minimize plugins (for WordPress users) – deactivate and delete anything you're not actively using
• Upgrade your hosting if you're on the cheapest shared hosting plan and outgrowing it
• Consider a CDN (Content Delivery Network) for larger sites with lots of traffic

Start with images. I cannot stress this enough – oversized images are responsible for about 80% of slow websites I see.

2. Poor Mobile Experience

What it is: Your website looks great on desktop but is a hot mess on mobile.

The buttons are too small, the text is unreadable, the images don't scale, or the navigation is impossible to use.

Why it costs you clients:

Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site isn't mobile-friendly, you're essentially telling the majority of your potential clients "I don't care about your experience."

Plus, Google uses mobile-first indexing, which means it primarily uses the mobile version of your site when determining search rankings.

Bad mobile experience = lower rankings = fewer visitors.

How to fix it:

• Check your site on your actual phone – don't just resize your browser window
• Test on multiple devices if possible (iPhone, Android, tablet)
• Use responsive design – most modern themes/templates are responsive, but double-check
• Make buttons and links large enough to tap easily (minimum 44x44 pixels)
• Ensure text is readable without zooming (minimum 16px font size for body text)
• Simplify mobile navigation – hamburger menus are your friend
• Test your forms on mobile – they should be easy to fill out on a small screen

If you're on WordPress, your theme should handle most of this automatically. But always test to make sure!

3. Unclear Messaging

What it is: Visitors land on your homepage and have no idea what you actually do or who you help.

Your messaging is vague, uses industry jargon, or tries to be too clever.

Why it costs you clients:

People make snap judgments. If they can't figure out within 5 seconds whether you can help them with their problem, they're gone.

Remember, your visitors are busy, distracted, and probably looking at your site while doing three other things. You need to make it crystal clear what you do and who it's for – immediately.

How to fix it:

• Write a clear headline that states exactly what you do and who you serve
• Use simple language – if your 12-year-old cousin wouldn't understand it, simplify it
• Lead with the problem you solve, not your process or credentials
• Test the "mom test" – show your homepage to someone unfamiliar with your business and ask them to explain what you do in 10 seconds
• Remove jargon and buzzwords – "synergize," "leverage," "solutions" without context mean nothing
• Be specific – "I help small businesses" is vague; "I help service-based businesses get more clients through their websites" is clear

Your homepage headline should answer: "What do you do?" and "Who do you do it for?" in one sentence.

4. Broken Links and Forms

What it is: Links that go nowhere, contact forms that don't send, buttons that don't work, or pages that show error messages.

Why it costs you clients:

Nothing screams "unprofessional" or "this business might not even be operating anymore" like broken functionality on a website.

If someone is ready to contact you or buy from you and your form doesn't work?

They're not going to try again later. They're moving on to someone whose site actually works.

How to fix it:

• Test your contact form monthly – send yourself a test message
• Click every link on your site – all of them, seriously
• Check external links – websites you link to might have changed or disappeared
• Test all CTAs and buttons – make sure they actually do what they're supposed to
• Use a broken link checker – tools like Broken Link Checker (WordPress plugin) or online checkers can find issues automatically
• Set up form notifications – make sure you're actually receiving form submissions
• Test on different browsers – Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge

Do this quarterly at minimum. Technology changes, plugins update, things break. Regular testing catches issues before clients run into them.

5. Bad Navigation

What it is: Your menu is confusing, important pages are buried three clicks deep, or visitors can't figure out how to find what they're looking for.

Why it costs you clients:

If people can't easily find your services, pricing, or contact information, they won't keep hunting.

They'll leave.

Your navigation should be so intuitive that visitors don't even think about it, they just naturally find what they need.

How to fix it:

• Keep your main menu simple – 5-7 items maximum
• Use clear labels – "Services" not "What We Offer," "Contact" not "Let's Connect"
• Put important pages in the header menu – Services, About, Contact should be easy to find
• Add a footer menu for secondary pages (Privacy Policy, Blog, Resources)
• Include a search function if you have lots of content
• Use descriptive link text – "Book a Strategy Call" is better than "Click Here"
• Test with fresh eyes – ask someone unfamiliar with your site to find specific information

Remember: you know your website inside and out. Your visitors don't. What seems obvious to you might be confusing to them.

6. Outdated Content

What it is: Your website has information from 2019, references to events that already happened, old pricing, outdated team photos, or a blog that hasn't been updated in a year.

Why it costs you clients:

Outdated content signals that you either don't care about your online existence, or worse, that your business might not even be active anymore.

Would you hire someone whose website says "2023 Special Offer" in 2025?

Probably not. It immediately raises trust issues.

How to fix it:

• Do a content audit – go through every page and look for dates, references, and time-sensitive information
• Update copyright dates in your footer
• Remove or update old blog posts – either refresh them with current info or remove outdated ones
• Check your About page – are your credentials, team info, and photos current?
• Review your Services page – are your offerings, pricing, and processes still accurate?
• Set a quarterly reminder to review your website for outdated content
• Use "evergreen" language when possible – instead of "In 2024, we..." try "Recently, we..."

If you have a blog that you've abandoned, either commit to updating it regularly or remove the publish dates so it's not obvious it's been neglected.

7. Focusing on Features Instead of Benefits

What it is: Your website talks about what you DO (features) instead of what results your clients GET (benefits).

It's all about your process, credentials, and approach, not about solving your client's problem.

Why it costs you clients:

People don't buy features. People buy solutions to their problems and the results they'll get.

If your website reads like a resume or a technical manual instead of a compelling story about transformation, you're not connecting with what actually motivates people to hire you or buy from you.

​This blog post helps digest the whole 'features versus benefits' concept.

Check that out!

How to fix it:

• Start with the problem – what pain point does your ideal client have?
• For every feature you list, add "which means..." and state the benefit
  • Feature: "Weekly check-in calls" → Benefit: "...which means you're never left wondering about your project status"
  • Feature: "Custom WordPress development" → Benefit: "...which means you get a website that works exactly how YOU need it to, not a cookie-cutter template"
• Use result-oriented language – "You'll have a website that brings in clients 24/7" vs. "We build websites"
• Include specific outcomes – "Clients typically see 40% more inquiries" beats "We improve your online presence"
• Tell transformation stories – Before and after, problem to solution
• Ask yourself: "So what? Why does this matter to my client?"

Go through your Services page right now and count how many times you talk about what YOU do versus what results THEY get.

If it's not at least 50/50, you've got work to do.

Your Website Audit Action Steps

Okay, now it's time to actually DO something with this information.

Here's your homework:

This week, audit your website for these 7 mistakes:

1. Test your site speed – Google PageSpeed Insights is free and takes 2 minutes
2. Check mobile experience – pull out your phone right now and browse your site
3. Read your homepage out loud – does it clearly explain what you do in the first 5 seconds?
4. Test every form and link – yes, every single one
5. Click through your navigation – can you easily find services, pricing, and contact info?
6. Look for outdated content – dates, references, old photos
7. Review your Services page – are you talking benefits or just features?

Pick your top 3 priorities from what you find and fix those first. You don't have to tackle everything at once.

Not sure how to fix something you found? Hit reply and tell me what issue you discovered – I'm happy to point you in the right direction!

Need Help Fixing Your Website?

Sometimes you find the issues but don't have the time, tech skills, or energy to fix them yourself. I get it.

Studio117 Creative can help you:

• Audit your website and identify all the issues costing you clients
• Fix technical problems (speed, mobile, broken functionality)
• Rewrite unclear messaging so visitors actually understand what you do
• Redesign or refresh outdated sites
• Optimize your site to convert visitors into clients

Ready to stop losing clients to easily-fixable website problems? Book a strategy call and let's talk about what needs fixing and how we can help!

Coming Up Next Week

Next week, we're wrapping up our website series with: Is Your Website Actually Working FOR You? – a strategic look at how to measure if your website is pulling its weight in your business (and what to do if it's not).

This is going to be the most strategic one yet, so make sure you don't miss it!

Got questions about any of these website mistakes? Hit reply and let me know!