Most business websites don’t fail because they’re missing clever tactics.
When I look at sites that “aren’t converting”, it’s usually not an SEO issue or a design issue – it’s a clarity issue.
They make it hard for the right people to orient themselves, understand how you can help, and decide what to do next.
Here are three often-overlooked decisions that make a disproportionate difference – plus one small thing that quietly undermines trust.
1. Have several clear ways to sign up for your email list
This isn’t about plastering your site with forms.
It’s about being clear on what someone can do next if they’re interested – without forcing them to be “ready to buy”. Some people who visit your business site may be ready to buy and that’s great. But a lot of people won’t quite be at that stage.
In practice, this usually means having more than one clear opportunity to sign up – without overwhelming the page.
If someone likes what they see but can’t work out how to stay in touch, that’s not a traffic problem – it’s a customer journey design decision.
Some top places to put a signup form for your mailing list:
- the homepage
- your about page
- your contact page
Plus one or two of the following:
- your site’s sidebar or footer bar
- a banner or announcement bar at the top of the page
- embedded in blog posts, with a clear Call To Action (CTA)
The point isn’t to add more forms – it’s to make the next step obvious for someone who’s interested but not yet ready to decide.
2. Give a reason why people should sign up to your newsletter
Inboxes are cluttered. “Sign up for our newsletter” rarely gives people enough reason to act.
This is less about incentives, and more about signalling who your work is actually for.
A generic freebie will grow a list.
A relevant one grows the right list – and those are very different outcomes.
You don’t necessarily need a freebie if there’s a clear benefit, I didn’t use a freebie for my Vietnamese blog either – the reason to sign up was clear because the content itself served a very specific need.
The question isn’t what you offer – it’s what you’re signalling by offering it.
3. Make it easy to contact you directly
If someone is interested in reaching out – whether that’s to potentially work with you or invite you to collaborate – you want to make that easy. If people have to hunt around for your email address or can’t find a contact form on your site, you can guarantee some people will give up.
Different people signal interest in different ways. A good website respects that instead of forcing everyone down the same path.
Discovery calls can work well – but they’re not how everyone wants to take a first step.
Some people don’t like calls or need to feel like they really know you before they’re ready for that. If the only way they can connect with you is via a discovery call, you may lose some potential leads who are not ready to do that.
Offering a lower-commitment next step gives people space to build confidence before deciding how they want to engage.
Contact options are part of how people assess whether they think you could be a good fit.
4. No broken links
You want all your website internal links (ie. links to other pages on your website) to work. A 404 error doesn’t look good when someone is deciding whether to trust you.
Here’s one place this is often overlooked – the links in your site’s footer. If there’s an icon for LinkedIn but you don’t use LinkedIn – delete the icon. Or at the very least remove the link so the icon’s there but nothing happens when you hover over it.
Only link to social media you’re active on, and make sure those links work!
Otherwise your site comes across as unfinished. Not the impression you want to give prospective clients.
Small signs of neglect often matter more than big design choices – especially when someone is deciding whether to trust you.
Final word
If reading this made you realise your website isn’t the real issue – but a symptom of something less clear underneath – that’s often where I start with clients.
Clarity tends to come before fixes.