A website can look fine and still not ring the phone. I judge a local service site the way a busy owner would, whether the business is in Lake Macquarie, Newcastle or on the Central Coast. Does a stranger know who it's for, what to do next and why to trust it, without having to work it out? Those are the things I look at before I look at the design.
Six things I look at
- Is it clear who the page helps?
- Is it clear what action the visitor should take, and is it said the same way on every page?
- Does the page build trust early enough?
- Is it too abstract, too technical or too agency-sounding?
- Does it read well on a phone?
- Are the sections in the right order?
What these six can't see
These six questions can't see whether Google is showing the site, whether the right people are arriving, or anything else the questions don't cover. A quiet phone doesn't say why.
Fix or rebuild
This is how I sort it. Slow on mobile is a fix. A site you can't update yourself is a fix. A site that doesn't say where you work is a fix. A site that hasn't produced an enquiry in months is a symptom, not a fix. Each of the first three on its own is a fix. All four together is a rebuild.
Where to start
Open your homepage on your phone and read only the first screen. If a stranger couldn't say who it's for and what to do next, start with the first two questions.
What it looks like on a real site
I've written up a Central Coast electrician's website rebuild, so you can see what a homepage, a set of service pages and a quote form look like on a live site.
What to read next
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