You have invested time in your site. You think it is 'pretty good'. But visitors leave without converting. The reality? Bad design does not shock, it creates silent friction. Here are the 5 mistakes costing customers to most sites belonging to coaches, consultants and creators.
1. A loading time that is too long
53% of mobile visitors abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load. That is a Google statistic, not an opinion. Every second of delay reduces your conversion rate by 7%. If your site is not optimised (uncompressed images, slow fonts, blocking scripts), you lose customers before they even see your offer.
Test your site with PageSpeed Insights (free). A score below 70 on mobile is a priority to fix before anything else.
2. A vague main message
Your visitors decide in under 5 seconds whether they stay or leave. If your hero does not clearly answer 'who is this site for and what does it bring me?', you lose them. Look at the difference:
- Vague: 'I help you reach your potential'
- Clear: 'I build websites that generate leads for B2B consultants'
The second version says who, what, for whom. That is all you need.
3. Too much text, not enough hierarchy
The web is not a book. Your visitors do not read, they scan. Blocks of text with no subheadings and no breathing room create cognitive friction that prompts people to close the tab. Work on your hierarchy: sizes, font weights, colours, white space.
Simple rule: if you can cut your paragraph in two, cut it. Short sentences hold attention. Blocks of text kill it.
4. An invisible call to action
'Contact me' at the bottom of the page is not enough. Your main call to action has to be visible from the start, with a strong action verb and a colour that cuts through the background.
A well-placed 'Start your project' button generates 3 times more clicks than a discreet link in the menu. It is not a question of design, it is a question of placement and clarity.
5. An absence of social proof
A visitor who does not know you has no reason to trust you by default. Testimonials, client logos, quantified results and real photographs are essential trust signals. Without them, your site looks like a promise with no guarantee.
A testimonial with a real photograph and a first name is worth 10 times more than an anonymous quote. Specificity is what convinces.
In summary
These 5 mistakes can be fixed. Some in a few hours, others need a complete redesign. If you recognise yourself in several of these points, it is a sign that it is time to rework your site with an expert eye.
These design problems often go hand in hand with conversion problems. To go further: why your landing page does not convert.