7 website mistakes that make your business look unprofessional (and they're easy to fix)

A plumber asked me to look at his website last week. He’d had it built a couple of years ago and knew something wasn’t quite right, but couldn’t put his finger on what.

Within thirty seconds I’d spotted five problems. Not complicated technical stuff – just small things that, together, made his business look a bit… amateur. Which was frustrating, because he’s genuinely excellent at his job.

The thing is, most people won’t tell you why they clicked away from your site. They just leave. And you never know what work you’re missing out on.

So here are the things I see constantly – and honestly, most of them take less than an hour to fix.

1. Copyright says 2019 (or worse, 2017)

This one’s almost too obvious, but I see it everywhere. That little ”© 2019 Your Business Name” in the footer tells everyone exactly how long it’s been since anyone paid attention to your site.

It’s not that customers are actively looking for it. But when they notice, it plants a seed of doubt. Is this business still running? Are these prices current? Is anyone actually checking the enquiries?

The fix: Most website builders let you set the year to update automatically. If yours doesn’t, just set a reminder in your calendar for January each year. Two minutes.

2. Photos that scream “stock image”

You know the ones. Impossibly attractive people in pristine offices, laughing at a laptop. A handshake between two suspiciously well-manicured hands. The diverse group of colleagues high-fiving.

Look, I understand why people use them. Getting good photos of your actual business takes effort. But those generic images do nothing for trust – everyone’s seen them a hundred times before.

Even a slightly awkward phone photo of your actual workshop, van, or finished work is more convincing than a polished stock image. Real beats perfect every time.

3. Contact form that goes nowhere

I’ve lost count of the number of sites I’ve tested where the contact form just… doesn’t work. You fill it in, hit send, maybe get a generic “thanks for your message” – and then nothing. Ever.

The business owner has no idea this is happening. They’re just wondering why enquiries have dried up.

Test yours right now. Send yourself a message. Check your spam folder too. If it’s not coming through, you might have been losing leads for months.

4. Mobile experience is an afterthought

More than half of your visitors are on their phones. Probably more like 60-70% for local service businesses. So if your site’s a nightmare to use on mobile – tiny text, buttons too small to tap, having to pinch and zoom to read anything – you’re annoying the majority of potential customers.

The irony is that most modern website templates are mobile-friendly by default. It’s usually the “customisation” that breaks things. Someone adds a fancy feature that looks great on desktop and terrible everywhere else.

Pull out your phone and actually try using your own site. Book a service. Fill in a form. If it’s frustrating, it’s costing you money.

5. No clear way to actually contact you

I visited a site recently where I had to click through four pages to find a phone number. It was buried in the footer, in grey text on a slightly darker grey background.

People looking for a plumber or electrician or decorator aren’t browsing. They’ve got a problem and they want to talk to someone. Your phone number should be visible on every page, ideally at the top. Same with a contact form.

Make it stupidly easy. The people who really need your services shouldn’t have to work for it.

6. Spelling mistakes and broken links

One typo won’t kill you. But a few scattered around your site, plus a link that goes to a 404 page, plus a missing image… it adds up. It suggests nobody’s really looking after things.

The problem is you stop seeing your own site after a while. You’ve read those pages so many times that your brain fills in what should be there rather than what actually is.

Get someone else to look. A friend, a family member, anyone with fresh eyes. They’ll spot things you’ve been blind to for years.

7. The dreaded “website under construction” page

If any page on your site still says “coming soon” or “under construction” from when the site was first built… just remove it. Either finish it or delete it.

An incomplete page is worse than no page at all. It tells visitors you started something and couldn’t be bothered to finish. Not the message you want to send.

The good news

None of these are expensive to fix. None of them require a developer. Most of them are afternoon jobs, if that.

The plumber I mentioned at the start? We sorted his site in about an hour. Updated the copyright, swapped out a few stock images for photos from his phone, fixed his contact form (it had been broken for eight months – eight months of missed enquiries).

He got a call the following week from someone who’d been recommended by a friend but “wanted to check the website first before ringing.” That single job paid for a year of hosting.

Sometimes it’s the small stuff that matters.

If you’re not sure whether your site has these issues – or you’ve spotted them but don’t know how to fix them – I’m happy to take a quick look. No charge, no obligation. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is all you need. Drop me a message and I’ll let you know what I find.