Free Website Checklist for Small Businesses
In today’s digital world, your website is often the first impression customers get of your business.
For those of us DIY-ing our websites, it can be easy to make simple mistakes that can cost you business and customers.
But don’t worry, we’re here to help! We’ve created a free website checklist for small businesses so that you optimise your website and grow your business 😊
Let’s dive into the 12 most common mistakes and how to fix them 👇
1. Centred Text Blocks
The Mistake: Large blocks of centred text are hard to read and can frustrate visitors.
Fix It: Reserve centred text for headlines or short phrases. Use left-aligned paragraphs to improve readability, especially on mobile.
2. No Clear Calls to Action (CTA)
The Mistake: Without a clear CTA above the fold of your website, visitors won’t know what action you want them to take.
Fix It: Include strong, action-focused CTAs on every page – e.g. ‘Book a free consultation’, ‘Join our mailing list’. Make sure they’re clear and visible to the visitor – try using bold text and contrasting colours on your buttons to improve visibility!
3. Poor Colour Contrast
The Mistake: Using low contrast colours in your content can make it hard to read and inaccessible for those with some disabilities.
Fix It: If you already have a brand colour palette, check its accessibility using free tools like Adobe Colour Contrast Analyser.
If you don’t have a brand palette yet, you can use Coolors to generate a palette that works for your brand! Just make sure to run it through a contrast checker before rolling it out across your website 😊
4. Not Enough White Space
The Mistake: Over-crowding pages and not leaving enough white space can make your website look overwhelming.
Fix It: Use white space to give your content some breathing room. Try adding padding around key elements on your website like CTAs and titles.
5. No cookie consent
The Mistake: Not having cookie consent or a secure site (SSL). Without these two key things, your site won’t seem safe or compliant and may deter customers from working with/buying from you.
Fix It: Ensure you have a GDPR-compliant cookie banner that follows consent rules. And install a free SSL certificate from your website hosting provider to show customers your site is safe!
6. Using Linktree
The Mistake: This is a controversial one, but sending social media traffic to Linktree means lost visitors to your site and missed analytics.
Fix It: Create a branded ‘links’ page on your site that you can use in place of Linktree. Doing this will give you better tracking, improve your SEO and build trust with your brand too!
7. No Social Proof
The Mistake: Not using testimonials and reviews on your website. Visitors need to see that you’re a business that they can trust and social proof is a great way to do this!
Fix It: Use real reviews from Google or Facebook on your website – they’re free to embed to give it a go! Include names, photos, and even business details where you can to bring your testimonials to life.
8. Not Sharing Your Personality Or Story
The Mistake: Creating generic content and not sharing your personality or story on your website. People connect with people, and if you’re not showing your personality or story it can be hard to connect with your audience and build loyalty.
Fix It: A great place to start is your ‘About’ page. Share your story and include why you started, your mission, and photos of you/ your team. If you’re not ready to share pictures just yet, start with your story and build from there!
9. Walls of Text
The Mistake: More isn’t always more – big paragraphs can scare readers off – especially on mobile.
Fix It: Break up text with subheadings, bullet points, and images. This will improve your site’s readability and help your SEO too!
10. No Blog Content
The Mistake: Not having a blog means missing opportunities to rank in search engines and add value to your audience.
Fix It: Start writing blog posts for your site! You can try answering customer questions, educating your customers about your industry, or sharing freebies and knowledge to add value and build trust.
11. Low-Quality or Irrelevant Images
The Mistake: Using low-quality pictures or images that don’t match your brand can make your site feel unprofessional.
Fix It: Use high-quality, relevant images – preferably of your actual team or products, where you can. If you don’t have those yet, stock photos or AI generated images can work, but just ensure they’re always relevant and high-quality.
12. No Email Sign-Up or Social Media Links
The Mistake: Not having an email sign-up button or links to follow you on social media means that visitors may leave your site and not be able to connect with you again.
Fix It: Add a newsletter sign-up somewhere on your website. Make it clear why the visitor should sign up! You might like to include an incentive like a freebie download or a discount on your products. Don’t forget to include links to your active social media accounts somewhere on your site too!
Ready to Improve Your Website?
Many of these fixes are quick wins you can implement today! We recommend starting with the most critical issues and then working your way through the rest of the list. Once you’ve completed all 12 steps, you’ll have a great website for your customers to enjoy 💪
✅ Need help getting started? Download our Free Website Checklist for Small Businesses!
This guide is based on insights from Suzi Brown of The Smart Bear, a seasoned web developer with 12+ years of experience helping small businesses and charities create websites that work.
Meet the mentor
This guide is based on insights from Suzi Brown. She’s the founder of The Smart Bear and a Digital Boost volunteer mentor too!
Suzi has over 12 years’ experience building and developing websites and has a special interest in empowering small businesses and charities to optimise their websites without breaking the bank 😊
