Why your website gets no enquiries: 7 causes you can spot in 15 minutes
The website is live, you have put money and evenings into it, and the phone stays silent. More often than not the problem is neither the design nor “the algorithms”, but a handful of simple things you can see from a phone and a computer: each check takes a couple of minutes, about 15 in all. Below are seven such causes; the diagram shows where on the customer’s journey each one loses them. For each: how to check, what the problem looks like and what to do.
A guide for small businesses in France: micro-entrepreneurs, tradespeople, cafés, salons. You need a phone, a computer and 15 minutes. No technical knowledge required.
First, find out whether people visit at all. If you have Google Analytics or Search Console, look at the number of visitors over a month. If not, check the statistics of your Google Business Profile (calls, website clicks) or those of your hosting or website builder. Hardly any visitors? Start with points 5 and 7: customers can’t find you. Visitors but no enquiries? Start with points 1–4 and 6.
1. On a phone, the first screen doesn’t answer three questions
How to checkOpen your website on your phone and look at the first screen for five seconds without scrolling. Then close it and answer: what do you do, where (town, area) and how can people get in touch? Better still, ask a friend who has never seen the site.
The problemA big beautiful picture, a slogan like “Your success is our mission”, a slider, a cookie banner covering half the screen. The customer didn’t understand what you do and went back to the search results — to a competitor.
What to doA heading with your service and town: “Bathroom renovation in Lyon”. Below it, one line on what sets you apart and a “Call” or “Message” button. Everything else goes further down.
2. The site is slow to load on mobile
How to checkPaste your website address into PageSpeed Insights, Google’s free tool, and open the “Mobile” tab. Look at the section with data from real visitors and at the LCP figure — how many seconds it takes for the largest part of the screen to appear. Small sites usually have no real-visitor data: you then see a lab test that simulates slow mobile internet — harsher than real life, but it points to the right problems.
The problemGoogle considers loading good when the main content appears in 2.5 seconds or less. Small-business sites are often noticeably slower: 5 MB photos straight from the camera, a dozen plugins, background video. On mobile internet, customers won’t wait that long.
What to doCompress photos (WebP format, no wider than 2,000 pixels), remove background video and sliders, deactivate plugins you don’t use. That is usually the easiest place to start.
3. Getting in touch is awkward
How to checkOn your phone, try calling from the website with a single tap. See how far you have to scroll to reach the phone number or a WhatsApp button. Count the fields in the form.
The problemThe number is an image or text you can’t tap. Contact details are only on a separate page. The form asks for an address, budget, timescale and “how did you hear about us” — before the person has even decided whether you are right for them.
What to doMake the number a tap-to-call link (in a website builder, this is the “Phone” link type), at the top and bottom of every page. If your customers prefer to write rather than call, add a WhatsApp button. Keep the form to three fields: name, phone or email, message.
4. Enquiries are sent but never arrive
How to checkSend an enquiry through your website form yourself — from your phone, using your personal email address. Check whether the email arrives and where: in your inbox or in spam. Make sure the recipient address in the form settings is one you actually read.
The problemThis happens more often than you might think: the form shows “Thank you, we’ll be in touch”, but the email lands in spam, goes to an old address or is never sent at all. The owner is sure there are no enquiries, when in fact there were.
What to doSend your website’s emails through a proper mail server: on WordPress, an SMTP plugin (WP Mail SMTP, for example), so that the site’s emails go out through your Gmail, IONOS or OVH mailbox rather than through the web host’s server. Check the recipient address and repeat the test once a month and after every website update.
5. People can’t find the site by service and town
How to checkType into Google what a customer would: “électricien Bordeaux”, “coiffeur Nantes” — in an incognito window. Results still depend on where you are, so look at the map block too. Are you on the first page? Then type site:yoursite.fr — this shows whether Google knows your site at all (the operator doesn’t give the exact number of pages). If you have Search Console — Google’s free dashboard showing which searches you appear for — open the “Pages” and “Performance” reports.
The problemNo page says which town you work in. A single “Services” page for everything instead of one page per service. Headings like “Accueil” and “Bienvenue” instead of “Carreleur à Nice” (tiler in Nice).
What to doGive each main service its own page, with the service and town in the heading. Write in your customers’ words and in their language (in France, that means French, even if English comes more easily to you). Set up Search Console as described in our website guide for micro-entrepreneurs.
6. Nothing to inspire trust
How to checkLook at the site through a stranger’s eyes: can you tell who is behind it? Are there real photos of your work, a price guide, reviews or a link to them? Is there a legal notice page (mentions légales)? Is there a padlock in the address bar, with no “Not secure” warning?
The problemStock photos, not a single face, no prices — not even “from” — and reviews with no names. And the mentions légales are not a formality: a sole trader, micro-entrepreneurs included, must show on their website their name followed by EI, their address, email and phone number, their registration number and the hosting provider’s details. The fine for leaving them out is up to €75,000.
What to doYour own photo and pictures of real jobs, “from” prices or a sample quote, a link to your Google reviews. A complete mentions légales page. If the site uses analytics or advertising tools that need consent, a cookie banner where refusing is as easy as accepting: that is also a legal requirement. No such tools — no banner needed.
7. Your website and Google profile say different things
How to checkFind your business profile on Google Maps. Compare the phone number, address, opening hours and name with your website. Does the “Website” button on the profile lead to your site — and to the right page?
The problemFor a small business, the Google profile often brings in more customers than the website itself. If it shows an old number, different hours or a link to a page that no longer exists, the customer drops out halfway, and Google may show them outdated information.
What to doMake the details match everywhere and keep them that way. Check your profile with our 12-point checklist.
If your site is built with Wix, Squarespace or Jimdo
With Wix, Squarespace, Jimdo or a similar website builder, points 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 are checked and fixed the same way. Speed: compress photos before uploading them, remove unnecessary apps and animations. Form: there is no SMTP to set up — check the notification address in the form settings and the submissions section of your dashboard: enquiries are often waiting there even when no email arrived.
The 15-minute checklist
- First screen on a phone: service, town and a contact button visible without scrolling.
- PageSpeed Insights, “Mobile” tab: the main content appears in under 2.5 seconds.
- Tapping the phone number starts a call; the form has no more than three fields.
- The test enquiry reached your inbox.
- The site shows up for “service + town”;
site:shows that Google knows it. - There are photos of your work, a price guide, reviews and a mentions légales page.
- Phone, address and hours match on the website and the Google profile.
Failed several points? Start with the ones closest to the beginning of the customer’s journey: search (5, 7) → website (1, 2, 6) → contact (3) → enquiry (4). There is no point fixing the form while nobody gets that far.
When it’s worth getting a professional check
A self-check catches the obvious. What is harder to see is what you have got used to: wording customers don’t understand, an extra step that seems normal to you, competitors taking your customers in search results. During an audit, I go through the customer’s journey on a phone and a computer, check speed, search visibility, your Google profile and forms, and give you a list of fixes in order of priority — explaining what to change and why.
Want me to look at your site?
Send me your website address and tell me where your customers should come from. In the audit I’ll follow their path on a phone and give you a prioritised list of fixes.
Want your whole situation looked at?
Mentoring covers the whole path: from registration to reporting and choosing your tools.