When deciding whether your business should have a website, the answer is always yes.

A website is your always-online touchpoint, working 24/7 for you. If done right, it can generate results even while you sleep.

Your website is more than a simple digital flyer. It is:

• A lead-converting machine.

• An always-on information hub for your business product or service.

• A platform to promote and strengthen your brand.

Every website needs a clear primary goal, i.e., the reason it exists in the first place. Every page should work toward that goal.

Some examples are;

• A business website aims to sell products or services, turning visitors into paying clients.

• A beauty salon’s website may focus on allowing visitors to easily book services online, converting them into confirmed appointments.

• An event website might centralize all event details, making it more attractive and easier for possible attendees to commit to the event.

While the specific goals vary from business to business, they all converge into one truth:

A website’s ultimate goal should always be to generate more revenue for the business.

To achieve this, a website must do more than sell. It must inform, reassure, and automate, guiding its visitors toward action while building trust. No one buys just to buy; you need to create a relationship first.

In the following points, we will explore further these ideas and learn what mistakes may cost your conversions and may generate problems in the future.

1. No clear business goal

Before starting the creation of a website, you have to define your business goal first. This goal should then be translated into a tangible objective that your website is built to achieve.

The goal acts as the main reference point that shapes both the copy and the design.

Different goals call for different website structures, layouts, and functionalities.

To define your website’s goal, I’d advise using the SMART goals framework, a method that helps create realistic objectives. According to this model, every goal should be;

1. Specific: Be clear and precise rather than vague. Specific goals make it easier to map out the exact steps needed to achieve them. I’d recommend outlining these steps in an ordered to-do list, tackling one at a time (it makes the process more fun too!).

2. Measurable: Set criteria that can be tracked with numbers, not just feelings. For example: “I want 200 users per month to click my CTA” is far better than “I want a lot of clicks.” Measurable goals give you actual data to evaluate your business success and make informed data-based decisions.

3. Achievable: Ensure your goal is realistic, given the tools and resources you have. You can also include steps in your to-do list that make the goal more attainable than it was before.

4. Relevant: Ask yourself if the goal truly matters to your business. If you have several goals, rank them in order of importance. Focus on the most impactful first and consider postponing or discarding the rest.

5. Time-based: Set a clear deadline or timeline for each step. Ensure your timeframe is realistic to maintain momentum without compromising quality.

For example, if we want to create a blog website to make our brand present in Google searches, we can define it as:

Publish two SEO-optimized blog articles per week (Specific) to increase organic traffic by 40% (Measurable) using in-house writers and keyword research tools (Achievable) to strengthen brand visibility and authority (Relevant) within the next six months (Time-based).

Can you spot the SMART elements in the following goal? Which one is missing, and how would you complete it?

Book 20 new coaching sessions per month by running a targeted Instagram ad campaign to attract first-time clients.

Define as many goals as your business needs, and ensure your website’s design and copy directly support them.

And remember: a website should always deliver measurable results. Since you’re paying to keep it online, treat it as an investment, one that should return many times its cost.

2. Confusing Funnel

The term sales funnel describes the journey a lead or prospect takes, from not being aware of your business existence to becoming a loyal customer.

Every business defines and applies the sales funnel in its own way, adapting it to match specific goals, audiences, and needs.

I like to imagine its steps within a website as so:

Awareness and Discovery

The awareness stage is when people first discover your product or service. It marks the very first touchpoint (i.e., any interaction where a lead comes into contact with your brand).

This first contact could happen through your social media profile, an ad you’re running on Google, or your website via organic traffic from a valuable post.

If your goal is to use your website to generate awareness (essentially to say, “Hey, we exist”), the most effective way is to create valuable content. This can take the form of blog or article posts (like this one), videos, podcasts, or other formats. The key is to provide free value that resonates with your target customer, who could in the future become a paying client.

Because of this, it’s important to ask yourself:

• Who are the people most likely to be interested in what I offer (my target audience)?

• What could I give them for free that would provide real value and attract them to my website?

Create content that gives genuine value, whether by solving problems, answering common questions, or sharing useful insights. You won’t be generating sales right away, but you will be positioning your brand into people's minds and creating trust, which will eventually move them further down the funnel.

If you decide to take on this traffic-generating approach, it’s important to consider your website’s SEO by following SEO best practices. This ensures that your site appears in Google search results. We’ll explore this further in point 6.

In a nutshell, create valuable content that can be placed on your website related to the problems your business solves. Over time, people will start coming to you.

Interest and Research

When a prospect (a qualified lead) shows interest in a type of product or service, they will begin a research phase. In this stage, they gather information and evaluate whether your product or service is the right fit for their needs, compared to your competitors.

Our goal at this stage is to ensure our website provides all the information a user needs to make an informed decision (and choose your product). This is a crucial phase where we focus on selling the product by highlighting its benefits over its features.

Remember:

• Feature: A factual description of the product.

• Benefit: The value or positive outcome the user gains from that feature. (This is what truly motivates people to buy.)

A prospect should be able to find any information easily on your website. You should talk about your business and the product or service they’re interested in. That’s why focusing on UI/UX (User Interface and User Experience) is vital. Make the site intuitive to navigate, reduce friction (what slows down your visitor), and improve its sitemap (how pages are structured and connected hierarchically) so they can find the content they are looking for.

When you ease your visitor’s journey on your website, you’ll see your retention rate (the average time a visitor spends on your site) increase dramatically. We will talk more about this in section 7.

Some pages and contents on your website that serve the goal of informing are:

• About Us: The goal of this page is simple: share your brand’s story, values, and mission. Explain what your business is, what it does, and most importantly, why it does it. Use this space to create a relatable image of your brand that talks directly to your target audience. Make it feel real!

• FAQ: A Frequently Asked Questions page can be a dedicated page or a section within another page that addresses your prospects’ most common doubts about your product or service. While it’s impossible to cover every potential question, focus on the ones most relevant to helping prospects move further down the funnel. Whenever you interact with a prospect, pay attention to the questions they ask. If you notice certain questions coming up repeatedly, analyze them and consider adding them to your FAQ. Chances are, many other visitors have the same concerns.

• Blog: As discussed in the previous funnel stage, a blog or articles page aims to generate traffic over time. Within those posts, you can also create content that informs readers about what you offer, placing your product or service as a solution to the problems that are being addressed in the article copy. However, remember that people rarely enjoy being sold to; your main priority should always be to provide free, valuable content first. Once trust is built, readers will be more open to exploring your products or services.

• Free Resources: Some websites feature a dedicated page offering free materials designed to inform and educate visitors. These resources are an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and position your business as a knowledgeable authority in the field, which in turn builds trust.

• Case Studies: A case study is a real-world example showing how you successfully solved a client’s problem, with your product or service as the central solution. It should clearly explain what the client wanted, the process or strategy you used, and the outcome. Demonstrate your ability to deliver results, build credibility, and help prospects imagine how you could achieve similar success for them.

The exact mix will depend on your business type and goals. The key is to choose pages that actively inform, build trust, and guide your prospects toward becoming customers.

Decision to Action

At this stage of the funnel, the prospect is ready to make a purchase or commit to your offer, but the purchase has yet to be made. Your role is to remove all friction and make the conversion process as smooth as possible.

Make it effortless for them to:

• Find the final details: They need to feel 100% confident about the purchase. Inform pricing, guarantees, return policies, shipping times, or service terms.

• Understand exactly how the buying process works: From adding a product to the cart, to payment, to delivery, or onboarding.

• Trust that they are making the right choice: Reinforce credibility with testimonials, reviews, certifications, or security badges.

Allow for the decision to translate smoothly to action. Use CTAs (Calls to Action) strategically (explained in the next section) to guide them toward completing the conversion. CTAs should be visible, action-oriented, and tell them what to do next*.*

Be sure to minimize the steps to complete the purchase; fewer clicks and form fields mean fewer abandoned carts or drop-offs.

Loyalty

The process doesn’t end with the sale. In many ways, that’s just the beginning. Building loyalty means creating an ongoing, positive experience that keeps your customers coming back and encourages them to recommend you to others.

3. Weak or Absent CTAs

A CTA (Call to Action) on a website is any element (such as a button, link, line of text, or visual prompt) that encourages the user to take a specific action. A strong CTA makes users complete that action.

CTAs should have a clear purpose and goal in your funnel; whether that’s generating leads, completing a purchase, or encouraging engagement.

It varies depending on your business model and goals. Common examples are:

• Generate sales: “Buy Now”, “Add to Cart”, moving the visitor directly to purchase.

• Account creation: “Sign Up”, “Register”.

• Schedule a call or meeting: “Book a Free Call”, “Book a Consultation Now”.

• Give access to a resource: “Download”, “Free Download”.

• Build an email list: “Subscribe to Our Newsletter”, “Get Weekly Tips”.

• Encourage further engagement: “Learn More”, “View Case Study”, guiding visitors deeper into the funnel.

The exact CTAs you use on your website should be customized to your specific audience and the objectives of your page.

A strong CTA combines two key elements: compelling copy and clear design.

The copy (the words) should be relevant to the action and benefit. Make it clear what happens when they click it. Make them action-oriented: start with verbs (like Get, Book, Download, Start, Claim).

A user will click your CTA if it is benefit-driven (i.e., it generates them value). Whenever possible, hint at the value they’ll get. Urgency and exclusivity phrases like “Today Only”, “Limited Spots”, or “Join Now” can boost clicks too.

When I talk about copy for a CTA, I’m not only referring to the words inside the button; I’m also talking about the supporting text that leads up to it. A CTA on its own does very little.

The design (the look and feel) should be highly visible; make it stand out from the other elements. Use a color that is exclusively used for your CTAs, within your brand palette. Make it big enough to notice but small enough to avoid overwhelming the layout.

Make sure that your CTA offers a clear affordance: the design should make it obvious that it is clickable. Buttons have depth, links are underlined, and hover effects help users understand that the element acts. Position it where an action is most likely to occur; at the end of a product description, in the header, etc.

4. Treating Landing Pages like a Homepage

A landing page is a type of webpage with a single, clear purpose: to convert. Unlike a full website, which may have multiple pages and objectives, a landing page is often a standalone page that contains all the information and materials needed to persuade the visitor to take a specific action at that stage of the sales funnel.

Most of the time, a landing page is not meant to generate traffic on its own; instead, it acts as a destination for traffic coming from other sources such as paid advertising campaigns, email marketing, or social media promotions. Think of it as the bucket that collects traffic and channels it toward a focused conversion.

Landing pages are particularly effective for single products and businesses offering one specific service.

They can act as a digital business card to showcase key details about your business.

For example, if you run a local dental practice, you’re not trying to attract global traffic. You want people near you who need dental services. In that case, a Google Ads or Meta Ads campaign targeting locals could send them to your strong landing page that displays essential details such as your services, contact information, address, testimonials, and a clear call to action for booking an appointment. Include a blog only if you can produce content that would generate relevant traffic.

A homepage, on the other hand, serves as the introduction to your business and provides general information, similar to what you might find on a landing page. But it also acts as a gateway to the rest of your website. It helps visitors navigate to other important sections like your product and service pages, about us, etc.

Landing pages work best when they remove distractions. Every extra link is an opportunity for the visitor to leave before completing the goal. Streamline your visitor’s attention to the single, well-defined goal, and you’ll have a successful converting landing page.

5. Underestimating Copy

Many businesses still believe a website is just a pretty online space where you can showcase nice graphics and design, and that people will buy simply because it looks good.

Here’s the truth:

Design grabs attention, but copy converts.

Visitors who are genuinely interested in buying will read every single line of copy to validate their decision. And the ones who are unsure or skeptical? They’ll read even more closely, looking for reasons to say no.

Your copy must be coherent, clear, and maintain a consistent tone of voice across your entire website, and ideally, across all your communication channels. Make sure your business speaks the language of your audience. Is your tone friendly and approachable? Or formal and corporate? Choose it intentionally and stick to it.

Important aspects to consider when writing a good website copy are:

• Headlines matter (a lot): A headline should do four things: grab attention, signal who the content is for, deliver a clear message, and lead the reader into the body copy. Visitors will decide in seconds whether to keep reading, so make sure your headline makes the content below feel worth their precious time.

• Focus on benefits, not features: Features describe what your product is; benefits explain why it matters to the reader and what positive change it will bring to their life or business.

• Guide the reader toward action: Structure your copy so each sentence leads naturally to the next, building towards your desired call to action.

• Speak to their fears, desires, and dreams: Address the problems they want to solve, the goals they want to achieve, and the aspirations they care about most, and position your offer as the bridge to get there.

Use your website copy to reinforce your brand’s personality and talk directly to your customer in a way that will make them get closer to your goal.

6. Ignoring SEO foundations

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of improving your website so it appears higher in search engine results, increasing its visibility and attracting organic traffic (i.e., visitors who find you without paid ads). When someone searches on Google, Bing, or another search engine, your ranking determines if you are visible or not right at the top of the results.

SEO is especially important if you plan to add a blog or resource section to your website. Search engines will only rank you highly if your website provides real value and answers the questions people are searching for.

To ensure that your content is SEO friendly, there are some important foundations that you should keep in mind.

Keywords

Keywords are the words or phrases people type into search engines. You should identify the terms your target audience searches for and naturally include them in your page title, heading, body copy, meta description, and alt text.

There are many SEO tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz that can help you identify the main keywords to target, but they can be expensive. If you are not ready to invest in them, start by thinking like your ideal customer and asking yourself what you would search to find a business like yours, considering both the product or service name and the problems it solves. Make a list of these terms, look for variations, and use free resources such as Google Search Console.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to the more engineering-focused aspects of a website. One key factor is site speed. Pages should load quickly (ideally within two to three seconds) to keep visitors engaged and satisfy search engine requirements. Mobile-friendliness is equally important. Ensure that your website is fully responsive and works smoothly on desktop, tablet, and mobile.

Another essential is a proper HTML structure. Use heading tags in a logical order and write clear meta titles and descriptions for each page. Make sure your content is easy for both users and search engines to understand. You also need to focus on indexability. This means having a clean sitemap, a well-configured robots.txt file, and no unnecessary barriers that prevent pages from being discovered.

Ensure your website uses a secure connection (HTTPS) to protect user data and increase trust, as this is also a ranking signal for search engines.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO focuses on optimizing the content and elements within your website to make it more understandable and valuable to both users and search engine crawlers.

Start by optimizing images. Use descriptive alt text that explains what the image shows, and compress files to reduce load times without losing quality.

Make strategic use of internal links to connect related pages. This helps visitors navigate your site more easily and allows search engines to understand the structure of your content and which pages are most important. Include as well outbound links to reputable sources when relevant. Linking to trustworthy sites can strengthen your own credibility and provide additional value to your audience.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO involves actions taken outside your website to improve its authority, credibility, and search engine rankings. A key component is building backlinks from other websites to yours, as these signal to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy.

7. Skipping performance & Core Web Vitals

Everyone knows how frustrating it is to access a website that is slow and unresponsive. Performance is an important factor when considering retention (i.e., how much time people spend on your website).

To evaluate a website’s experience and performance, Google uses Core Web Vitals. It consists of three key metrics that measure how fast, stable, and responsive a page feels. These metrics affect both your visitors’ satisfaction and your SEO rankings.

The metrics are:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) measures loading performance by timing how long it takes for the largest visible element to appear. Aim for 2.5 seconds or lower.

• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) measures visual stability by tracking the amount of content that unexpectedly moves while the page loads. It is frustrating when you load a page and buttons start jumping around just before you can click them! High CLS scores frustrate users. Aim for a score under 0.1.

• INP (Interaction to Next Paint) measures responsiveness by tracking the longest delay between a user action (such as a click, tap, or key press) and the visual feedback displayed on screen. Aim for under 200 milliseconds.

Ignoring these metrics results in a site that looks good but feels slow, jumpy, or unresponsive.

Of course, you don’t have to know exactly how these metrics are calculated, but I advise you to consider these factors when constructing your pages.

To check easily if your page meets these criteria, you can use Lighthouse, a built-in tool in Chrome browsers that gives you some insightful reports on your page. I will leave a link below so you can explore this tool further.

[https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/overview]

8. Forgetting accessibility

Making your website accessible is no longer just a “nice to have.” In many countries, it’s already a legal requirement for certain kinds of businesses.

Of course, laws vary from place to place, so it’s always worth checking the rules that apply to you.

Beyond the legal side, accessibility should also be seen as a moral responsibility.

The good news is that some adjustments are simple to implement and can make the experience better, not just for people with impairments, but for everyone.

There are many aspects to consider when making your content more accessible. Personally, I like to reference the WCAG quick reference sheet, which breaks down the main guidelines in a practical and easy-to-follow way :)

[https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/quickref/]

WCAG 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum) is one of the most practical accessibility rules. Following this ensures that your text offers good contrast to the background, easing the reading experience (imagine how frustrating it is to try to read a white text against a yellow background – ouch, it hurts the eyes!).

The contrast ratio measures the difference in brightness between text and its background, ranging from 1:1 (no contrast, like white on white) to 21:1 (maximum contrast, like black on white).

Normal text must reach 4.5:1, while large text needs at least 3:1. For the stricter AAA level (better contrast in general), normal text requires 7:1 and large text 4.5:1.

I don’t bother memorizing all these numbers. What I do instead I just check the contrast ratio with a quick Google search for “Web Accessibility Color Checker” and click the first link that shows up.

Insert the first and the second color, and play with the values until I get a good contrast ratio.

If you check the WCAG link above, you’ll see many other guidelines. Don’t worry if you can’t implement each one. Read the document once to get a general understanding, and with time, applying these will come naturally.

9. No measurement plan

As mentioned before, every website needs a clear goal, and that goal should be measurable. To understand whether you’re reaching it or not, you need to track your results. Only then can you evaluate performance and make informed decisions and optimize your content to maximize numbers (I know marketing and sales like these numbers!). That’s why having the right tool to measure results is essential.

The tool I use (and that’s more than enough for most cases) is Google Analytics 4. It’s a free platform that works by adding a small snippet of code to your website. Once installed, it starts sending data to your analytics dashboard. This data is then processed into reports and metrics based on the events happening on your site. For example, it can track page views, button clicks, time spent on a page, or even form submissions.

It can feel a bit tricky setting up Google Analytics for the first time and making sure your site complies with privacy regulations in different countries (more on that in the next section). But once it’s in place, it becomes a powerful tool. It lets you turn raw data into measurable goals and actionable plans.

For example, let’s say you notice your site gets about 200 page views per week, but your goal is to reach 400. How do you get there? Maybe by improving your SEO, boosting site performance, or refining your content strategy. Having these numbers is the first step. They give you the clarity you need to make informed decisions and build a concrete plan to grow your website.

10. Privacy/compliance afterthoughts

Privacy should never be an afterthought. Depending on where your business operates, there may be legal requirements you must follow, especially if your website needs to comply with EU regulations.

I’m not a lawyer or a legal expert (which is why I prefer to delegate this step to a specialized professional), but there are some basic principles to keep in mind. The details vary by jurisdiction, but the fundamentals are the same.

Before loading any cookies, you must ask for the user’s consent. Users should be able to choose which categories of cookies they allow and should be able to know which cookies are being used and for what purpose.

That’s why every website needs both a Privacy Policy and a Cookie Policy.

• The Privacy Policy explains how you collect, store, and use personal data.

• The Cookie Policy explains what cookies your site uses, why, and how users can control them.

Users should always have the option to withdraw their consent at any time (I use a link at the footer that allows users to rechoose what they consent to). You should also provide them with a clear way to contact the person responsible for managing data so they can ask questions, raise concerns, or request the deletion of their personal information.

Privacy and cookies aren’t the only compliance requirements. Many countries also mandate that specific information be displayed on your website. For example, since I’m based in Italy, my website must include certain legal details in the footer. Typically, this means showing the company name, VAT number (Partita IVA), registered office, and contact information. Depending on your business setup, you may also need to add details such as your company registration number or professional association membership. The exact requirements vary from country to country, so it’s important to verify what applies in your jurisdiction.

These aren’t the only aspects to keep in mind. Depending on the type of website, you may also need additional legal documents. A Terms of Use (or Terms and Conditions) sets the rules for how visitors can use your site and protects you legally. If you run an e-commerce site, you must also provide clear Return and Refund Policies, Shipping Information, and details about consumer rights. For membership or subscription platforms, you may also need Service Level Agreements or Community Guidelines.

This is not legal advice, and you should always consult a lawyer and research what applies to your specific situation. Some services can help you manage these compliance aspects, but I’d only recommend them for smaller projects like portfolios, landing pages, or small business websites. If you’re running a larger operation, it’s always best to rely on a professional firm specialized in digital compliance and data protection.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, a website is much more than just nice graphics and some text thrown together.

The mistakes outlined above are common, but the good news is they’re all avoidable. Of course, there are many more details to consider, but by focusing on these foundations, you’ll already be on your way to building a strong website. The key is to take it step by step; small improvements add up over time (the compounding effect works for every corner of life).

I know it can feel overwhelming, and that’s exactly why I’m here to help. I offer services that cover most of these points, and if you’ve found this information useful and my approach helpful, I’d love to support you in creating a website that truly works for your business.

You can check out my website: www.tobiascandela.com

Or contact me via email: contact@tobiascandela.com

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I hope to see you soon.

The cover image is from Unsplash.