Five common website problems and how to fix them fast

Any website owner needs to reassess regularly how their site is performing, to attract new users, retain existing ones and convert leads. Any problems can have a negative impact on business goals and the user experience, ultimately resulting in frustration and a loss of trust.

Some website issues, such as cluttered pages or poor-quality imagery, are obvious, while others are less apparent – for example, why someone abandons a web page. So what can you do to resolve problems before they start to damage your business?

Here, we look at some of the most common issues, along with tips for putting them right:

1. The problem: Sluggish loading times

According to the Google Industry Mobile Speed report, a page load time on mobile of 10 seconds increases ‘bounce’ rate (i.e. the speed at which people click away) by 123%. Meanwhile, conversion rates (i.e. numbers who convert to become customers) drop by 4.42% for every extra second of load time, and nearly three-quarters (70%) of consumers say page speed affects how willing (or otherwise) they are to buy from an online retailer.

Another study by Portent found that the optimal load time to maximise conversion rates is between 0 and 4 seconds. Even small fractions of time can have a significant impact, and many web surfers will simply go elsewhere if your page isn’t visible almost immediately.

The solutions

• Test load time via PageSpeed Insights or GTMetrix or a similar tool which assesses website speed.
• Use smaller images. Use tools which condense image size without compromising on quality and ensure your site uses webp or avif conversion.
• Use system fonts: These include Helvetica, Arial and so on, which take up less room than some custom web fonts.
• Compress critical CSS, HTML and JavaScript documents by setting up these up as external files or use specilaist caching tools to compress and combine scripts.

2. Security breaches

Hackers can target the website of any business, no matter its size. A security breach can be a PR disaster and permanently dent trust in your brand. Malware or spam are other problems, while users’ personal information is also at stake.

The solutions

• Monitor security so that you’re always scanning for, identifying and resolving threats. Using high-quality hosting, which includes firewalls, malware scanning and DDoS protection, is essential.
• Use SSL certification – this validates your website’s identity with a secure, encrypted connection protecting all transactions – it’s also good for improving your rankings in the search results and is essential for ranking well on Google who no longer rank sites without SSL.
• Real-time malware scanning – ensure your website manager is running frequent scans of all website files to ensure no malware or hacks have taken place.

3. Broken links

It can be maddening if you see useful information behind a link but then, when you try to access it, all you see is an error page. People will just leave your website, while your rankings with the major search engines will also dwindle.

The solutions

• Look for broken links all the time: Use tools such as Dead Link Checker or the Google Search Console.
• Optimise 404 error pages: Offer problem-solving details, such as links to FAQs or similar content pages, rather than the general ‘page not found’ message.

4. Outdated content

Having outdated content on your website can cause a myriad of problems, including poor user experience and low engagement and so, ultimately, your business’s success and reputation can be seriously affected. What’s more, if, say, you have outdated contact details online, no one will be able to reach you. What’s more, there can be a security risk if published information is so old it no longer complies with the latest web security standards.

The solutions

• Do an audit to identify those pages or areas of your website which are out of date. You may need to completely overhaul the design, codebase and content management system (CMS).
• Have clear goals for what your users need and research competitors and current web trends.
• Devise a plan for drafting new content and the redesign – then test and deploy your updated version, before looking forward to enhanced performance and a new look for your site.

5. Mobile unfriendliness

This clearly matters because mobile search is huge – and growing. Equally, it’s a Google ranking factor, so if you have a mobile-unfriendly website, you’ll struggle to show up in the search results.

Experts say that nearly three-quarters (72%) of all web visitors will be using a smartphone online by next year (2025). So much of your website traffic will be reaching you via mobile – and this will continue to grow, meaning your website must run smoothly no matter the device on which it is loaded.

The solutions

• Use mobile-friendly design: Apply this from the outset.
• Use tools to double-check mobile friendliness, including Test Sigma or Lambda Test. Google and Bing also have tools.
• Review touchscreen navigation: To be sure tap-targets such as buttons and links are big enough so that users can find and access them easily.

Website management from SWSweb

SWSweb’s website management services encompass all updates, development, backup and hosting. As experts in long-term solutions rather than quick fixes, we can resolve all the issues mentioned above and more. Join one of our website plans today – whether you need maintenance and support for your website, design and development, web hosting, search engine optimisation or anything else.

We also have a range of highly informative, expert website guides from which you can learn more.

Get in touch today and tell us a bit about what you need, and we’ll take it from there.