Is Your Website Actually Working? Here’s How to Tell.
- Heather Pieczonka
- Jul 3
- 4 min read
You launched a website. You even like the way it looks. But is it actually working?
A beautiful website means nothing if it doesn’t help you grow your business. Whether your goal is phone calls, form submissions, or just building trust, your website needs to deliver results. Here's how to find out if yours is doing its job - or just sitting there looking pretty.
The 5-Second Test: Can Visitors Figure You Out?
Let’s start simple. The average visitor decides whether to stay or leave your website in five seconds or less. That’s why your homepage (and especially your hero section) needs to pass what’s called the 5-second test.
Here’s how it works: open your homepage and pretend you’re seeing it for the first time. Can you answer these three questions in under five seconds?
What does this company do?
Who is it for?
Why should I care?
If the answer to even one of those is unclear, your site could be confusing or turning away potential customers. This isn’t just about clever headlines - it’s about clarity. Make sure your messaging is direct, your imagery supports your purpose, and your navigation points people in the right direction.
Look Beyond the Surface with Website Data
Assuming your messaging is clear, let’s move on to data. One of the most common issues we see is business owners measuring vanity metrics - page views, bounce rates, etc. - without tracking what really matters.
Here are the key website stats you should be monitoring:
Time on Page: Are people sticking around long enough to actually read what you wrote?
Phone Calls: Are you tracking when users click your phone number from mobile? Tools like Google Tag Manager can do this.
Form Submissions: Your contact form isn’t just a nice feature - it’s a lead generator. Is it converting?
Click Paths: Are visitors getting to your most important pages (like services or pricing) or getting lost along the way?
Better yet, take it up a notch with heatmapping tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity. These tools show you where people click, scroll, and stop reading. It’s like seeing your website through your visitor’s eyes.
Your Traffic Sources Are Diversified and Growing
If your website is working, you should see steady or growing traffic from multiple sources - especially organic search. Review where your visitors are coming from:
Organic search shows your SEO is working.
Referral traffic indicates that others are linking to you.
Direct traffic can suggest strong brand recognition. If all your traffic comes from one source (like social media), your website may not be discoverable enough to grow sustainably.
Visitors Are Taking the Next Step
Conversion isn’t always immediate. Signs your website is moving people through your sales funnel include:
Email signups
Downloads of lead magnets
Clicks to key internal pages (like “Pricing” or “Contact”) These micro-conversions show that visitors are engaged and progressing toward becoming leads or customers.
Your Website Shows Up for Relevant Search Terms
If your website ranks for keywords your ideal customers are searching (and not just your business name), that’s a strong sign it’s helping people find you. Tools like Google Search Console or SEMrush can show:
Which keywords you rank for
How many impressions and clicks you're getting
Your average position in search results
Ranking for industry-relevant terms = visibility. Visibility = traffic. Traffic + strong calls-to-action = leads.
The Power of a Website Audit
Even if your site looks fine and some metrics seem decent, you could still be leaving opportunity on the table. A professional website audit looks deeper - at your site structure, page speed, mobile experience, on-page SEO, and technical health.
Some key areas a good audit should evaluate include:
Meta titles and descriptions: Are they optimized for your keywords and location?
Header tags (H1, H2, etc.): Are they structured for both search engines and human readers?
Mobile-friendliness: Over half of web traffic is mobile. If your site doesn’t work well on phones, you’re losing business.
Page speed: Google prioritizes fast websites. Slow pages = lower rankings and higher bounce rates.
Broken links and missing images: These hurt your credibility and your SEO.
Call-to-actions (CTAs): Are you giving people a clear next step?
A website audit reveals both quick fixes and deeper opportunities. It's one of the easiest ways to turn a “meh” site into a high-performing lead machine. You can read more about what’s included in our digital marketing audit here.
What to Do If Your Website Isn’t Working
If this blog has made you realize your site might not be pulling its weight, don’t worry - it’s fixable. Here’s a quick action plan:
Run the 5-second test on your homepage. Update your hero section with a clear value proposition.
Set up tracking for calls, form submissions, and time on page using Google Analytics and Tag Manager.
Use a heatmapping tool to understand how users behave on key pages.
Get a full website audit to identify issues under the surface.
Update your CTAs and internal linking structure to guide users through your site.
A website should be more than a digital brochure. It should be your hardest-working employee - informing visitors, building trust, and turning browsers into buyers. If yours isn’t doing that, it’s time for a tune-up.
Not sure where to start? Check out our full website audit process here or reach out - we’re happy to take a look and point you in the right direction.