Site Tip · Owning & protecting your site

Test your site like a customer

Your website loads in a blink on your office computer, so you figure it is fine. But your customers are not sitting at your desk. They are standing in a parking lot with one bar of signal, trying to find your number.

Why your own view can fool you

You probably look at your site on fast wifi, on a good screen, and you already know where everything is. That is the easiest way anyone will ever see it.

Most people find local businesses on a phone. They may be outside, in a car, or in a place with a weak connection. A page that feels fine at your desk can crawl in those conditions. If a visitor waits too long or cannot find what they need, they go to the next result.

The five-minute test

You only need your phone. Follow these steps:

• Turn off wifi on your phone so it uses mobile data, or step outside where the signal is weaker
• Search for your business on Google, the way a customer would, and tap your result
• Notice how long the page takes to show up, and whether anything jumps around as it loads
• Try to do what a customer would do: tap your number to call, or start booking
• Check that the text is readable without zooming and buttons are easy to tap

What to look for and fix

Write down everything that annoys you. A few common culprits are listed below, and each is usually fixable.

• Large photos that take a long time to load: resize them and save them as WebP
• A phone number that is not tappable: turn it into a call link
• Tiny text or buttons placed too close together
• A pop-up that covers the page on a small screen
• A booking or contact form that is hard to complete with a thumb

Make it a habit

Repeat this test every few months and after any website change. Better yet, ask a friend or customer who has never seen your site to try it while you watch quietly. Where they hesitate is where you lose people.

You can also try a different phone, or an older one, since not everyone has the newest model. If you have a tablet, check that too, because some layouts look fine on a phone but odd on a larger screen. Modestius builds and fixes websites for small businesses, and we are glad to run this kind of check for you.

Questions owners ask

Do I need special tools to test my site?

No. A phone and a few minutes are enough. Free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can add more detail if you want it.

How often should I test it?

Every few months, and any time you change your site. It only takes a few minutes.

What should I fix first?

Start with whatever stops a customer from calling or booking. Slow pages and hard-to-find buttons usually come first.