Website Conversion Checklist for Small Business: 36 Checks to Get More Enquiries
Sep 08, 2025
Last updated: November 2026 ยท Written by Adrian Prokopiec, 20 Minute Marketing ยท 11 min read
Quick answer
A website converts when a visitor instantly understands what you do, trusts you, and can act in one tap. Check eight areas: the above-the-fold message, one clear call to action, trust signals, page speed, mobile layout, short forms, click-to-call, and conversion tracking. Fix the unticked items in that order before spending more on traffic.
This is a tick-box checklist for Australian small business owners who already have a website and want more enquiries, bookings or sales from it. It is also handy if you audit sites for an employer or freelance clients. Open your site on your phone, work through the 36 checks below, and you will finish with a short, prioritised list of fixes.
It is deliberately narrow. If you are still working out what pages and basics a site needs in the first place, start with our small business website checklist of 15 things every site needs. If you have ticked everything here and want a repeatable process for testing and improving, read how to increase website conversions without more traffic. This page sits between the two: it tells you what is costing you enquiries today.
Small lifts add up. As a simple example, a site that converts 2% of visitors and moves to 3% gets 50% more enquiries from exactly the same traffic. That is why it pays to fix the leaks before you buy more clicks.
Key takeaways
- Audit on a phone, not a laptop. Most local visitors will see the mobile version first.
- Above the fold, a visitor should see what you do, where you do it and one obvious next step.
- Google's Core Web Vitals targets are LCP of 2.5 seconds or less, INP of 200 milliseconds or less and CLS of 0.1 or less.
- Every extra form field and every buried phone number costs you enquiries.
- If you are not tracking form submissions and phone taps, you cannot tell whether any fix worked.
1. Above the fold: does the first screen do its job?
"Above the fold" means what someone sees before they scroll. On a phone that is not much space, so every element has to earn its place.
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ A headline that says what you do and where | "Emergency plumbing in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, 7 days" beats "Welcome to Smith & Co". Clarity beats clever. |
| □ One line on why you | A specific reason to choose you, such as "Fixed upfront pricing, no call-out fee". "Quality service" does not count. |
| □ A real photo | You, your team, your van or your work. Stock photos of handshakes add nothing. |
| □ The main call to action is visible without scrolling | One button, plus your phone number on mobile. |
Copy is where most first screens fall down. Our guide to writing website copy that sells has headline formulas you can adapt in a few minutes.
2. Calls to action: is the next step obvious?
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ One primary action per page | Pick the action that matters most (call, book, get a quote) and make it the strongest button on the page. |
| □ Button text says what happens | "Get my free quote" or "Book a time" rather than "Submit" or "Learn more". |
| □ The button stands out | A colour that contrasts with the rest of the page and is not used for anything else. |
| □ A call to action on every service page | Visitors should never have to go back to the contact page to act. |
| □ An option for people not ready yet | A free guide or checklist that joins them to your email list. Our guide to building your first email list shows how. |
For more on button wording and placement on small screens, read our mobile call to action tips, and for single-purpose pages built around one offer, see our landing page conversion hacks.
3. Trust signals: would a stranger believe you?
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ Real reviews near the top | Your Google rating and review count, or two or three short, specific testimonials used with permission. |
| □ Proof of real work | Before and after photos, a project gallery or a short case study with the problem, the fix and the result. |
| □ Licences, insurance and memberships | Show the ones that are true and current, with licence numbers where your industry expects them. |
| □ A real business behind the site | Your name, ABN, service area and contact details in the footer, consistent with your Google Business Profile. |
| □ Clear policies | Pricing approach, guarantees and a privacy policy that are easy to find. |
Reviews must be genuine. The ACCC's guidance on online reviews for products and services explains that fake reviews, undisclosed incentives and selectively removing negative reviews can all mislead consumers. If you need more reviews, our guide to getting Google reviews on autopilot sets up a simple, compliant ask. Consistent business details in your footer also support local SEO.
4. Speed: does the page load fast enough?
Slow pages lose people before they read a word. Google measures real-world page experience with three Core Web Vitals, and the web.dev Core Web Vitals guide sets these "good" targets, measured at the 75th percentile of page loads:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): 2.5 seconds or less. How long until the main content appears.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP): 200 milliseconds or less. How quickly the page responds when someone taps.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): 0.1 or less. How much the layout jumps around while loading.
Google's Search Central page on Core Web Vitals and search results says it highly recommends site owners achieve good Core Web Vitals for success with Search. Good scores will not guarantee rankings, but they make visitors more likely to stay.
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ Mobile score tested | Run your homepage and top service page through PageSpeed Insights on the mobile setting. |
| □ Images compressed and sized | Oversized photos straight off a phone are the most common cause of slow small business sites. |
| □ No layout jumps | Images, banners and chat widgets have space reserved so text does not move as they load. |
| □ Only the plugins and scripts you use | Remove old tracking codes, sliders and pop-ups you no longer need. |
Our guide to fixing website speed for free walks through the usual fixes, and if your site runs on WordPress, our WordPress speed fixes cover caching, image plugins and hosting.
5. Mobile: does it work with one thumb?
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ No sideways scrolling or zooming | Text is readable at normal size and nothing spills off the screen. |
| □ Buttons are easy to tap | The web.dev guide to accessible tap targets recommends targets of about 48 pixels with around 8 pixels of space between them. |
| □ Menu is short and descriptive | Five to seven items with plain labels, such as "Emergency plumbing" rather than "Services". |
| □ Pop-ups do not block the page | If you use one, it is small, easy to close and does not appear the moment someone lands. |
6. Forms: are you asking for too much?
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ Three to four fields | Name, phone or email, suburb and a short "what do you need?" box. Get the rest on the first call. |
| □ The right keyboard for each field | Number pad for phone, email keyboard for email, and autofill switched on. The web.dev form best practices guide explains the settings your developer needs. |
| □ Clear error messages | If something is wrong, the form says what and where, without wiping what they typed. |
| □ A thank-you message that sets expectations | "Thanks, we will call you within two business hours" beats a blank screen. |
| □ Privacy handled properly | A link to your privacy policy and no pre-ticked marketing boxes. The OAIC privacy guidance explains your obligations. |
| □ Someone actually receives it | Submit a test enquiry every month and check it lands in an inbox someone reads. |
7. Click-to-call and fast contact: can people reach you now?
For many local businesses, a phone call is the conversion. Make it effortless.
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ Phone number in the header on every page | Visible without scrolling, on mobile and desktop. |
| □ The number is tappable on mobile | Tapping it opens the dialler. Test it on your own phone. |
| □ Hours are clear | Say when you answer, and what happens after hours. |
| □ A message option for people who will not call | A short form, SMS link or chat widget that takes messages after hours. |
8. Tracking: will you know if a fix worked?
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| □ Google Analytics 4 installed | Our GA4 setup guide covers the basics. |
| □ Form submissions tracked as key events | Google's help page on how to mark events as key events shows how. |
| □ Phone taps and bookings tracked | Clicks on your phone number and booking button counted as key events too. |
| □ A baseline written down | Conversions divided by sessions for the last full month, before you change anything. |
Our guide to tracking marketing ROI shows how to connect those numbers to revenue, and checking the Pages report in Google Search Console once a month catches broken or unindexed pages before they cost you enquiries.
Score your site
Count your ticks out of 36:
| Score | What it means | Do this next |
|---|---|---|
| 32 to 36 | Strong | Start testing headlines and calls to action one at a time |
| 24 to 31 | Solid, with leaks | Fix any gaps in sections 1, 2 and 7 first |
| 16 to 23 | Losing enquiries | Fix above the fold, calls to action, forms and click-to-call this week |
| Under 16 | Needs a rebuild | Pause extra ad spend and fix speed, mobile and the first screen |
Do this in 20 minutes: the phone test
Grab your phone, switch off Wi-Fi so you are on mobile data, and open your homepage like a stranger would.
- Minutes 0 to 2: Read only the first screen. Write down, in one sentence, what the business does and where. If you struggle, your headline needs work.
- Minutes 2 to 5: Find the main call to action and the phone number without scrolling. Tap the number to check it opens the dialler.
- Minutes 5 to 10: Scroll once. Can you see reviews, real photos and proof of work? Note what is missing.
- Minutes 10 to 15: Fill in your own contact form. Count the fields, note anything annoying, and check the enquiry arrives.
- Minutes 15 to 20: Run the page through PageSpeed Insights on mobile and note your three Core Web Vitals.
You now have your fix list. Start with whatever stopped you acting fastest. Think of your site as a silent salesman that works while you are on the tools: every fix here is coaching it to close more often.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good website conversion rate for a small business?
It varies widely by industry, offer and how you count a conversion, so published averages are not very useful. Measure your own rate for the last full month, make one change at a time, and track whether it improves.
How do I work out my website's conversion rate?
Track form submissions, phone taps and bookings as key events in Google Analytics 4. Divide conversions by sessions for a period and multiply by 100. If tracking is not set up yet, compare enquiries received with sessions for the same month.
Why does my website get traffic but no enquiries?
Usually the site is not converting the traffic it already gets. The common causes are an unclear first screen, no obvious call to action, slow mobile loading, no visible reviews, long forms and a phone number that is hard to find or tap.
Do Core Web Vitals affect conversions or just SEO?
Both. Google recommends good Core Web Vitals for success in Search, but the bigger win for most small businesses is that fast, stable pages keep visitors around long enough to read your offer and act on it.
Should I fix my website or rebuild it?
If you score under 16 and the site is slow, hard to edit or not mobile-friendly, a rebuild is often faster than patching. Otherwise, fix the gaps in this checklist first, because most of them are content and layout changes, not technology.
Keep reading
- The 15 things every small business website needs
- A step-by-step process to increase website conversions without more traffic
- Seven landing page changes that lift conversion rates
- Google Business Profile vs website: where to focus first
Your website is one part of a bigger system. Our guide to digital marketing for small business shows how it fits with search, social and email. If you would rather have someone walk you through building and fixing your site, the two-minute course finder quiz will match you with the right course, or you can go straight to our Website Design mini course ($99).
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