The 60-Minute Small Business UX Checklist

5 Website Updates That Can Help Turn More Visitors Into Customers

Your website doesn't have to be redesigned to create a better customer experience.

When I review websites for small businesses, I almost never find one major problem.

Instead, I find lots of little moments that make visitors hesitate.

• A button doesn't work.
• The mobile version is difficult to navigate.
• There isn't a clear next step.
• Contact information is buried.
• Booking an appointment takes seven clicks.

None of these issues seem like a big deal on their own.

But together, they can be the difference between someone becoming a customer or leaving your website altogether.

Today I'm sharing five of my favorite 60-minute UX wins that almost any business owner can tackle this afternoon.

1. Review Your Website on Your Phone

If you're like most business owners, you built your website on a laptop.

Your customers probably aren't looking at it that way.

More than 60% of all website traffic now comes from mobile devices, yet many business owners still only review their websites on a desktop computer. If your customers are primarily visiting on their phones, your mobile experience deserves just as much attention as your desktop one. 

Open your website on your phone and ask yourself:

• Can I immediately tell what this business does?
• Is the text easy to read?
• Can I find the phone number or contact information without scrolling forever?
• Is the navigation easy to use with one thumb?
• Can I book an appointment in under a minute?

Better yet, hand your phone to a friend who has never visited your website before and ask them to complete a simple task. You'll probably notice things you've stopped seeing.

2. Install Microsoft Clarity

If I could recommend one free marketing tool to almost every small business, it would probably be Microsoft Clarity.

Think of it as security camera footage for your website.

Instead of guessing where people get confused, you can actually watch anonymous recordings of real visitors using your website.

You'll start noticing patterns like:

• People clicking something that isn't clickable.
• Visitors abandoning your contact form halfway through.
• Everyone scrolling right past an important section.
• Buttons that almost nobody clicks.

You also get heat maps showing exactly where visitors click, scroll, and spend their time.

It's free, takes just a few minutes to install, and can completely change how you think about your website.

3. Click Every Single Link

This sounds almost too simple.

It's also one of the most common issues I find.

Go through your website page by page and click every:

• navigation item
• button
• image
• footer link
• social media icon
• downloadable file

Does everything go where it's supposed to?

Broken links create frustration and instantly reduce trust. Even if someone doesn't consciously think, "This website isn't maintained," that's often the impression they're left with.

While you're at it, check that external links open the right pages and make sure old promotions or expired events aren't still hanging around.

4. Add More Calls-to-Action

One of the biggest UX mistakes I see is assuming visitors already know what to do next.

They usually don't.

Every important page should answer one simple question:

"What should I do now?"

Maybe that's:

• Book an appointment.
• Schedule a consultation.
• Call your office.
• View your services.
• Download a guide.
• Contact your team.

If someone reaches the bottom of a page without an obvious next step, you've probably missed an opportunity.

You don't need a giant flashing button.

Sometimes a simple sentence with a well-placed link is enough to keep someone moving through your website.

5. Count the Clicks

Here's a quick exercise I love.

Pretend you're a brand-new customer.

Start on your homepage.

Now count how many clicks it takes to complete the action you want people to take most.

Maybe that's:

• booking an appointment
• requesting a quote
• buying a product
• filling out a contact form

If it takes six, seven, or eight clicks before someone can actually take action, there's probably room to simplify the journey.

Every extra decision creates another opportunity for someone to leave.

Good user experience isn't about adding more.

It's about removing unnecessary friction.

Bonus: Five More 10-Minute UX Wins

• Check your contact form on your phone.
• Make your phone number clickable.
• Increase button sizes for mobile users.
• Remove outdated announcements or pop-ups.
• Ask someone unfamiliar with your business to navigate your website while you watch.

Before You Go...

The best websites aren't always the prettiest.

They're the easiest to use.

Every small improvement makes it a little easier for someone to trust your business, find what they're looking for, and become a customer.

You don't have to redesign your entire website to create a better experience. Sometimes the biggest improvements come from spending an hour fixing the little things that have quietly accumulated over time.

If you work through even a few of these updates, I'd love to hear what you discover. And if you get stuck, that's okay too. My goal with this series is to make marketing feel a little less overwhelming and a lot more approachable.

Here's to helping bold brands grow. 🌿

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