May 31, 2025
4 mins
Jack
Your WordPress/WooCommerce store could be bleeding customers without you even realizing it (unless you check your analytics!). Potential customers are looking at your store and deciding whether or not they want to do business with you. These customers want to see value for what they are purchasing and they want to see that you can be trusted.
A bad/broken/outdated/messy site can chase customers away and cause them to flee to competitors that have their site together. Here are our top 10 website red flags that are costing you customers and how to fix them.
Table of Contents
Our ranking system was done through a complicated process of mathematics, dice-rolling, and deep meditation. Ok, not really, but our team would generally agree on this order.
The Problem: Your site does not have the “S” in “https”! The “S” stands for secure! Modern shoppers are looking for the padlock icon in the address bar, and want to know that they’re information is safe when interacting with you.
The Fix: SSL certificate takes minutes to install and is typically done for free through your host. High ROI, low effort.
The Problem: Your site has links that do not work. It’s like going to someone’s house that invited you over and they forgot to put toilet paper in the bathroom. This is basic basic stuff. Links must all work! If you can’t be trusted with the attention to detail to fix broken links, why should a customer trust you to do business with you?
The Fix: Use tools like Screaming Frog or Broken Link Checker to scrub the site and find all those broken links. Easy and simple fix!
The Problem: Your site is slow. The slower your site is the more likely that people click away and find someplace faster. Imagine going to a mall (remember those?) and seeing three stores in a row, all selling the same product, all with three different lengths of lines to checkout. Which store are you going to? Most likely, the one with the shortest line. The same is true for online stores.
The Fix: There are some quick, easy fixes like using an image optimizer, having a CDN, and having a great host that can help improve those page speed scores. They messier and bulkier the site, the harder it is going to be to slim it down and make it fast.
The Problem – Customers can’t easily tell how to do business with you. You’re talking about products or services, but it’s not clearly labeled where I’m supposed to go to take a next step.
The Fix – You might need another set of eyes. Business owners often think this is obvious, and it is to them because they’re the business owner, but the rest of us are left clueless. Get an expert to see if the path to purchase is clear and easy to follow.
The Problem – We have computers in our pockets. Literally. People are searching on their desktop or laptops AND their phones. Stop ignoring those mobile users.
The Fix – WordPress and WooCommerce are built with mobile in mind. The traditional Gutenberg block editor is great for mobile. Unfortunately, we see many sites that haven’t thought through their mobile site and their mobile checkout flow.
The Problem – Customers are eventually going to reach out to you, for one reason or another. If they can’t easily find contact information or customer support information, they’re not coming back. Contact information show that you are a real business ran by real employees.
The Fix – Update your footer. Add a contact section. Get on Google My Business. Have a social media account. You exist, but you have to show people that you do.
The Problem – We’ve seen sites that sell three products have a confusing navigation, and sites with 10,000 products are super clear. It’s all about how the site is laid out. Customers should easily and quickly find what they need (and what they didn’t know they need!) on your site.
The Fix – Clarity! Is the navigation menu clear? Footer? Can you search through the site? Are there categories? An agency like ours can be helpful in this process because we force you to take a step back and look at the catalog as a whole, and figure out how to best rearrange and represent your products and services.
The Problem – Imagine walking into a store and every 7 steps into the store, a different employee stops you to ask you a question. That would be annoying. Too many pop-ups, subscribe to this or that, can be annoying and push people away. (Similar problem with sending too many emails!)
The Fix – Just stop. Pick one pop-up type thing. There are other ways to sell besides a pop-up. Just stop please.
The Problem – Your site has no reviews! Do you even exist? If you’re selling products, you should ask people for reviews. Ask nicely for free. Ask nicely and give an incentive. You have to start somewhere. Plus, those reviews help you’re Google rankings!
The Fix – There are simple plugins for WordPress/WooCommerce that help you get more reviews. Integrate with your email marketing to create a campaign to gather those.
The Problem – Your website looks old. An outdated look and feel can hurt your sales. What’s one of the easiest things to do to your house before you sell it? A fresh coat of paint. A clean, clear, and crisp site is always going to beat one that’s bloated, confusing, and looks like it was made in the dial up era.
The Fix – We’re not saying you need to redesign your website every year or two. But it does need to be easy to read, understand and follow along. A nice website shows that you were thinking about your customers, and you wanted to help save them time by making the site easy to navigate and understand.
These red flags might seem overwhelming, but here’s the reality: your competitors are probably making most of these same mistakes. By fixing these issues, you’ll immediately stand out and start converting more visitors into paying customers.
The key is approaching each problem systematically. Start with the technical foundations (speed, security, mobile responsiveness), then focus on user experience improvements (navigation, design, social proof), and finally optimize for conversions (clear value propositions, streamlined checkout).
Remember, your WooCommerce store isn’t just a website—it’s your most important salesperson, working 24/7 to represent your brand and drive revenue. Make sure it’s working for you, not against you.
Ready to transform your WooCommerce store from a customer-repelling liability into a sales-generating asset? Our WordPress and WooCommerce experts specialize in identifying and fixing exactly these kinds of conversion-killing issues. Let’s discuss how we can optimize your store for maximum performance and profitability.
2025-05-30 
4 mins 
Jack Whether you're kicking off a new project or looking to improve your current site, we're here to make it happen. Let’s build something that not only works for your business but helps it grow.
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206-806-7809
Headquarters
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, US
We’ve built more websites than the hairs on Peter’s head 😎
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