Does your website support the professional image of your organisation or damage it?
Jul 14, 2025
By Lorna Walker
Why first impressions matter more than ever
Your website is often the first point of contact between your business and potential customers. Research suggests that over 80% of people will research a product or service online and look at potential suppliers' websites before they buy. In 2025, this figure has grown even higher, with customers making snap judgements about your business within seconds of landing on your site.
First impressions genuinely matter. Your website serves as a visual representation of your brand and sets expectations about the quality of your products or services. Too often, small businesses are let down by the appearance of their websites, giving visitors the impression that the business is smaller, less established, or less professional than it actually is.
This comprehensive guide outlines the key issues we see on small business websites repeatedly—problems that typically give away that you're operating on a tight budget or that your website is an afterthought. The good news is that most of these issues are relatively quick and affordable to fix, yet they can have a significant impact on how professional your business appears online.
Add a custom favicon
A favicon is the small icon that appears in browser tabs, bookmarks, and various other places when visitors interact with your website. If you don't specify a custom favicon, browsers will display a generic icon—often the WordPress logo or a basic document symbol. This immediately signals to visitors that your website lacks attention to detail.
In 2025, favicons have become even more important as they now appear in more places than ever before, including mobile home screen shortcuts, browser history, and password managers. A professional favicon helps establish your brand identity and makes your website instantly recognisable among dozens of open browser tabs.
Creating and adding a favicon is typically a five-minute job. You'll want to create a simple, recognisable version of your logo or brand mark that works well at small sizes (typically 16x16 to 32x32 pixels). Most website platforms, including WordPress, now make it easy to upload a favicon through their customisation settings.
Ensure HTTPS security
HTTPS indicates that your website is running using an encryption protocol that establishes a secure connection between visitors and your site. A web address that starts with HTTPS rather than HTTP tells visitors that their data will be encrypted and that you take security seriously.
HTTPS is also one of Google's confirmed ranking signals, so websites without secure certificates appear lower in search results than those with proper security. In 2025, this ranking factor has become even more important as Google continues to prioritise user security and privacy.
Modern browsers clearly display security status to users. Secure websites show a padlock icon next to the URL, while insecure sites display warnings like "Not Secure." These warnings immediately undermine visitor confidence and can cause potential customers to leave your site before exploring your offerings.
Fortunately, installing an SSL certificate is extremely affordable these days. Many hosting companies offer free SSL certificates through services like Let's Encrypt, making this an easy fix that significantly improves your website's professional appearance and search engine ranking.
Create a comprehensive privacy policy
A privacy policy is legally required and demonstrates to visitors that your business operates transparently and professionally. In 2025, privacy policies have become more important than ever, as consumers are increasingly aware of their data rights and expect clear information about how their personal information is collected and used.
Under GDPR, you must state the lawful basis for each cookie category and disclose all third-party services using cookies on your site, including what data they collect and for what purpose. Your privacy policy should be easily accessible, written in plain language, and regularly updated to reflect current practices.
Modern privacy policies should include:
- Clear explanation of what personal data you collect
- How and why you use this information
- Who you share data with (including third-party services)
- How long you retain data
- Users' rights under applicable privacy laws
- How to contact you about privacy concerns
WordPress users can find built-in privacy policy templates in newer versions, or numerous online resources provide guidance on creating compliant policies for small businesses.
Optimise for mobile devices
Mobile-first is the default, and over 60% of web traffic is now mobile. Having a mobile-friendly website isn't optional—it's essential for business survival. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of your site for ranking and indexing.
If your website isn't responsive (meaning the layout doesn't adapt to different screen sizes), you're at a significant disadvantage. Non-mobile-friendly sites don't just provide poor user experience—they also rank lower in Google search results, reducing your visibility to potential customers.
Modern mobile optimisation goes beyond just making your site "fit" on smaller screens. It involves:
- Responsive design that adapts fluidly to all screen sizes
- Touch-friendly navigation and buttons
- Fast loading times on mobile networks
- Readable text without zooming
- Optimised images for mobile viewing
- Simplified forms and checkout processes
Improve Core Web Vitals performance
Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page. In 2025, these metrics have become crucial ranking factors, with websites that pass Core Web Vitals tests ranking 28% higher on average.
The three Core Web Vitals metrics are:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance - strive to have LCP occur within the first 2.5 seconds
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Measures responsiveness - strive to have an INP of less than 200 milliseconds (this replaced First Input Delay in 2024)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability - strive to have a CLS score of less than 0.1
Poor Core Web Vitals don't just hurt your search rankings—they directly impact user experience and conversion rates. Slow-loading sites frustrate visitors and increase bounce rates, while unstable layouts that shift content around make sites difficult to use.
Common ways to improve Core Web Vitals include:
- Optimising and compressing images
- Using modern image formats like WebP or AVIF
- Minimising JavaScript and CSS
- Leveraging browser caching
- Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
- Implementing lazy loading for images
- Choosing quality hosting providers
You can check your website's Core Web Vitals using Google PageSpeed Insights or Google Search Console's Core Web Vitals report.
Use your own domain name
Your domain name is one of the first things people notice about your website, and it immediately signals whether you're a serious business operation. Using free website builders that append their branding to your URL (like yourname.wix.com or yourname.business.site) creates an unprofessional impression.
Professional domain names offer several advantages:
- Complete control over your online presence
- Professional appearance that builds trust
- Better search engine optimisation opportunities
- Ability to create branded email addresses
- Protection from platform changes or restrictions
- Long-term business asset that can increase in value
Without your own domain, you're dependent on third-party providers for your online presence. This creates business risk, as platform changes, policy updates, or service discontinuation could affect your website's availability and search engine rankings.
Purchasing a domain name and arranging basic hosting is more affordable than ever, with many providers offering complete packages for small businesses. The investment in your own domain pays for itself through improved credibility and customer trust.
Set up professional email addresses
Using email addresses that match your domain (like [email protected]) instead of generic Gmail or Hotmail addresses significantly improves your professional image. Professional email addresses demonstrate that you've invested in your business infrastructure and take your online presence seriously.
Benefits of professional email addresses include:
- Enhanced credibility with customers and suppliers
- Consistent branding across all communications
- Better email deliverability rates
- Professional appearance in email signatures
- Complete control over your email system
- Ability to create multiple addresses for different purposes
When you purchase a domain name, most hosting providers offer email hosting services as part of their packages. Setting up professional email addresses is usually straightforward and can often be done through your hosting provider's control panel.
Consider creating multiple professional addresses for different purposes, such as [email protected] for general enquiries, [email protected] for sales-related communications, and [email protected] for customer service.
Keep your site looking active and current
Visitors to your website look for cues that tell them about your business's current status and activity level. An outdated website that hasn't been updated in months or years gives the impression that your business might not be operating actively or might not be a going concern.
Key elements that signal an active, current website include:
- Copyright notices showing the current year
- Recent blog posts or news updates
- Current product information and pricing
- Fresh testimonials and case studies
- Up-to-date contact information
- Current team photos and bios
- Recent social media integration
If you maintain a blog but haven't posted in several months, consider either committing to regular updates or removing dates from older posts. Seeing that the most recent blog post is from six months ago can create a negative impression about your business activity.
Regular content updates also benefit your search engine rankings, as Google favours websites that demonstrate ongoing activity and provide fresh, relevant information to users.
Simple ways to keep your site looking current include:
- Updating copyright dates annually (or coding them in such a way that they update automatically)
- Refreshing homepage content quarterly
- Adding new testimonials or case studies regularly
- Updating team pages when staff changes occur
- Reviewing and updating service descriptions periodically
- Ensuring all links work and information is accurate
Optimise images
Images make up an average of 21% of a webpage's weight according to HTTP Archive, making image optimisation crucial for both user experience and search engine performance. In 2025, proper image optimisation has become essential for meeting Core Web Vitals requirements and providing fast, professional website experiences.
Modern image optimisation involves several key practices:
Use appropriate file formats
- WebP: WebP is a modern image format preferred by most web developers and provides superior lossless and lossy compression
- AVIF: Next-generation format offering even better compression than WebP
- JPEG: Still suitable for photographs with complex colours
- PNG: Best for images requiring transparency or simple graphics
Implement responsive images
For mobile-first designs, max-width tends to be more intuitive as it aligns with CSS conventions for smaller-to-larger progressions. Use responsive image techniques to serve appropriately sized images for different devices.
Compress and resize images
Images with larger file sizes can impact your site's speed, especially when visitors are using a smartphone. Always resize images to their maximum display dimensions before uploading to avoid unnecessarily large file sizes.
Use descriptive file names and alt text
When choosing image file names for SEO, be descriptive and include relevant keywords. Instead of using generic filenames like "IMG1_2024.jpg", use more descriptive filenames like "ai-generated-cat.jpg".
Alt text should be clear, concise, and descriptive, helping both search engines understand your images and providing accessibility for users with visual impairments.
Implement lazy loading
Lazy loading ensures images only load when they're about to enter the viewport, improving initial page load times and Core Web Vitals scores.
Why these details make or break your business
You might think some of these elements seem like minor technical details, but they're really not. Your website must work exceptionally hard to convert visitors into customers. Every professional touch point matters because potential customers are constantly evaluating whether they want to do business with you.
Modern consumers have incredibly high expectations for digital experiences. They've been conditioned by interactions with major brands that invest heavily in user experience, and they expect the same level of professionalism from businesses of all sizes. A website that looks unprofessional or functions poorly immediately raises questions about the quality of your products or services.
The cumulative effect of these improvements can be substantial:
- Improved search rankings from better Core Web Vitals and mobile optimisation
- Increased conversion rates from faster, more trustworthy user experiences
- Enhanced credibility that makes customers comfortable choosing your business
- Better first impressions that set positive expectations for your brand
- Competitive advantages over businesses with poorly optimised websites
- Long-term cost savings from reduced bounce rates and improved organic visibility
In an era where customers research everything online before making purchasing decisions, your website often determines whether potential customers even consider your business. Investing time and resources in these professional improvements isn't just about looking better—it's about ensuring your website actively supports your business growth rather than hindering it.
A professional web presence is no longer optional. It's a fundamental business requirement that directly impacts revenue, customer acquisition, and long-term success.
Struggling to implement these strategies in your own business? You're not alone. Join our training webinars designed specifically for small and medium businesses ready to take their digital marketing to the next level. View our complete list of upcoming topics and training sessions.
