“My website isn’t working.” It’s a phrase we hear all the time at IMPACT. When your website isn’t performing, it’s not just an annoyance—it’s a roadblock to growth. You’re losing potential customers, wasting resources, and watching opportunities slip through your fingers.
Maybe your website is outdated, or maybe you’ve spent time and money with an agency that promised their website optimization services would be incredible, but results have fallen flat. Either way, disappointing website results can be incredibly frustrating.
At IMPACT, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses—from growing startups to established enterprises—turn struggling websites into lead-generation machines. With years of experience solving these challenges, we know that when someone says their website isn’t working, it can mean many things. Maybe the site isn’t attracting visitors, or it’s failing to convert visitors into leads. Perhaps the leads it does generate aren’t the right fit, or the backend is so difficult to use that your marketing team feels stuck.
But the good news? Every problem has a solution. In this article, you’ll learn how to identify what’s holding your website back, explore real-world examples of successful fixes, and discover a process for transforming frustration into measurable results.
Asking the Right Questions
Fixing a website starts with understanding the problem. Before you can take action, you need to ask the right questions.
What does “not working” mean to you?
This is the most important starting point. For some businesses, the problem is low traffic—fewer people visiting the site than wanted. For others, it’s a lack of conversions—visitors aren’t turning into leads. Still, others struggle with usability issues that make the site difficult to manage.
What results do you expect from your website?
Your website should align with your goals. Are you looking to generate leads, educate prospects, or drive direct sales? Clarity about what success looks like will help you determine where your site is falling short.
What’s happening on your site right now?
Analyzing your data is critical. Tools like Google Analytics reveal where users are landing, how long they’re staying, and where they’re dropping off. One client came to us thinking they had an SEO problem, but we discovered their page load times exceeded ten seconds. This technical issue caused visitors to leave before they even saw the content.
By asking these foundational questions, you’ll uncover what’s really going on—and lay the groundwork for meaningful solutions.
Common Website Problems and Their Solutions
After asking the right questions, patterns start to emerge. Most underperforming websites face one (or more) of the following challenges:
1. Low Traffic
If your site isn’t attracting visitors, it can be tempting to jump to conclusions. Maybe you’ve heard that SEO is the culprit, or that you need more ads or social media buzz. But in reality, there are countless factors that affect website traffic, and no single answer fits every situation.
Today, the SEO landscape has become more complex and unpredictable. While SEO can still be part of the equation, focusing solely on rankings often misses the bigger picture. Traffic issues can stem from misaligned messaging, outdated content, or a lack of visibility in the places your audience actually spends time.
The Fix:
Optimize your site for mobile devices to ensure usability on all screens.
Keep content updated. Fresh, relevant content gives visitors a reason to return and keeps your site useful for your audience.
Improve site speed by compressing images and streamlining code.
2. Poor Conversions
Attracting traffic is only half the battle. If visitors aren’t taking action—like filling out a form, calling your office, or downloading a resource—it’s often due to unclear messaging, bad value propositions, or weak calls-to-action (CTAs).
The Fix:
Have very clear value propositions on your landing pages, otherwise your visitors will not be inspired to click your CTAs
Ensure every page includes a clear next step, such as “Schedule a Call” or “Download the Guide.”
Simplify and clarify your navigation so users can easily find what they need.
Address visitor pain points in your content, focusing on their problems and how you solve them.
3. Unqualified Leads
Not all leads are created equal. If your website generates inquiries that don’t align with your target audience, the problem is likely with your messaging.
The Fix:
Make sure you have content on your site around who is a good fit to work with you, and who is not a good fit. This lets prospects qualify themselves as much as possible before they ever fill out a form.
Refine your messaging to focus on your ideal customer. Ask: What are their biggest challenges? What do they need from you?
Avoid overly broad content. Instead, highlight specific problems you solve and the industries you serve.
4. Backend Challenges
An overly complex or outdated content management system (CMS) can frustrate your marketing team and slow down campaigns.
The Fix:
Migrate to a user-friendly CMS, such as WordPress or HubSpot, that empowers your team to make updates without needing technical expertise.
Organize your backend tools to streamline workflows and remove unnecessary roadblocks.
The IMPACT Process — Not Your Average Web Design Company
When businesses partner with IMPACT, they’re not just looking for quick fixes—they want a strategic approach that delivers lasting results. Here’s how we guide clients through the website transformation process:
1. Discovery Session
We start with a deep dive into your business, audience, and goals. During this phase, we ask detailed questions to uncover your pain points and opportunities. Unlike other agencies that rely on surface-level input, we push for clarity to ensure the strategy is aligned with your objectives. We will also be honest with you and let you know whether or not IMPACT will be the right fit to help you.
2. Strategy, Design, and Development
Once an agreement is in place, you’ll move into design and page strategy, where we see what the site will look and feel like — both from an aesthetic point of view and a user flow standpoint. Upon approval of the design, we’ll begin to develop the designs into functioning web pages.
3. Content Guidance and Design
We guide your team in writing copy, then review and refine your content to ensure it’s clear, engaging, and optimized for search engines. From there, our design team brings your website to life, focusing on user experience and branding.
4. Launch, Optimization, and Training
We’ll work to get core website pages up and running first – usually within 4 months. After launch, we’ll start gathering visitor data to help us perfect the launched pages, as well as build out the remaining pages of your site. At the same time, we’ll train your team on how they manage and update your new website.
A Real-World Example: Combined HCM
When Combined HCM came to us, their website wasn’t just underperforming—it was holding them back. Their marketing team couldn’t make updates without outside help, and their messaging was too broad to attract qualified leads.
Here’s how we helped:
Simplified the Backend: We migrated their site to a CMS that empowered their team to make updates independently.
Refined Messaging: By focusing on their target audience’s pain points, we helped them create content that resonated.
Enhanced the User Experience: We added a learning center to guide prospects through the buyer’s journey and embedded videos to build trust.
Turning Frustration Into Opportunity
A website that isn’t working isn’t just a problem—it’s an opportunity. By addressing the root causes, you can create a site that gets the traffic you want, converts leads, and supports your goals.
At IMPACT, we specialize in helping businesses turn underperforming websites into assets they can rely on. Whether you need to improve your messaging, streamline your structure, or overhaul your entire platform, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
Whether you work with us or not, we hope this article will help you get started on your journey to website success!
