Send yourself an inquiry from your phone

Most people who visit a small business website do it on a phone. Most owners check their own site on a laptop. That gap is where inquiries get lost.

So this week's tip is a test, and it takes two minutes.

The test

Take your phone, open your website the way a customer would (search for your business on Google, don't type the address) and try to send yourself an inquiry. Time it.

• Can you see what you do and where, without scrolling?
• Can you find the contact form, phone number or booking button in one tap?
• Does the keyboard cover the field you're typing in?
• Does the email field open the keyboard with the @ sign?
• After you press send, do you see a clear confirmation?
• Did the message actually arrive in your inbox?

If it took more than a minute, or you hesitated anywhere, a customer gave up at that spot.

What to fix first

1. Put the main action in the first screen. One button, with a verb: "Ask for a quote", "Book a table". Not "Contact", not three buttons side by side.
2. Cut the form to what you need for the first reply. Name, email and one message field are enough for most businesses. Every extra field costs you inquiries.
3. Use the right input types. type="email" and type="tel" give people the right keyboard. It's a one-line change for whoever maintains your site.
4. Check the confirmation and the inbox. A form that looks like it worked but sends nothing is more common than you'd think, especially after a plugin update.

Do this test again every time something on the site changes. It's the cheapest way to catch a broken form before your customers do.

Want a second pair of eyes?

If you'd like us to run this and a few more checks for you, ask for a free website check. A person from our team goes through your site and sends you the five fixes that matter most.

See you next week.