You’re not a startup.
You’re not “just getting by.”
You have a real business—with paying customers, strong referrals, and solid results.
So why does your website… not reflect that?
Why isn’t it generating leads, converting visitors, or clearly showcasing what you offer?
If you’ve been wondering why your website isn’t working—despite having a successful business—you’re not alone.
It’s not because you’ve failed.
It’s because most successful businesses evolve faster than their websites do.
This post will show you why that happens—and exactly what to do about it.
Why successful businesses end up with bad websites
Before we get into “what to do” when your website isn’t working, let’s talk about the most common reasons why successful businesses like yours end up with sites that don’t work like they should.
❌ Your business has evolved, but your website has stayed the same
When you first launched your website, everything made sense.
But over time, your business changed. Maybe your product evolved. Perhaps you’re serving a different audience (or more audiences). Or your positioning has shifted.
Many successful businesses put off these types of updates because they’re busy. Right now.
But as trends/industries/customer needs shift – and more competitors enter your space – outdated copy will only hurt (vs support) your business.
Instead of focusing on scaling or maintaining growth, you’ll have to play “catch up” just to remain competitive.
❌ You’ve made design updates – without changing the copy
When successful businesses have outdated websites, they often think changing colors, fonts, photography, or other visual elements will “fix” the problem.
But if the copy is outdated, doesn’t effectively engage your target audience, or clearly communicate what you’re offering today, simply changing the look isn’t going to magically deliver results.
The most successful websites design around the content (which is informed by the business goals and the goals of the customer) – not the other way around.
❌ You’ve added new things – without adjusting structure or UX
As businesses evolve, it’s natural for products and services to change, grow, or expand.
When this happens, a lot of businesses will simply add new things to the existing site without considering how those changes may impact the user experience, especially as more things get added over time.
This results in a bloated navigation with too many options, pages, sections, banners, and pop-ups, which can feel chaotic and confusing. And having so many elements often slows down the site.
❌ You’re asking visitors to do too much (without realizing it)
Visitors want to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily – and they want to take an action that aligns with their goals within seconds.
The problem is, many successful businesses have websites that ask their visitors to do too much in order to achieve their goals, which can be frustrating and lead to bounce.
For example, asking visitors to:
- Read through long, clunky paragraphs (vs making copy scannable)
- Scour through pages to find key info (vs making it prominent / easily accessible)
- Guess which action they should take (vs focusing on 1-3 clear, consistent & accessible CTA’s)
The truth is: when you’re close to your own business, it’s easy to miss what’s confusing or overwhelming to an outsider.
That’s how you end up with a website that’s functional… but not effective.
❌ The site makes sense to you – but not to your customers
A lot of successful businesses build websites “by committee.”
They get together with their team to come up with the structure, pages, and copy that make the most sense to them – then they pass it off to a designer/developer to build it.
However, without any external input or validation, the site doesn’t work as intended. Customers seem confused. They’re not taking desirable actions. Ads aren’t converting.
Because everyone is looking at the website from the same internal POV, it can be hard to understand why things aren’t working and how to fix it.
❌ You used AI to build your site – without oversight from a professional
As a successful business owner, you’re busy. You think: “I don’t have time to deal with my website right now, so I’ll just use AI to tell me what to do”
And believe me: I get it. I, too, use (and love) AI. And it can be incredibly helpful—but only when it’s used alongside professional strategy and oversight.
Why?
Most AI-generated websites or copy sound generic, vague, or disconnected from your actual business goals.
You end up with a website that “seems fine,” but doesn’t actually deliver results. Or stand out from competitors. Or truly reflect your unique tone of voice or style.
It’s just kind of…blah.
Yes – tools like ChatGPT can assist you with ideas and speed—but they can’t replace the nuance of brand voice, clear positioning, or strategic UX thinking.
If you’ve relied heavily on AI, it may be time to revisit your content with fresh (human) eyes and a clear plan that reflects your business, your goals, and your voice.
If you’re doing any of the above, don’t worry – you’re not alone.
Of the 100+ clients I’ve worked with over the last decade, all of them were experiencing these exact same challenges with their websites, which means they’re common and absolutely fixable.
The 6 biggest signs that it’s time to update your website
So what does an “ineffective” website actually look like?
Here are 6 of the most common red flags I see over and over again with my clients—almost all of which are successful businesses with winning products, decades of experience, and tons of paying customers.
❌ You’re getting traffic, but not leads or sales
Visitors are coming to your site, but they’re not staying long or taking desirable actions (like getting in touch, purchasing something, or subscribing to your newsletter).
You get plenty of leads/sales through other channels; but your website? Not so much.
❌ You’re getting the wrong type of leads
Your website is getting leads, but they’re low quality, not a good fit, they don’t convert, or they quickly churn after signing up.
So you (or your team) spends lots of time talking to (or supporting) folks that don’t ultimately add value to your bottom line.
❌ Your ads aren’t converting
You’re spending money on ads, but they’re either not converting or they’re bringing in the wrong type of leads (this is often a messaging issue vs design or UX, but it can be all 3).
❌ Your competitors are more successful than you
You are successful – and may even have a superior product – but your competitors always seem to be edging you out.
While many factors may be at play, marketing (which includes your website) is often a big factor that can be overlooked.
For example, imagine you have a physical shop that sells sneakers. Down the street is another store that sells the same sneakers.
The other store looks and feels sleek, modern, and inviting. Everything is clean, organized, and easy to navigate. Shopping in the store is an enjoyable experience. From the outside, it’s very clear what they sell and why you should shop there.
Your store, on the other hand, hasn’t been renovated in a while. It’s a little dark and there’s no clear sign outside that explains what you’re offering. The store layout is confusing. Maybe it’s even a little smelly.
You’re selling the exact same product as the other store, but the experiences are vastly different.
This same concept can be applied to your website. You can have the best product in the world, but if your competitors sell it better, you’re going to lose business.
❌ People tell you they are confused
You get emails, messages, or support tickets from visitors who…
- Don’t understand your offer
- Couldn’t find what they were looking for
- Ask the same questions over and over again
- Feel frustrated by some aspect of your site
- Didn’t realize that you offer exactly what they’re looking for
You’re so tired of wasting time on these inquiries, but you don’t know how to make them stop.
❌ You’re embarrassed to send people to your site
You cringe when people ask for your website and when you finally share it, you find yourself making excuses like:
- “I’m working on it”
- “I know, it needs updating”
- “Don’t judge me”
- “Just go to my [social media platform]. My website is outdated.”
You’re tired of feeling badly about this aspect of your business when there is so much to be proud of.
What to do when your website isn’t working (even though your business is successful)
You already have a successful business, so you’re clearly doing something right.
But if your website isn’t converting—or isn’t generating leads the way it should—there’s a path forward.
You don’t always need a full redesign. You just need a clear website conversion strategy.
Here are the 5 steps I recommend following if you are experiencing success in your business, but lacking those same results from your website.
Step 1: Get internal clarity first
Get together with your team (or yourself if you’re a solopreneur) and ask some simple questions like these:
Pro tip: Don’t overthink it. Just try to answer each question as simply and as clearly as possible.
- What is my product/service?
- Who is my target audience(s)
- What does my audience(s) want?
- How does my product help my audience(s) achieve their goals?
- How is my product different/better than my competitors?
- What action(s) do my website visitors want to take (what are their goals)?
- What action(s) do I want them to take (what are my goals)?
- Where is the overlap between my goals and the goals of my visitor?
These are just examples, but they will help you get clear on the basics so you can make sure your internal strategy is aligned with your external marketing efforts (in this case, your website).
This will be especially useful if aspects of your business (like your goals, product, target audience, etc) have changed over time.
If you’d like more guidance on what kind of questions you should be asking internally before making any changes to your website, check out my Discovery Questionnaire (it even includes a completed example from my own business and a video walk-through so you can see how it works).
The goal is to walk away with: (1) A renewed sense of clarity around your business/product and (2) Internal alignment (either with your team or with yourself).
Step 2: Audit your current site
Once you have a clearer sense of everything, it’s time to audit your website – page by page, element by element.
To start, make a list of:
- The pages on your site
- The items within your navigation (primary and footer)
- Your CTA’s (calls to action)
Go through each page (or element/item) on your list, one by one, and ask yourself:
- What’s working?
- What’s not working?
- What needs to change so I can achieve my goals?
- What needs to change so my visitors can achieve their goals?
- What is frustrating, confusing, or annoying?
Doing this simple exercise will help you clearly see where you should be focusing your time, from clarifying messages and removing redundancies, to updating content, improving design, and so on.
It will also give you a chance to interact with your website as if you are a potential customer, giving you a new perspective that can help you uncover bugs, UX issues, or other possible barriers.
Pro tip: Use a tool like Loom to record as you go through each page. As you go along, call out things you notice so you can share them with your team or refer to them later.
Pro tip 2: Conduct a little “UX test” by getting a few people outside your team to complete a “task” (or variety of “tasks”) to see how quickly/easily they can achieve them. For example, after they spend some time on your site, ask them to explain your offering in one sentence. Or ask them to fill out the contact form without any guidance from you. Time/record the session for reference.
Step 3: Check out your competition
Once you have a clearer sense of what needs to change on your own website, it’s time to check out your competitors.
Start by making a list of your top 3-5 competitors.
Just like you did for your own site, you’re going to go through each website, making notes the whole time.
As you do this, record yourself (using a tool like Loom) so you can remember what’s working well on their websites and what’s not working so well.
Identify gaps (in product/offering, messaging, design, etc) that you can fill or do better. Jot down anything you like so you can use it as inspiration for your own site or strategy.
If you’d like some guidance on how to conduct a website competitive analysis, check out this free guide from my blog here.
Step 4: Consult a pro (free!)
Once you have internal clarity/alignment – and a better sense of what is vs is not working about your current site – it’s time to consult a professional (like a website copywriter or designer).
Why consult a professional?
Website professionals do this kind of work all day long. They have worked on dozens (sometimes hundreds) of websites and can quickly understand what you need just by asking questions and looking at your website.
Most website copywriters and designers will allow you to book a free, 30-min consultation to discuss your project in more detail.
And most will give you a detailed proposal outlining exactly what they believe you need, the process to get it, how long it will take, and what it will cost.
You don’t need to act on anything immediately, but having these conversations will give you a clearer idea of what the project will entail and whether or not it’s a good fit for you.
Why wait until this stage to consult a professional? Isn’t it too late by then?
Completing Steps 1-3 before consulting a professional will help you enter the conversation with more confidence and a clearer sense of what you need.
Even if there is a difference between what you think you need and what the pro recommends, bringing internal clarity to the convo will lead to a more productive call – and clarity in the recommendation, as well.
If you’d like to book a free, 30-min call to discuss your website, send me an email to start the conversation: hello@anniemaguire.com
Step 5: Create a plan that will move you forward
Once you have internal clarity on your product/business, a better sense of what your website is lacking (and what it needs), and a clear roadmap from a professional (like a website copywriter and/or designer), it’s time to create a plan that will move you forward.
For example, you may find that you don’t need a full website revamp, but you really need to work on your user experience and design.
You may find that your messaging is totally outdated and you need a new content strategy and website structure to clarify your message.
Maybe you just need to make your calls-to-action clearer, more consistent, and more easily accessible.
Or perhaps you need to totally overhaul your website and start from scratch.
Whatever your next step looks like—whether it’s a full revamp or just a few high-impact updates—the most important thing is to move forward with intention.
Your website should support your growth, not stall it. And you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.
Want your website to reflect how good your business really is?
If your website isn’t working, your site no longer matches the strength of your business, or you’re not sure what to fix first—I can help.
I work with established businesses to turn underperforming websites into confident, conversion-ready sales tools—using clear messaging, smart structure, and a focused website conversion strategy.
👉 To book a free 30-minute call, send me a quick email (hello@anniemaguire.com) or fill out this form and I’ll point you in the right direction—no pressure, no pushy sales pitch. Just clarity.
I hope to connect with you soon!
