How to Turn More Website Visitors Into Enquiries

Your analytics, or your Google Business Profile, says people are visiting your website. Yet the phone’s quiet and the form inbox is empty. Somewhere between arriving and getting in touch, they give up.

In our view, the places to look are much the same on any small business site: it’s unclear what you do, there’s no obvious next step, the number won’t tap, the form is a chore, or nothing shows you’re trustworthy. This guide takes them in the order we’d fix them, with a quick check for each.

We found no reliable official data on how much any single fix adds, so there are no “X% more enquiries” statistics here. Where a step is our advice, we say so; where it rests on official guidance or UK law, we link to it. It’s the detailed version of the “make contact easy” step in our guide to getting more customers.

Before you start

You’ll need your phone, about an hour, and access to edit your website or someone who can. Start with the pages people land on most (or your homepage, main service page and contact page) and look at each on your phone.

These fixes help the visitors you already have. If the wrong people are arriving, or none of them are local, the problem is how you’re found, which is what our local SEO service is for.

1. Say what you do and where, near the top

Our rule, not an official one: without scrolling, a visitor should know what you do, where, and what to do next.

Take a made-up example. Sam repairs boilers in Redditch, and the homepage opens with “Quality you can trust since 2009”. A stranger can’t tell whether Sam fixes boilers or sells insurance. Compare:

Boiler repairs and servicing in Redditch and Bromsgrove. Gas Safe registered engineers. Call for a same-week visit.

That names the service, the area, a reason to believe and the next step. (The Gas Safe claim has to be true; see step 5.)

It also helps when the page matches the search that brought someone there, so give each main service its own page, as our guide to service and location pages explains.

Quick check: show the page on your phone to someone who doesn’t know your business for five seconds. Can they say what you do, where, and how to get in touch? If not, rewrite the top.

2. Give every page one clear next step

A call to action is the button or link that tells a visitor what to do next. In our view, every important page needs one main call to action, visible without scrolling on a phone and repeated near the end.

Make the wording specific: “Book an appointment” or “Call Sam now”, not “Click here”. For visitors not ready to commit, add one lighter option, such as “Send a question” beside “Book a visit”. Five competing buttons is no next step at all.

Quick check: on each page, can you point to the one thing you want a visitor to do? If you have to think about it, so do they.

3. Make phoning and messaging one tap

A tel: link is a phone number coded into the page so that tapping it on a mobile opens the dialler with the number ready. MDN’s documentation on links notes behaviour varies by device; a desktop may offer to call through an app instead.

Write it in international format, dropping the first zero, so a made-up 01632 960123 becomes tel:+441632960123. Put it in every page’s header.

WhatsApp is optional, and only worth adding if someone watches it. A click-to-chat link opens a WhatsApp chat with you in one tap. WhatsApp’s help centre says to use https://wa.me/ plus the full number in international format, without zeroes, brackets or dashes: the made-up mobile 07700 900123 becomes https://wa.me/447700900123.

Quick check: tap every number and chat button on your own phone; each should open the dialler or chat with the right number. It’s check 8 of our free website health check.

4. Cut your form down, then fix what’s left

The UK government’s design guidance was written for teams building government services, so treat it as good practice, not rules for businesses; some of it, like one question per page, is overkill for a contact form.

Ask only what you need

The government’s advice on structuring forms is to add a question only if you know you need the information, why, and what you’ll do with it. Mark anything optional as “(optional)”.

Sam’s made-up form has twelve boxes, from title to boiler model and “confirm email”. After that test it becomes:

• Your name
• Phone or email (their choice)
• What’s the problem?
• Postcode (optional), so Sam can see if it’s in the area

Boiler details can wait for the call. The government’s phone number guidance says to collect numbers only if you genuinely need them, give people a choice of contact, and explain why you want the number: “We’ll ring to arrange a time” does that.

Use visible labels, not placeholders

A form label is the text telling someone what to type in a box. Placeholder text is the grey hint inside the box. The government’s text input guidance says not to use placeholders in place of labels: they vanish as you type, not all screen readers read them, and their default styling often fails contrast standards. Put labels above the boxes.

Ask your developer to use type="tel" and type="email" for the right phone keyboard, and autocomplete so browsers fill in saved details.

Make errors easy to fix

The government’s error message guidance says to explain what went wrong and how to fix it, next to the field, in plain English, avoiding words like “invalid” and jokey ones like “oops”. “Enter a phone number or email address so we can reply” beats “Invalid input”.

Its guidance on recovering from errors adds: show the form again with everything the person typed still in it, and ignore stray spaces, hyphens and brackets, so a phone number typed with spaces still goes through. In our view, a form that wipes a long message over one missing field is the quickest way to lose a nearly-won enquiry.

Say what the button does, and what happens next

Replace “Submit” with “Send my enquiry” or “Request a call back”. Then use the confirmation, the message or page people see after sending. The government’s confirmation page pattern says it should cover what happens next and when, plus contact details. For Sam: “Thanks, we’ll reply by 5pm the next working day. If your boiler has stopped completely, ring 01632 960123.” Promise only what you can keep.

Stop spam without locking people out

A CAPTCHA is the puzzle asking you to pick out traffic lights. A W3C working group note on the inaccessibility of CAPTCHA says these tasks exclude many disabled people and that research suggests many popular techniques are no longer particularly effective or secure. It’s a 2021 draft, not a formal standard, but it says a honeypot “should be considered”: a form box hidden from people that spam bots fill in, so the form can ignore those messages. Try that, or your form tool’s background spam filtering, before any puzzle.

Add a privacy line

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says in its guidance on the right to be informed that you must give privacy information when you collect personal data, and names “just-in-time” notices, shown at the moment you ask for the details, as one effective way to do it. A line under the form, “We’ll only use these details to reply to you”, linking to your privacy notice, fits. (The guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act.)

Quick check: fill in your form on your phone with a deliberate mistake. Does the error say how to fix it, does your message survive, and does the confirmation say what happens next? Then send it properly and check it arrives, spam folder included.

5. Show trust honestly

Real photos of your team and work beat stock images. The legal risks sit in how you show reviews and badges, because UK rules apply on your own site too.

Reviews and testimonials

The Competition and Markets Authority’s fake reviews guidance (CMA208) confirms you can publish reviews on your own site, but says publishing them in a misleading way is prohibited. Its examples of what can break the law include suppressing genuine negative reviews and cherry-picking, meaning selecting or highlighting favourable reviews that don’t reflect what reviewers report overall.

So you can feature a few reviews, but the picture must match what customers say overall. We’d link to your full Google reviews beside them, though that’s our suggestion, not a CMA requirement.

The advertising rules in the CAP Code, which cover marketing on your own website, add that you mustn’t give positive reviews more prominence than negative ones, must hold evidence a testimonial is genuine plus the person’s contact details, and normally need their permission to use it. For getting reviews in the first place, see how to get more Google reviews.

Badges and trust marks

A trust mark is a logo showing you belong to a scheme or have been approved, such as a trade association’s. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists practices banned in all circumstances since 6 April 2025, including displaying a trust mark without authorisation and claiming approval you don’t have or whose terms you don’t meet. The easy trap is a lapsed membership whose logo stays on the site.

Quick check: for every review, testimonial and badge, could you show where it came from and that you’re entitled to use it? Remove anything you can’t.

6. Be clear about price and who you are

Prices, if you show them

We found no rule that a local business must publish prices on its website, and many quote after a visit. But if you show a price, including a “from” price, rules apply to it.

The CMA’s guidance on unfair commercial practices (CMA207) says a price with product details, “from” prices included, will normally count as an invitation to purchase. Then the total price, including mandatory fees, taxes and charges, is material information, or how it’s calculated if it can’t reasonably be worked out in advance. Drip pricing, showing a headline price and adding unavoidable charges later, is prohibited.

A made-up example: “Boiler service from £75” online, with a compulsory £30 call-out fee first seen on the invoice. Build the fee in or state it beside the price. If you can’t give a figure, say how you price, such as “fixed price after a free survey”. That’s a summary of the guidance, not legal advice; if your pricing is complicated, take advice.

Business details customers can find

Under the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, service providers must make certain information available, including name, legal status, address, contact details including email, any trade register number, VAT number, general terms, the price where you set one for a type of service and, where relevant, professional body and insurance details. The website isn’t the only permitted place, but in our view it’s the easiest for customers.

If you’re a limited company, the government’s page on signs, stationery and promotional material says your website must show your registered number, registered office address, where the company is registered and that it’s a limited company. A footer line does it. If you sell or take bookings online, check whether the E-Commerce Regulations add requirements.

Quick check: from any page, could a customer find your business name, address and contact details, and your registered details if you’re a company, within a tap?

7. Check speed, mobile and pop-ups

A slow page or a layout that fights a thumb makes every step above harder. Checks 2 and 3 of the health check cover Google’s speed thresholds and phone testing, so this step adds two points.

Don’t chase a speed score for rankings. Google’s page experience guidance says Core Web Vitals, its measures of loading, responsiveness and visual stability, are used by its ranking systems, but good scores don’t guarantee top rankings. Fix speed for the people trying to reach you.

And watch the pop-ups. Google’s guidance on intrusive interstitials says pop-ups covering the page may frustrate visitors and erode trust, and suggests banners taking only a small part of the screen. A newsletter offer that covers your number on a phone works against you. A legally required cookie banner is a separate matter, covered in check 10.

Quick check: on your phone, can you see the number or main button on each page without closing anything?

8. Make forms and buttons usable for everyone

WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is the recognised accessibility standard (currently version 2.2). Three parts matter most for enquiries:

• Labels and error text. WCAG asks for labels or instructions on form fields and for errors to be described in text, which step 4 covers.
• Contrast. Text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background (3:1 for large text). Browsers usually show placeholder text in a colour that falls short.
• Tap size. WCAG 2.2 added a rule that targets should be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, with some exceptions. Treat that as the minimum for call and send buttons, not the goal.

On the law (this isn’t legal advice), WCAG 2.2 AA is a legal requirement for public sector websites, not private businesses. But all UK service providers must make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 (in Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995). The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s 2026 Code of Practice for services describes that duty as anticipatory: providers must proactively consider barriers disabled people could face before an individual tries to use the service. A form you can’t complete without a mouse is that kind of barrier. (The code has been laid before Parliament, though GOV.UK’s page address still says “draft”.)

Quick check: check 9 of the health check has you Tab through the site; go one step further and fill in and send your form using only the keyboard. Note anywhere you get stuck and pass the list to your developer.

9. Build a contact page that answers the next question

The government’s pattern for contacting a service team, again written for government services, translates well to a local business:

• Every way to reach you, in the same order used across the site: phone, email or form, WhatsApp if you use it, address or area covered.
• Opening hours, with exceptions. Its example is “Monday to Friday, 9am to midday and 2pm to 4:30pm (closed on bank holidays)”. Keep them identical to your Google Business Profile.
• When you’ll reply. Knowing the wait helps people choose a channel: “We reply to messages within one working day”, if that’s true.
• Any cost of using a channel.
• Social channels last, with a reminder not to share personal details publicly.

Live chat is optional; in our view an unanswered chat box is a dead end. Chat widgets are usually third-party scripts that add page weight and may set cookies, so check both.

Quick check: from your contact page, can a customer tell how to reach you, when you’re open, bank holidays included, and when they’ll hear back?

10. Reply quickly, then measure what changes

Our advice is to set a reply time you can keep, show it on your contact page and confirmation, and stick to it.

Then measure. Keep an enquiry log, a list of every call, form and message with how the person found you, and compare before and after your changes. A thank-you page after the form makes online enquiries easier to count. Our guide to tracking where your enquiries come from sets up both, plus Google’s free tools.

Final check, end to end: on your phone and mobile data, land on your busiest page, read the top, tap the number, then send a form with a mistake and correct it. You should see a clear confirmation, receive the enquiry and reply within your promised time. That proves the route works; the log shows whether it brings in more work.

Fix it, or start again?

Most of these fixes are small edits. If your checks fail at almost every step, a rebuild may make more sense: see what a website costs in the UK, and read redesigning without losing SEO before you start.

Get Found is a local SEO, AI SEO and web design agency with 22 years’ experience, based in Worcester with an office in Stockport and working UK-wide. Our conversion focused web design builds in click-to-call, short enquiry forms and a next step on every page, with Core Web Vitals checked before launch, and you own the website and domain.