Many small businesses have a conversion problem they are not aware of: website blindness.

The more often they look at their own website, the less they notice where visitors get stuck. Every page feels familiar, and missing information gets filled in automatically. At that point, the mistakes disappear. That’s called website blindness.

It happens unconsciously

With the best intentions, they add new elements over the years: an extra text block, a new button, another section. But every addition makes the page just a little less clear for someone visiting it for the first time.

Where things go wrong

These are the typical places where things break down:

• Headers that seem logical but are overloaded and end up confusing visitors

• Call‑to‑actions that haven’t changed in years and don’t make clear where someone will end up

• Outdated or unclear copy that creates doubt, like references to old events or past deadlines

• Forms that ask for too much information and cause visitors to drop off

The solution to website blindness

The longer a company knows its own site, the harder it becomes to judge if it works for someone seeing it for the first time. But they can learn to look again.

Businesses that ask themselves the right questions suddenly do see where visitors struggle:

• Does a new visitor immediately understand the main message

• Is the primary action clear and easy to find

• Can someone always tell where they are on the site

• Are navigation and labels intuitive

• Is there enough proof to support the claims

• Are doubts and risks addressed
  

Learn how to use heuristics

Website blindness disappears once companies learn to look at their site like a first‑time visitor again. One way to do that is by using heuristics when analysing your website. Want to learn how? Take the online course about conversion optimisation for small businesses.