Shipside field notes — observations from actually auditing small business websites. Mobile speed, form drop-off, plugin hell, the plumbing nobody checks. No search-guru theory. No 2,000-word introductions. Just the thing, the number, and the fix.
If your GBP URL doesn't exactly match your live URL, Google treats them as two different businesses. Most small businesses have this misconfigured and lose half their local ranking.
WordPress still runs 40% of the internet. It's also the wrong tool for 90% of local business lead sites. Here's the honest breakdown of why, and what I ship instead.
A short first build is not a moving target. Here is what fits in the build window, what does not, and why tight scope is the whole reason it works.
The new-patient form on a dental site is where many good prospects quit. Here's why, and what a good one actually looks like.
Google's reCAPTCHA drops form conversion by 20-40% on mobile. Most local business sites have it turned on by default and nobody notices the drop.
IDX plugins load 40+ third-party scripts before your homepage is interactive. Google penalizes that in local rankings. Here's how to keep the listings and stop bleeding mobile speed.
Plumbers, electricians, roofers — the seven things that were almost certainly skipped when your site went live, and that are costing you leads every week.
First-visit med spa traffic is 80% mobile and the window from Instagram to booked is 90 seconds. Every extra click is a consultation lost.
Every extra field on a law firm intake form drops conversion. For a practice at $3,000 avg case value, a form that's too long costs real money — and most firms don't realize they're bleeding leads.
Google's local pack actively demotes slow mobile sites for HVAC and home service searches. If your score is under 50 you're invisible for the searches that matter.