Why a website brings no requests
The phrase «the site does not work» means several different things, and each is treated differently. Before rebuilding anything, you need to find out which link in the chain is broken. Usually that takes one evening.
The chain from a person to money has five links, and usually one is broken. Check in order: is there traffic at all, do people leave immediately, do they find prices, does the form get in the way, do requests actually arrive. The most common and most galling cause is that the request never arrived: a broken form or an email in spam.
In this article9 sections
- The chain where the break happens
- Link 1: there is simply no traffic
- Link 2: people leave immediately
- Link 3: they do not find what they need
- Link 4: they do not decide
- Link 5: they sent it and it never arrived
- The order to work in
- How to work out exactly where you are losing people
- What to check first
The chain where the break happens
The path from a person to money has five links. Break any of them and there are no requests.
- People arriveThere is traffic and it is relevant.
- They stayThey understand they are in the right place and do not leave immediately.
- They find what they needThey see the service, the price, the terms.
- They decideThere is no reason to doubt and there is a clear action.
- They send it and it arrivesThe form works, the request comes through, someone answers it.
Link 1: there is simply no traffic
The most common and simplest situation. There are no requests because ten people a month visit the site.
- Check visits in analytics for the last month.
- If there are none, the question is about your acquisition channels, not the site.
- If there is traffic but it is irrelevant (people come for information while you sell), the question is about queries and ad copy.
A website does not bring people on its own. It converts those who arrive into requests. If nobody is arriving, rebuilding the site is pointless.
Link 2: people leave immediately
They come in and close it within the first seconds. Look at the exit rate and time on page.
- The site takes too long to load — the person did not wait.
- The first screen does not make clear what you do and who for.
- The design does not inspire confidence: a dated look, stock photos, typos.
- The ad promised one thing and the page shows another.
- A popup covered everything right after entry.
Link 3: they do not find what they need
The person stayed but did not find the answer to their question and went to a competitor.
- No prices. Cause number one on service sites.
- No description of the service they were looking for: there is a general list with no detail.
- It is unclear whether you work in their city or with their case.
- No answers to the obvious questions: timelines, guarantees, what the price includes.
Link 4: they do not decide
They found everything but did not leave a request. This is where doubt does its work.
- No proof: examples, reviews, photos of real work.
- No clear action: there is a button, but it is unclear what happens after clicking it.
- The commitment feels too large: «leave a request» sounds scarier than «find out the price».
- The price is above market with no explanation of why.
Link 5: they sent it and it never arrived
The most painful category, because the money has already been spent in full.
- The form does not submit on a phone or throws an error.
- Requests land in the mailbox's spam folder.
- Notifications go to an inbox nobody checks.
- The request arrived but the callback came a day later.
- Someone called but could not answer the question about price.
Always leave a request on your own site yourself — from a phone, like an ordinary client. Check whether it arrived and how long it took someone to call you back. This is the fastest check there is, and it regularly turns up something unpleasant.
The order to work in
| What you see | Where to look for the cause | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| No traffic | Acquisition channels | Maps, advertising, search |
| Traffic exists, exits are high | First screen, speed | Speed and the heading |
| They read but do not click | Content and trust | Prices, examples, reviews |
| They click but do not send | The form | Cut fields, test on a phone |
| They send but nothing sells | Request handling | Response speed and the conversation |
How to work out exactly where you are losing people
Numbers matter more than impressions. A minimum set you can calculate from analytics in one evening:
- How many people visited the site this month.
- How many reached a service or price page.
- How many scrolled to the form.
- How many sent it.
- How many of those who sent it bought.
The largest drop between adjacent steps is where to invest. Usually it is either the «arrived → reached a service» transition (a structure and first-screen problem) or «scrolled → sent» (a form or trust problem).
What to check first
A list of actions sorted by the ratio of «cheap and fast» to «how often it turns out to be the culprit».
| Check | Time | How often it is the culprit |
|---|---|---|
| Leave a request yourself from a phone | 5 min | Very often |
| Check mobile speed | 5 min | Often |
| Find the price with a client's eyes | 5 min | Very often |
| See whether there is traffic at all | 10 min | Often |
| Compare with three competitors | 20 min | Sometimes |
| Listen to ten calls | 1 hour | Often |
Frequent questions
How many requests should a website bring per month?
It depends on traffic and niche. Calculate it as a percentage: 2–5% is a working reference for a service site. If you are at 0.5% on normal traffic, there is something to fix.
Do we need a new site if the old one brings nothing?
First find which link in the chain is broken. If the problem is in traffic or in how requests are handled, a new site changes nothing and the money is gone.
How do we tell whether it is the price rather than the site?
Open three competitors from the top and compare honestly: price, terms, guarantees, presentation. If you are more expensive with everything else equal and nothing explains it, the issue is the offer.
Can the advertising be at fault rather than the site?
Yes, often. The ad promises one thing, the page shows another, and the person leaves in the first seconds. Check by comparing the ad text with the first screen.
Can the contact form itself be to blame?
Yes, and it takes a minute to check: send a request from your phone and confirm it arrived. Broken forms are a painful and frequent cause.
How long should we wait after making fixes?
Changes on the site take effect immediately: if conversion has risen, you will see it on the same traffic within the next week. There is nothing here that takes months.
The materials answer general questions. We will look at your specific case — free and without obligation.