Your Website Is Live. Why Is Nothing Happening?

You finally launched your website - congratulations!

You picked the template, wrote the copy yourself, figured out the tech and hit publish. It probably took longer than you thought it would, but it’s done. It’s live but you’re getting crickets……

If you run a small service-based business, this is usually when the second wave of doubt kicks in. Are people just supposed to find it? Should you be posting about it somewhere? Did you miss a step everyone else seems to know about?

You didn’t and these are all valid questions when you’ve never designed a website before.

Most websites don’t start bringing in enquiries the second they go live. Not because they’re bad or even because you built it wrong. There’s just a difference between “published” and “working”.

Here are five things I see small service businesses miss after launching.

1. The homepage isn’t as clear as you think

You know exactly what you do. But when someone lands on your site for the first time, is it obvious within a few seconds?

If they have to scroll around trying to figure it out, they’ll usually leave and this is why your bounce rate may be high.

2. There isn’t one clear next step

If every page offers five different actions, most people won’t choose any of them.

Each main page should make it obvious what to do next. Book a call. Send an enquiry. Read more. Just one clear call to action.

3. Google hasn’t properly “seen” your site yet

A lot of DIY websites never get connected to Google Search Console. That means you’re essentially guessing whether your pages are being indexed or showing up in search results.

It’s a small setup step that makes a big difference over time.

4. The foundations for visibility aren’t set

Page titles, meta descriptions, image names. They sound minor, but they help search engines understand what your site is about.

Without those basics in place, your website has to work harder than it should.

5. You’re not actively sending people to it

Websites don’t promote themselves. You’ve got to put in some hard work elsewhere.

Even simple things like linking to it in your email signature, choosing one social platform to focus on, or sending people directly to a specific page can help.

None of this requires becoming a marketing expert. You don’t need to overhaul your whole business. You just need to tighten a few key areas and set the foundations properly.

If you’re in that in-between stage where your website is live but not quite working the way you hoped, I’ve put together a practical post-launch checklist designed specifically for small service businesses who built their own site.

It walks you through what actually matters next, in the right order, without turning it into a full strategy course.

You can take a look here → So, you’ve launched your website. Now What?!