It was built on a drag-and-drop tool
Wix, GoDaddy and the like get you online fast, but they trade speed and polish for convenience. Visitors don't think "template", they just feel something is dated, and quietly assume the business is too.
/the website-health question
How to tell if your website is working for you, or quietly working against you
You'd notice if a member of staff was rude to a customer. You'll never notice your website doing the same thing, because nobody complains. They just close the tab and call the next name on the list. Here's how to tell which one your site is, and what to do about it.
/01 — the signs that don't look like signs
Six ways a website quietly costs you customers
None of these sets off an alarm. That's exactly the problem. A site doesn't have to be broken to be losing you business. It just has to be one of these.
It loads slowly
Nobody waits for a page anymore. If it drags on mobile data, they're gone before your first line loads, and they never tell you why.
It breaks on a phone
Most people find you from their pocket, not a desk. A menu that overlaps or a button too small to tap loses them before they've seen what you offer.
It can't take a booking or payment
If someone has to phone in office hours or wait on a form reply, you've added friction at the exact moment they were ready to say yes.
It's offline or hacked
Every day a site sits broken or hijacked is a day every search for your name finds nothing, or finds something that isn't yours. This one costs the most and hides in plain sight.
The words describe instead of sell
A site that lists what you do, with no clear next step, gives a ready customer nothing to act on. Describing isn't the same as convincing.
/02 — how people actually choose
Nobody scores you. They decide in about five seconds.
No visitor rationally compares you to your competitors. In roughly five seconds they answer two questions without thinking: can I trust this business, and is this going to be easy? A site that loads fast and looks current answers both before a word is read. A dated, broken or offline one answers them too, just not in your favour. The real cost isn't the deal you lost. It's the one you were never even considered for.
/03 — what actually fixes it
It isn't about flashy. It's about three things.
A site that works loads fast, behaves on the phone it's actually viewed on, and makes the next step obvious. That's it. Everything else is decoration. It's the whole approach behind every CodeSketch build: hand-coded, not dropped into a template, so it loads fast and holds up. Our own site scores 93 out of 100 on our own grading tool, and its critical path loads in under two seconds on mobile data, because the standard we hold client sites to, we hold ourselves to first.
A real rebuild, in his words
"As far as I'm concerned, you did an exceptional job." That's Craig Cooper's Google review, after his Wix page was rebranded and rebuilt by hand as assistance-ally.co.za.
Rebuild, or start from scratch
Assistance Ally was a rebuild of a Wix page that had outgrown it. Myriad Financial Services started from a blank page (myriadfs.co.za). Different starting points, one goal: a site that actually works for the business behind it.
/04 — how it works
Three steps, and the first two cost you nothing
Run the free grader
Put your site through the free Website Grader. Five minutes, no catch. You get a score out of 100 and the exact issues helping or hurting you.
Get a free homepage preview
If it makes sense to go further, you get a free preview of a rebuilt homepage. If you don't love the design at the blueprint stage, you walk away owing nothing.
A fixed quote, in writing
Only once you've seen the work does anything get quoted, and every quote is fixed and agreed in writing before work starts. No scope creep, no surprise invoice.
/05 — the honest bit about cost
"I can't really justify spending on this right now"
Fair, and it deserves a straight answer. Finding out where you stand costs nothing: the grader is free, the homepage preview is free, and you only pay once you've seen the work and said yes, at a fixed number agreed in writing first. Worried about being locked in? You're not. You own the code, so if you ever wanted to leave, you could take the site and host it anywhere. The real question isn't whether you can afford to fix it. It's what it's costing you, quietly, every month it stays as it is.
/06 — asked all the time
Questions people ask before they check
How do I know if my website is actually working?
Working means it brings in enquiries, not just that it exists. If it loads fast, behaves on a phone, and gives visitors one clear next step, it is working for you. If you are not sure, a free grader score and a quick look will tell you in minutes.
My website is offline right now. Does that really matter?
Yes, more than almost anything else. While it is down, every person searching your name finds nothing, and a competitor one click away. Getting you live again is the fastest win there is, and usually a quick one.
Do I have to commit to anything to find out where my site stands?
No. The grader report is free and the homepage preview is free. You only pay once you have seen the work and said yes, at a fixed price agreed in writing. You also own the code, so you are never locked in.
Find out where your site actually stands
Five minutes and a free report will tell you whether your website is working for you or quietly working against you, and exactly what to do about it.