Is That Website Your Comadre's Son Made Costing You Customers?

Yes! If your business website was built as a favor by someone's cousin, neighbor, or comadre's son, it might actually be costing you customers!

We see it all the time here in McAllen and across the Valley: a local business gets a "free" or DIY website. In turn, it's slow, not showing up on Google, and barely works on a phone. Customers get frustrated and they leave.

Let's walk through 5 ways a free or favor-based website could be holding you back from REAL growth.

1. Google Can't Find You, So Customers Can't Either

You might have a decent looking website, but if it doesn't show up when someone types "barber in Edinburg" or "best bakery in Pharr" into Google... it's invisible.

Most free websites or favor-built sites skip the essential parts of Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

• Meta titles and descriptions
• Keyword targeting
• Proper page structure (H1s, internal links, etc.)
• Sitemap and indexing settings
• Location-specific data

And without these? Google has no reason to recommend your site over anyone else's.

75% of users never scroll past the first page of Google results.

(Source: HubSpot)

2. Your Site Looks Wild on a Phone

Have you ever pulled up your own website on your phone and thought,

"...What is this?"

Text runs off the screen, the buttons are tiny or missing, and the menu doesn't even work. For a customer, that's an instant red flag. If they can't navigate your site easily on mobile, they're gone.

The thing is, over 60% of web traffic in the Rio Grande Valley comes from mobile devices. If your "free" website wasn't built to adapt to mobile (called responsive design), you're losing potential customers every day without even realizing it.

3. Slow Loading = Lost Sales

You know what no one has time for? A site that takes 10+ seconds to load.

Free sites or DIY platforms like Wix, especially when overloaded with animations or large images, often load slowly. This is made more apparent on slower internet connections or mobile networks.
Google knows this too. In fact, slow sites get penalized in search rankings!

A 1-second delay in load time can reduce conversions by up to 20%

(Source: Portent)

First impressions happen fast. If your site takes too long, visitors leave before they even see what you have to offer.

4. No One Told the Customer What to Do

Let's say someone actually finds your website. Fantastic!

Now what?

• Where's the "call now" button?
• How do they book an appointment?
• Where's the menu, the services, the quote form?

If your site doesn't guide the customer, they won't take action. A clear call to action (CTA) is the difference between a visitor and a paying customer.

Unfortunately, many free or favor-built sites skip this completely, and it shows.

5. When Something Breaks, You're on Your Own

Let's be real for a second. When the comadre's son built your site last year, he meant well. But now something's broken, the contact form doesn't work, the hours are outdated, or worse, the whole site is down.

You're left wondering:

"Do I bother him again? Is he even still doing websites?"

That's the problem with favors. They come with little to no support. With a professional web developer, you will have someone in your corner, always. When you need updates, fixes, or just a quick question answered, you know you're not alone.

📞 Let’s Fix It Together

If you're even a little unsure about your current website, let's take a look.
👉 Schedule a free site review. There's no pressure, no catch.
We'll tell you what's working, what's not, and how to fix it.

Some images used in this post were sourced from Freepik. All rights reserved to their respective creators.