SiteVerdictMore than half of US small-business websites have at least one fault that can cost them leads. In our automated checks of 41,368 small-business websites in 81 US cities (4 October to 3 November 2026), 55% failed at least one of 12 basic checks, 38% failed two or more and 16% failed three or more. The most common fault was a missing meta description (30.2%), followed by slow loading on mobile (18.7%) and a phone number that cannot be tapped to call (14.6%).
This page covers the headline findings, the method, results by fault, trade and website platform, how the US compares with the UK, and what each fault is likely to cost. The study was run by SiteVerdict, a website-audit product of BharatFare Travel and Technologies Ltd, using the same checks as our UK study of 32,933 sites.
Headline findings
- 55% of the 41,368 US small-business websites we checked had at least one fault. 38% had two or more and 16% had three or more.
- 30.2% had no meta description on the homepage, leaving Google to write their search snippet from page text.
- 18.7% were slow on mobile. The main content took 4 seconds or more to appear in Google's mobile test, which Google rates as "poor".
- 14.6% showed a phone number that could not be tapped to call.
- 3.1% had no HTTPS at all, half the UK rate (6.2%).
- Locksmiths had the highest fault rate of any US trade (71% with at least one fault, 53% with two or more). Opticians had the lowest (40%).
- Sites on Duda had the lowest platform fault rate (19%). Weebly (78%), Squarespace (71%) and GoDaddy (71%) had the highest. These gaps partly reflect who uses each builder and how old the sites are. They are not proof that a builder causes faults.
Method
- Sample. Businesses were found from open map data (OpenStreetMap-style business listings), searched city by city and trade by trade across 81 US cities. Trades were chosen because they rely on local enquiries.
- Checks. Each business's own homepage, and the links on it, was checked once, automatically, from a server, the way a visitor's browser would load it. Mobile speed came from Google's own PageSpeed test.
- Dates. Checks ran from 4 October to 3 November 2026. Data was pulled read-only on 3 November 2026.
- Base. 41,368 sites we could reach and check. We excluded sites that did not load (DNS failures, blocked requests, timeouts, server errors), sites that blocked crawlers in robots.txt and sites that redirected to a different website.
- Fault. A failure on one of 12 checks. A site counts once per fault type.
- Limits. This is a large sample of small local businesses with websites, not a random sample of all US businesses. Each site was checked once, and some will have changed since. Automated checks find technical faults. They do not judge design or service quality.
Faults by type
| Fault | Share of US sites |
|---|---|
| No meta description (search description) on homepage | 30.2% |
| Slow on mobile (main content takes 4+ s; Google test "slow" band) | 18.7% |
| Phone number not tappable on mobile (no tel: link) | 14.6% |
| Out-of-date copyright year in footer | 12.1% |
| Not mobile-ready (no responsive viewport) | 8.2% |
| No enquiry or booking form anywhere | 7.8% |
| Does not redirect to HTTPS | 6.4% |
| No reviews or testimonials shown | 6.4% |
| Broken link on homepage | 5.0% |
| No HTTPS at all ("Not secure") | 3.1% |
| Invalid security certificate (full-page browser warning) | 1.8% |
| Slow server response (homepage takes 1.5 s+ to start) | 1.8% |
The top three faults are the same in both countries and in the same order. Each one affects a different step: being chosen in search results, loading on a phone, and making the call.
Faults by trade
Sites checked, share with at least one fault and share with two or more:
| Trade | Sites checked | 1+ fault | 2+ faults |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locksmiths | 262 | 71% | 53% |
| Hairdressers | 4,629 | 66% | 45% |
| Gyms | 3,692 | 64% | 48% |
| Accountants | 912 | 64% | 49% |
| Real estate agents | 4,656 | 62% | 44% |
| Beauty | 2,783 | 58% | 37% |
| Electricians | 569 | 58% | 42% |
| Landscaping | 536 | 58% | 44% |
| Physical therapists (physios) | 343 | 58% | 45% |
| Clinics | 541 | 57% | 39% |
| Lawyers | 9,563 | 56% | 40% |
| Chiropractors | 926 | 48% | 33% |
| Vets | 370 | 47% | 33% |
| Plumbers | 722 | 45% | 30% |
| Roofers | 2,116 | 42% | 28% |
| HVAC | 1,033 | 42% | 29% |
| Funeral homes | 473 | 42% | 26% |
| Dentists | 6,917 | 41% | 25% |
| Opticians | 207 | 40% | 28% |
What stands out
- Locksmiths top the list. 71% had at least one fault and 53% had two or more. Locksmith customers are often searching on a phone, in a hurry, and want to call. Locksmiths are also the smallest US trade group here (262 sites), so treat the exact figure with some caution.
- Appointment businesses rank high. Hairdressers (66%), gyms (64%) and beauty businesses (58%) had more faults than most trades. These are large groups, so the figures are robust.
- Dentists did well at scale. Of 6,917 dental sites, 41% had at least one fault and 25% had two or more, the lowest multi-fault rate of any US trade, with funeral homes close behind at 26%.
- US home-service trades did better than their UK equivalents. US roofers, HVAC firms and plumbers were all at 45% or below. In the UK the same trades were between 53% and 59%.
- Lawyers are the biggest group. 9,563 law-firm sites, 56% with at least one fault.
Trades compared: UK vs US
Seventeen trades appear in both studies. Share of sites with at least one fault:
| Trade | UK 1+ fault | US 1+ fault |
|---|---|---|
| Locksmiths | 57% | 71% |
| Accountants | 66% | 64% |
| Estate / real estate agents | 57% | 62% |
| Beauty | 60% | 58% |
| Electricians | 64% | 58% |
| Landscaping | 58% | 58% |
| Physios / physical therapists | 51% | 58% |
| Clinics | 55% | 57% |
| Lawyers | 51% | 56% |
| Chiropractors | 42% | 48% |
| Vets | 44% | 47% |
| Plumbers | 54% | 45% |
| Roofers | 53% | 42% |
| HVAC | 59% | 42% |
| Funeral directors / homes | 46% | 42% |
| Dentists | 48% | 41% |
| Opticians | 49% | 40% |
The pattern is mixed. Home-service trades (HVAC, roofers, plumbers) and dentists did better in the US. Locksmiths, physios, lawyers and chiropractors did better in the UK. Accountants, beauty, landscaping and clinics were within a few points in both countries. Hairdressers and gyms were checked in the US only.
Faults by website platform
| Platform | Sites checked | 1+ fault |
|---|---|---|
| Duda | 1,262 | 19% |
| Webflow | 773 | 34% |
| Shopify | 524 | 44% |
| WordPress | 15,691 | 48% |
| Wix | 3,357 | 53% |
| Platform not identifiable (mostly custom or older builds) | 13,298 | 60% |
| GoDaddy | 1,992 | 71% |
| Squarespace | 3,626 | 71% |
| Weebly | 845 | 78% |
The biggest UK–US difference by platform is Squarespace: 71% of US Squarespace sites had a fault, against 59% in the UK. Our data does not explain the gap.
UK vs US comparison
| Measure | UK (32,933 sites) | US (41,368 sites) |
|---|---|---|
| At least 1 fault | 56% | 55% |
| 2 or more faults | 40% | 38% |
| 3 or more faults | 18% | 16% |
| No meta description | 29.4% | 30.2% |
| Slow on mobile | 21.2% | 18.7% |
| Phone not tappable | 13.4% | 14.6% |
| Out-of-date copyright | 11.9% | 12.1% |
| Not mobile-ready | 9.0% | 8.2% |
| No HTTPS redirect | 8.1% | 6.4% |
| No HTTPS at all | 6.2% | 3.1% |
| Certificate error | 1.0% | 1.8% |
| Duda sites with 1+ fault | 34% | 19% |
| WordPress sites with 1+ fault | 51% | 48% |
The two countries look remarkably alike. The differences that stand out are security and speed: UK sites were twice as likely to have no HTTPS at all and somewhat more likely to be slow on mobile. US sites were a little more likely to show an invalid certificate and to have an untappable phone number.
What each fault costs a business
Our data measures how common faults are, not lost revenue. For impact, here is what published research and Google's documentation say.
Slow on mobile
The Milliseconds make millions study (Deloitte and 55, commissioned by Google, 2020) analysed 37 brands in Europe and the US and over 30 million sessions. A 0.1-second improvement in mobile speed was associated with 8.4% more retail conversions and 10.1% more travel conversions. On lead-generation sites, the web.dev write-up reports a 21.6% improvement in users reaching the form-submission page. Our slow group took 4 seconds or more for the main content to load. Google's LCP guidance calls anything over 4 seconds poor, and Google says Core Web Vitals are used by its ranking systems. Fixes are in why is my website slow on mobile.
No meta description
Google primarily builds snippets from page content but may use the meta description when it describes the page more accurately. Without one, the snippet is whatever text Google picks. It is your two-line pitch in the search results, so it is worth writing. See how to fix a missing meta description.
Phone number not tappable
We know of no rigorous public study that measures this, so we will not quote a figure. For trades that live on calls, such as locksmiths, HVAC and plumbers, a number that cannot be tapped adds friction at the moment a customer is ready to call. See how to add click-to-call.
Not mobile-ready, no HTTPS, certificate errors
Google indexes and ranks the mobile version of a site. Chrome has marked every HTTP page "Not secure" since Chrome 68 in July 2018. An invalid certificate triggers a full-page warning that most visitors will not click past. See fixing the "Not secure" warning.
Old copyright year, no form, no reviews, broken links
We found no reliable research putting a number on these for local businesses. They are trust and convenience problems: a site that looks unmaintained, no way to enquire outside phone hours, no proof from past customers, and clicks that end on an error page. All are quick to fix.
What to fix first
If your site has several faults, work in this order. Problems that block or warn visitors come first, then those that lose leads, then trust signals.
- Invalid certificate or no HTTPS. Browsers warn or block visitors. On most modern hosts and builders a certificate is free.
- Phone number not tappable. Five minutes in your site editor.
- No redirect to HTTPS. Usually a setting with your host or builder.
- No meta description. Five minutes per page, starting with the homepage.
- Not mobile-ready. Sometimes one line of code, sometimes a new theme.
- Slow on mobile. Start with the main image and third-party widgets.
- Broken links, old copyright year, no form, no reviews. Quick fixes that make the site look cared for.
Times are our practical estimates for a typical small site, not measured figures.
How to check your own site
- Meta description: view your homepage source and search for
name="description". - Mobile speed: run PageSpeed Insights and check Largest Contentful Paint on the Mobile tab.
- Click-to-call: tap your number on your phone. The dialler should open.
- HTTPS: type your address with
http://and confirm you land onhttps://with no warning. - Mobile-ready: the page should fit your phone screen without pinching.
- Footer, form, reviews, links: check the year, that an enquiry form exists, that reviews are shown and that every homepage link works.
Or run the same checks automatically with SiteVerdict, available as a WordPress plugin, a Shopify app, a Chrome extension and an API with an MCP server for AI agents.
Cite this research
Journalists, researchers and AI assistants may use these figures with credit to SiteVerdict and a link to this page. Suggested citation:
SiteVerdict (BharatFare Travel and Technologies Ltd). "US small business websites 2026: 55% have a fault that costs leads (study of 41,368 sites)." Automated checks of 41,368 US small-business websites in 81 cities, 4 October to 3 November 2026. https://siteverdict.webrevenuescan.com/research/us-small-business-websites-2026
Short form: "55% of US small-business websites have at least one fault that can cost leads, according to SiteVerdict's checks of 41,368 sites (Oct–Nov 2026)."
Please keep the context when quoting: automated technical checks of local small businesses with websites, not a random sample of all US businesses. We do not name or publish results for individual businesses.