Get customers · Lesson 4.1
Metrics After You Build a Website Fast: What Matters
After your site is live, it is tempting to check visits every hour. Visits feel like progress, but on their own they tell you very little. A few other numbers tell you far more, and you can check them in five minutes a week.
Count what visitors do, not how many arrive. Enquiries, where visitors came from, and what happens on a phone matter more than total visits.
Start by naming the goal
Your site has one job, the action on your button: a call, a booking, a message, an order. Write it down. Every metric below is useful only as far as it helps that action happen more often.
The few numbers worth watching
| Metric | What it tells you | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries | Whether the page does its job | Your inbox, form tool, call log |
| Visits by source | Which channel brings real people | Your analytics tool |
| Share of visitors who act | Whether the page persuades | Enquiries divided by visits |
| Phone share of visits | How much to care about mobile | Analytics device report |
| Page speed | Whether people leave before it loads | A free speed test tool |
Enquiries first
Keep a simple log: date, how they found you, what they asked. A notebook or spreadsheet is enough. Ask every new customer "how did you find me?" because analytics cannot see word of mouth or a link shared in a private chat.
Source of visits
Knowing where visitors come from tells you where to put effort. If most come from one social post, that is a clue. If none come from search, Lesson 4.3 covers how to be found. Do not read too much into small counts. A handful of visits can swing wildly from week to week.
The share who act
Divide enquiries by visits for the same period. If many visit and few act, the page is the problem: unclear headline, weak proof, or a button that is hard to find. If few visit and a decent share act, the page works and the next job is getting more people there. This ratio guides what to change next. Be wary of drawing firm conclusions from a few dozen visits.
Phone share
Check how many visitors are on phones. Do not assume a figure: read it from your own analytics device report. If yours is high, test every change on a phone first.
Speed
Run a free speed test on your page once a month. Google's PageSpeed Insights reports results for mobile and desktop. It combines real world data from the Chrome User Experience Report with lab data from Lighthouse, and it rates Core Web Vitals such as Largest Contentful Paint, Cumulative Layout Shift and Interaction to Next Paint. web.dev says a good Largest Contentful Paint is 2.5 seconds or less, measured at the 75th percentile of page loads. A small new site may not have enough real world data to show, in which case the lab result is what you get.
Large photos are a common thing to check. web.dev's image guidance says to show images at the size they are needed, and that lossy compression and modern formats such as WebP and AVIF can shrink files, with a reminder to confirm the result still meets your quality standards. Resize your own photos before uploading, or ask the builder whether it compresses them.
Numbers to treat with care
A five minute weekly routine
- Count enquiriesFrom your log, this week against last week.
- Check sourcesNote which source gave real conversations.
- Calculate the shareEnquiries divided by visits.
- Test the page on your phoneTap the button as a customer would.
- Change one thingPick the weakest point and change only that, so you can see its effect.
Analytics setup, kept simple
Most builders include basic analytics, and free tools exist too. Pick one, check that it counts visits to your live page, and tell visitors about it if the law where you work requires a notice. If unsure about privacy rules, ask a qualified adviser, because they differ by country.
What good looks like
There is no universal number to hit. Compare yourself with your own past weeks, not with other people's claims. A rising share of visitors who act, and enquiries from a source you can name, is progress.
Where to go next
If the page gets visits but few actions, rework it using the Say, Show, Ask framework or the page structure in Lesson 4.2. To build the site in the first place, see Lesson 4.1, A live website in one afternoon.
A simple log you can start today
When you build a website fast, measuring it can be just as quick. You do not need a dashboard. A table in a notebook or spreadsheet is enough.
| Date | How they found you | What they asked | Did they enquire? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example row | Friend shared link | Do you deliver to my area? | Yes |
How to fill it in
Add a row each time someone contacts you or mentions the site. Ask every new customer how they found you, politely and in the same way each time. After a month, read down the columns. The second column shows which channels matter. The third shows what the page should answer. The fourth shows how well the page converts interest into action.
Turning the log into changes
If the same question appears three times, answer it on the page. If one source keeps showing up, do more there, and if one never shows up, consider whether it deserves your time. If people enquire but never go ahead, the problem may lie beyond the website, in price, timing or follow up. A website can only do so much, and the log helps you see where its job ends.
What not to promise yourself
Do not expect a steady upward line. Small businesses have seasons, and a small count moves around a lot. Judge over weeks and compare with your own earlier weeks, and avoid targets that you picked from other people's claims.
A short Monday review
Set ten minutes on Monday and work through the same questions each time. How many enquiries came in, and from where? Which questions did people ask that the page did not answer? Did anything break on a phone? Write one sentence of conclusion and one change for the week. Keeping the same questions each week is what makes the weeks comparable.
Analytics and privacy notices
If your analytics tool sets cookies or similar technology, rules may apply. In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office says you must tell people if you set cookies, explain what they do and why, and get consent, with an exception for cookies that are essential to provide a service someone has asked for. Other countries differ, and the rules also depend on the tool and how it is set up. Read the help pages of your analytics tool, check what your builder provides, and ask a qualified adviser if you are unsure.
What to do when numbers look fine but the business does not move
Visits and enquiries are only part of the chain. If enquiries arrive and few become customers, look at what happens after the message: how fast you reply, what you say, and whether your price and timing fit. The site can only do its own job, which is to get the right person to contact you.
Questions people ask
How many visits is good?
There is no fixed figure. Watch your own trend and the share who act.
Do I need Google Analytics?
Not necessarily. Use any tool that counts visits and sources, and check the tool's own help pages and the privacy rules where you operate.
How long before I judge the page?
Give it a few weeks of real traffic before big changes, and change one thing at a time.
Go deeper with the lesson
This guide gives you the idea. Lesson 4.1, A live website in one afternoon takes you through it step by step, in plain words, so you can do it for your own business.