Website not working on your phone? 9 common problems and what you can try

You pulled up your business online, or a customer mentioned it, and your website not working on your phone is suddenly a problem. Take a breath. This is common, especially with sites built more than a few years ago, and it's usually clear what's wrong once you know what to look for.

It's worth sorting out soon, because many of your customers look you up on a phone, often right when they need help. If the site is hard to use, they tap back and call someone else. This guide walks through a quick self-test, the nine most common problems and what you can try, and how to tell when it's time to start fresh.

Quick self-test: is your website not working on your phone?

1. Check it on your own phone. Open your site, scroll every page and try tapping your phone number, menu and contact form.
2. Check it on a friend's phone. An iPhone and an Android phone can show things differently.
3. Check it on a computer in mobile view. In the Chrome browser, right-click the page, choose "Inspect," then click the small phone-and-tablet icon at the top of the panel. Your site will show at phone size, and you can pick different phone models from the menu.

While you're at it, ask a couple of regular customers whether they've had trouble with your site on their phone. Write down each problem you find and which page it's on. That list makes it much easier to decide whether to patch things or start over.

1. Text is too small, or you have to pinch and zoom

What it looks like: a tiny version of the desktop site. You have to zoom in to read anything. Why it happens: the site was built before phones mattered and isn't "responsive," meaning it doesn't rearrange itself to fit a small screen. What you can try: if you use a website builder, check for a mobile layout or responsive setting. If the whole site works this way, it's usually a sign the site is outdated.

2. Content runs off the screen, or the page scrolls sideways

What it looks like: you can swipe left and right, and text or images are cut off at the edge. Why it happens: something on the page, often an image, table or embedded map, is wider than the phone screen. What you can try: find which section causes it and replace that image or table with a smaller version, or remove it from the mobile layout in your builder.

3. Buttons and links are too close together to tap

What it looks like: you try to tap one link and hit the one next to it. Why it happens: the links were sized for a mouse, not a thumb. What you can try: in a builder, increase button size and spacing. Fewer, bigger buttons are almost always better on a phone.

4. Your phone number isn't tappable

What it looks like: your number shows on the page, but tapping it does nothing, so customers have to memorize it and type it in. Why it happens: the number is plain text or part of an image instead of a "tap to call" link. What you can try: most builders let you turn a number into a phone link. This one small fix can make a real difference for a service business.

5. The menu is broken or hidden

What it looks like: there's no menu on the phone, the menu button doesn't open, or it opens and covers everything without a way to close it. Why it happens: older menus were built for wide screens, or a script that runs the menu is outdated. What you can try: check your builder's mobile menu settings. If the menu is custom-coded, it usually needs a developer.

6. Images are huge, slow or stretched

What it looks like: photos load slowly, look squished or take up the entire screen. Why it happens: photos were uploaded straight from a camera at full size, or set to a fixed width. What you can try: resize photos before uploading (a few hundred kilobytes is plenty for most website photos) and re-upload them.

7. Pop-ups cover the screen

What it looks like: a newsletter sign-up or coupon box fills the screen, and the close button is tiny or off the edge. Why it happens: the pop-up was designed for a desktop. What you can try: turn it off on phones or remove it altogether. On a small screen, a pop-up mostly gets in the customer's way.

8. The contact form doesn't work on a phone

What it looks like: fields are too small to tap, the keyboard covers the submit button, or the form never seems to send. Why it happens: an old form plugin, a broken spam check or a layout that doesn't fit the screen. What you can try: send yourself a test message from your phone. If it never arrives, check the form's settings or replace it, and make sure customers can call you in the meantime.

9. Very slow loading on cell data

What it looks like: the site loads fine on your office Wi-Fi but crawls on a phone. Why it happens: large images, videos, too many add-ons or slow hosting. In rural Maine, where cell coverage can be spotty, a heavy site might not load at all. What you can try: test it on cell data away from Wi-Fi, shrink images, remove autoplay videos and unused add-ons, and ask your host whether your plan is the problem.

Why a phone-friendly website matters for Maine businesses

Think about when people look you up. A homeowner with a burst pipe in January, a camp owner from out of state checking on a caretaker, a summer visitor whose car won't start, a property manager comparing roofers between meetings. Almost all of them are on a phone, often on a weak signal, and they want to call someone in the next minute. A site that loads quickly, reads easily and puts your number one tap away is the difference between that call coming to you or a competitor.

What you can safely try yourself

• Use your website builder's mobile preview and mobile editing view.
• Resize and re-upload large photos.
• Turn off pop-ups on phones.
• Make your phone number a tap-to-call link.
• Test your contact form from your own phone.

Before you change anything, make a backup or ask whoever built the site how to undo changes, so a quick fix doesn't create a bigger problem. If you fix one problem and three more show up, or the site was built years ago and was never designed for phones, that's a strong sign the whole site is outdated.

Fix it or start fresh?

Patching an old site can turn into paying for the same work over and over. A new site built mobile-first, meaning designed for phones from the start, often costs less in the long run and fixes everything at once. If your site also doesn't show up on Google, see why your website might not be showing up on Google.

Your next step: a free mobile-friendly homepage design

To be upfront: I don't do one-off repairs on websites I didn't build. What I can do is show you what a new, mobile-friendly site would look like. Send me your current website address on the free preview form, and I'll design a new homepage for your business within 1–2 days, on desktop and mobile. It's free, with no obligation.

Every site I build is designed for phones first, with a tap-to-call button, readable text, fast pages and a short quote form. If you like the design, plans start at $65 a month with no setup fee, and your site can be live about 3 days after you approve it. See how the free preview works, my simple monthly plans and example designs in my portfolio. Wondering who to hire? See my guide to hiring a local web designer in Maine.