How to fix your website's contact and trust signals
Small details tell visitors whether you're real, current and easy to reach. Here's how to fix each contact and trust finding: forms, tap-to-call, address, social links, privacy policy, copyright year and analytics.
Short answer: your homepage should let a visitor reach you without hunting. That means a contact form or email link, a phone number wrapped in a tel: link, your address in an <address> element with a map link, links to your social and review profiles, and a privacy policy in the footer.
Then remove the signs of neglect: update an old copyright year, replace dead Universal Analytics code with Google Analytics 4 or a privacy-friendly tool, and make sure some analytics is running at all.
These are small fixes, but they're how a first-time visitor decides whether you're real, current and easy to deal with. The checker reads your homepage's HTML as a browser receives it. Most items belong in the footer, so one fix covers every page.
No contact form or email link
Fix soon Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “No form and no email link”.
The checker flags the homepage when its HTML contains neither a <form> element nor a mailto: link. A form loaded by a script, or only on a separate contact page, isn't seen.
Why it matters
Someone who finds you outside your hours, or can't call from work, needs a way to leave a message, or they leave the page. Accessibility guidance also asks that contact details offered across pages appear in the same relative place on each (WCAG 2.2: consistent help).
How to fix it
Add a short form (name, email or phone, message) and a plain email link, such as <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>. Give every field a visible label and submit over HTTPS. WordPress form plugins, Wix, Squarespace and Shopify all provide a contact-form block. Put at least the email link in the footer. Use an address at your own domain, set up with our SPF and DMARC guide.
Phone number isn't tap-to-call
Minor Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “Phone number isn't a tap-to-call link”.
The checker finds a US-style 10-digit number in the visible text, such as (914) 555-0100, but no link starting with tel:. On a phone, a tel: link dials in one tap; plain text has to be copied by hand, and for many local businesses a call is the most valuable thing a visitor can do.
How to fix it
Wrap the number in a link that uses the full international format, so it works from anywhere (MDN: the a element, linking to telephone numbers):
<a href="tel:+19145550100">(914) 555-0100</a>In WordPress's block editor, select the number, add a link and type tel:+19145550100. Wix, Squarespace and Shopify link editors accept the same format. Never put the number only in an image.
No address or map on the homepage
Minor Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “No address or map”.
The checker looks for an <address> element, an itemprop="address" attribute, or a Google Maps link containing google.com/maps or maps.google. Short maps.app.goo.gl share links and other map services aren't recognised.
Why it matters
Customers check where you are, or whether you cover their area, before they call. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and popularity (Google: improve your local ranking), and the same address on your site and your Business Profile helps people and search engines match the two.
How to fix it
Put your name, address and phone in the footer, marked up with <address> (MDN: the address element), with a map link:
<address>
Smith Plumbing, 12 Main Street, Yonkers, NY 10701<br>
<a href="tel:+19145550100">(914) 555-0100</a> ·
<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=12+Main+Street+Yonkers+NY">Map</a>
</address>If you only travel to customers, list your service area instead; the checker will keep showing this minor item, which is fine. Add the same details to LocalBusiness structured data and keep them identical to your Google Business Profile.
No links to social or review profiles
Minor Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “No social links”.
The checker looks in the homepage HTML for a profile address on facebook.com, instagram.com, linkedin.com or twitter.com, and flags the page when there's none. Your reviews, recent photos and replies to customers usually live on those profiles, and linking them shows visitors the business is active.
How to fix it
Link the profiles you actually keep up from the footer; most themes and builders have a “social links” block. Add your Google Business Profile too, though the checker doesn't count it, and skip profiles left idle for years. List the same URLs in your structured data's sameAs.
No privacy policy link
Minor Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “No privacy policy link”.
The checker flags the homepage when no link address contains the word privacy and the text never says “privacy policy”. A contact form, analytics or a booking widget all collect personal information; visitors expect to see what you do with it, some state laws require a posted policy, and ad platforms and some booking providers ask for one.
How to fix it
Write a short page in plain English: what you collect (form entries, analytics, cookies), why, who processes it (your email provider, your analytics tool), how long you keep it and how to ask for it to be deleted. WordPress includes a template under Settings → Privacy. Link it from the footer; our own privacy policy shows the plain-English style. If you handle health, financial or children's data, have a lawyer review it.
Old copyright year in the footer
Fix soon Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “Footer says …” with the year, for example “Footer says 2019”.
The checker finds the first ©, © or “copyright” followed by a year (in a range such as 2015–2024 it takes the last year). It flags the year when it's two or more years behind the current one; in 2026, that means 2024 or earlier.
Why it matters
People check the footer year when they wonder whether a business is still trading. An old one suggests nobody looks after the site.
How to fix it
Update the year, or have the server fill it in so it never goes stale. Many WordPress themes have a footer text setting with a year option; in a PHP theme you can use © <?php echo date('Y'); ?>. On Wix, Squarespace and Shopify, edit the footer in the site editor. A year written by JavaScript works for visitors but isn't in the HTML the checker reads.
Universal Analytics code that stopped working
Fix soon Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “Analytics stopped in 2023”.
The checker finds an old Universal Analytics tracking ID in the page, in the form UA-12345678-1.
Why it matters
Google's standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data on July 1, 2023, and the old data could only be viewed until July 1, 2024 (Google Analytics Help: Universal Analytics has been replaced). If that's your only tag, you've had no visitor numbers since mid-2023, while the code still loads on every page.
How to fix it
- Remove the old
UA-snippet from your theme, plugin settings or tag manager. - Choose a replacement. Google Analytics 4 is free and detailed. Create a GA4 property and web data stream, then add the Google tag with its
G-measurement ID (Google: set up Analytics for a website). On WordPress, Google's own Site Kit plugin connects it. Wix and Squarespace take the measurement ID in their settings; Shopify connects GA4 through the Google & YouTube app. - For something simpler, Cloudflare Web Analytics is free, needs one small script (or none, on sites proxied through Cloudflare) and, Cloudflare says, doesn't collect visitors' personal data (Cloudflare Web Analytics). Open-source Matomo can be self-hosted.
- Update your privacy policy to name the tool you use.
No analytics on the site
Minor Shown in the checker's Contact & trust tab as “No analytics”.
The checker flags the homepage when its HTML has no sign of Google Analytics or Tag Manager (googletagmanager, google-analytics, gtag(), Plausible, Fathom, Matomo, Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity or PostHog. Without numbers you can't tell whether the site brings in work or whether a change helped.
How to fix it
Add one of the tools above; one is enough, and several slow the page. Add the site to Google Search Console too, which shows the searches people used to find you; our indexing and sitemap guide covers submitting it.
How to check it's fixed
Visit your site in a private window and watch the tool's real-time view; your visit should appear within a minute or two. Then run the checker again. It recognises the tools listed above but not yet Cloudflare Web Analytics, so with Cloudflare, confirm in its dashboard.
Sources
- Google Analytics Help: Universal Analytics has been replaced by Google Analytics 4
- Google Analytics Help: set up Analytics for a website and/or app
- Cloudflare Docs: about Web Analytics
- MDN: the a element (tel: and mailto: links)
- MDN: the address element
- Google Business Profile Help: tips to improve your local ranking
- W3C: Understanding WCAG 2.2 consistent help
Common questions
How do I make a phone number clickable on my website?
Wrap it in a link whose address starts with tel: and uses the full international number, for example <a href="tel:+19145550100">(914) 555-0100</a>. On a phone, tapping it opens the dialer.
Does Universal Analytics still work?
No. Google's standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data on July 1, 2023, and access to the old reports ended on July 1, 2024. If your site still has a UA- tracking ID, replace it with Google Analytics 4 or another tool.
Do I need a privacy policy on a small business website?
If the site has a contact form, analytics, cookies or a booking widget, it collects personal information, and visitors and some laws expect a policy. Keep it short and plain, and link it in the footer.
Should the copyright year on my website be updated every year?
Yes, or set it to fill in automatically on the server. An old year is easy to miss, but visitors read it as a sign the site, and maybe the business, has been abandoned.
Is there a free alternative to Google Analytics?
Yes. Cloudflare Web Analytics is free and, according to Cloudflare, doesn't collect visitors' personal data. Matomo is open source and can be self-hosted. Google Analytics 4 itself is also free.
Should I put my home address on my website if I work from home?
You don't have to. Service-area businesses can list the towns or region they cover instead, as long as it matches their Google Business Profile.
Check the rest of your site. The website checker looks for every signal on this page, plus security, speed, SEO, AI search and your email records, and links each problem to its fix. Keeping these details current is part of our website maintenance, if you'd rather not do it yourself.