The biggest leak for new users is right between the website and the product.

Here’s the harsh truth:

Only when both your website and your product work together do you get real growth.

Let me show you what I mean.

The 3 Startup Configurations I See Every Week:

1. Good website, bad software:

Lots of signups. Exciting at first.

But users drop off quickly. They don’t understand the product, or the value just isn’t clear fast enough.

Common cause: confusing onboarding, or feature overload.

2. Bad website, good software:

Hardly any signups.

The ones who do sign up are often a bad fit, and churn.

Because your website doesn’t qualify the right audience or explain what your tool really does.

3. Good website, good software:

You attract the right users.

They understand the value immediately.

They activate. They invite teammates. They pay.

Case Study: From Dead Leads to Delighted Users

One of our clients had a painful combo:

200 new visitors/day, but hardly any signups.

The few who signed up? Dropped off after 5 seconds.

A classic case of “bad website, bad product”, right? Well that’s not true.

Later we will find out that only a few tweaks were necessary to get results.

Here’s what we changed:

Step 1: Nail the value prop

We ran a few user interviews (real ones, not fake “would you use this?” chats).

It became obvious: users just wanted to create an upsell popup. That’s the job-to-be-done.

So we rewrote the CTA from “Sign up now” to “Create your first popup in minutes”.

Step 2: Map the user journey

We drew out every step from first click to finished popup.

Which steps were annoying? Which ones had friction?

The goal: remove anything that distracts from that one outcome.

Step 3: Simplify onboarding

Instead of showing all features at once (classic mistake), we only focused on helping users create their first popup.

Fast value = higher activation.

Step 4: Qualify the right users

We tested new headlines that filtered out the wrong visitors.

If your product is for e-commerce, don’t let consultants waste your trial slots.

Let your copy do the filtering.

Pro Tip:

If you say “Do X in 2 minutes”, go test it. Time yourself.

If you can’t do it in under 2 minutes, don’t make that promise.

The Results?

Only 5% more signups. Nothing crazy.

But…

A 30% increase in activation rate. (People who finished creating the popup / Signups)

That’s the real win.

Because signups are easy.

Getting people to actually use your product? That’s the hard part.

Here’s the takeaway:

1. Your website is a filter. It should repel the wrong users and excite the right ones.
2. Your onboarding should feel like a shortcut, not a maze. Help users do one meaningful thing as quickly as possible.
3. Don’t just celebrate signups. Measure activation.That’s where retention, referrals and revenue start.

My Team and I do free UX Audits every week to find those leaks and give some actionable advice via a Loom video. If you are a founder looking to get more qualified users, you can sign up for a free audit here.