Get Your Website Up to Date for the New Year!
A new year is coming! What will 2022 bring? These days, it’s certainly hard to tell. During these last few years, we’ve found that we have little control over some things. However, we DO control our business, its success or failure, and how it’s run.
For most owners, whether your business is online or is a brick-and-mortar operation, a website has become an integral part of your success. It offers customers and clients instant access to you and your products or services. Given its importance, your website should always be current and running well. Is your website up to date? If not, what do you need to get your website ready for the new year? And if you’re already pretty pleased with your website, what can you add to make it even better?
Maybe it’s time for a re-design, or maybe there are just a few tweaks that would make you more visible to your target audience. Not sure? Here’s a list of questions to consider:
Is all your product or service information on your website up to date?
Take a look through your website, especially if you’re NOT the one who makes the updates, and be sure that everything is current. Are there old products you no longer sell listed there? Are your prices outdated? Are photos or videos recent?
Do you have a mobile-friendly website?
This is so important, given that such a large percentage of individuals do all their e-commerce dealings using their cellphone or tablet. A website that’s not mobile-friendly tends to be frustrating, and you’ll quickly lose customers unless you make changes to better the mobile experience.
Is your “about us” page on the website up to date?
If you list bios of you and your team, are they current, including photos? If not, write a new bio for yourself and ask your team members to do the same, submitting a recent photo simultaneously. This is especially important if you’re in a business where there’s plenty of face-to-face time and personal interaction.
Do you know if your website is secure?
If your customers make purchases through your website, you need an SSL certificate that guarantees their personal information is safe. This protects both you and your customers/clients.
How do your customers react to your website?
Have you received complaints about the difficulty of navigation, or do you get compliments about how easy it is to use? Not sure? Then employ some follow-up survey that allows customers to state how easy or hard it was to interact with your site and make a purchase.
Is there a clear call-to-action on your site?
In other words, are you asking for the sale in some way or another? With a clear call-to-action, those browsing your site will be more likely to “push the button” and be more apt to return for another look or make an additional purchase.
Do you regularly offer unique blogs for your customers or potential customers to read?
Blogs on pertinent topics keep traffic returning to your site repeatedly. That’s why it’s important to know what topics interest customers or clients like yours and expound on them regularly. Therefore fresh content is essential! One or two blogs a month is sufficient for most businesses. If writing scares you, ask your website builder about content packages that offer blogs penned by a writing professional.
How does your website compare to that of your major competitors?
If it’s better, you’re in good shape. But, if yours lacks the pizzazz or navigability of your competitors’ sites, talk to your website builder about making some changes. It’s okay for your website to be similar to your competitor’s. But do strive to make it unique so that customers can see the differences between you and “the other guys”.
Finally, is your website easy to find?
None of these other things matter if traffic can’t find your site. All that SEO stuff you hear about is essential, but if you’re not coming up high in the rankings, you’re missing out. Find out how to make that happen!
At Watershed9, we can help you refresh or rebuild your website for the new year. We make it more noticeable by search engines, allowing you add quality content. We have a wealth of services available to you and your company to help your site attract more traffic. For more information on improving your website, schedule a consultation with one of our experts by calling 604-337-1449.