Birds are nesting, daffodils are sprouting, new green shoots are everywhere and the world is coming out of hibernation. I know this certainly affects my mood, I’m more energised and ready to go for it and get on with things that have been hanging around for far too long.
So perhaps your customers too are energised looking forward and are in a buying mood. Is your website ready for them ?
Having a good tidy up…
- Is your news page updated, when did you last write an article for your site.
- Do you have an events calendar and is that up to date as well ?
- About us, have any of your staff changed and are the key details still correct.
- Check that the copyright message at the bottom of the page is up to date with the current year.
- Is your CMS system up to date, if you are running WordPress it is essential that you are running the latest version of the software, and any Plugins. WordPress is hacked regularly and dealing with a hacked website can really ruin your day. (EonicWeb customers have no need to worry about this one.)
- Get rid of any unused plugins, again WordPress users and developers tend to install a proliferation of plugins to try new things and test them out, if you are not using them, get rid. If the plugin is not compatible with the latest version of WordPress, don’t just leave it. It can prevent an update or could be an opportunity for a hacker.
How about a freshen up ?
- Be honest, how is the site looking, a bit tired and dated ?
- When did you last refresh the imagery ? Get some new pictures on the site, take some new team photos.
- What about getting some video on the site, what would you want to say ?
- Does it reflect what is new and exciting in your business ?
- How about mobile devices, bear in mind that over 50% of internet traffic is on mobiles. Does your site look great and work on a small device screen ?
Are you singing the right song ?
- Is it clear what a customer should do to get in touch, does your site provide a clear "Call to Action"?
- Are you collecting customer information, think about an "exit popup" or a "lead magnet" if your are not sure what these are Google it, or give us a call.
- Add some fresh content, what has changed in your business since last spring?
- Do your customers still have the same problems and challenges, and is the way you solve them the same, or has it evolved ?
- How about your social media accounts, and directory listings, do they all contain the right information.
Tune up the working parts
- Check all the forms are submitting and you are receiving any messages.
- Any automatic emails, do they still contain the correct contact details.
- Social Media and sharing links, are theses all up to date and working ?
- Check for broken links, try Broken Link Check
- Are your visits being tracked in Google Analytics? login and check, how is your traffic doing compared to this time last year?
Are you being seen ?
- A lot can change in a year, are you still being found for the search terms your customers will use, and are you testing this regularly?
- How are your competitors doing compared to you?
- What about social media, are your facebook, linkedIn pages kept updated ?
- Have you considered platforms like instagram and pinterest, these have risen in popularity, are you missing a trick.
- What about AdWords, have you tried it recently? If your competitors are using it, there is a good chance they are not throwing money away, if it works for them it can work for you.
Call in the website maids …
If you need help with any of this stuff we would be delighted to talk to you, and give your website a spring health check.