Is your website healthy, can the search engines crawl it, are your customers able to find what they are looking for? Is it optimized for mobile devices? Is it fast and reliable? Is it getting found in Google and generating inquiries? Is it a true business asset?
How is your website Doing?
Recently, I took on a couple of “new sites”. They weren’t new in that I was creating them from scratch, they were new in that the clients were new and their sites were so old, they had outdated information and not mobile friendly in the least, ie, they were not searchable, which meant their traffic to the site was down as well.
When I first talk to a client I like to know what their website has done for them, what is its purpose and has it been successful. In many cases, I will hear, “It has been working great, I get calls from it, or the store is working,” but then they will tell me, “Visitors to the site been starting to complain about not finding something, or the information is wrong, or a link didn’t work, or they couldn’t read anything on their phone,” and the list goes on.
So how is your site?
- View it from different devices, think like a customer who would find it in the searches.
- Ask others to look at it and give you feedback.
- Stay open-minded and be ready to hear good and bad reports.
- Consider other websites that you go to. What do you like on them?
- Ease of use,
- Interactive buttons,
- Call to action,
- Effective easy to read (visually) content,
- Images nicely spaced,
- White space throughout giving your eyes a rest,
- Type of font, size of the font
- Good contrasting colors
- Sliders with buttons or forms on them
- A freebie for something
The list can be exhausting but go for first impressions. Then look at your own website from a different perspective. Can your site have those features, where do you want them, what is do you envision?
How do I update my website?
Search for, “update websites”, “fix my website”, “make changes to my website”. If you are a DIY, then try, “How do I update my website?” or Help to update my website? May give you options of web developers to choose from.
Prioritizing the work
If your site was built in the dark ages, pre-2014 Chances are, no matter who you talk to, your site will need to be re-built to be responsive and work on a mobile phone, or what we call, mobile friendly and indexable.
If this is the case, the site should be mobile friendly above all else. If you find the right person to work with, you can make a few changes to the original site, and instead of rebuilding an entire website right now, have just your main pages created. The plus side is when you are ready, you can have the other pages done at a later date. However, if it is a store, well, then, suck it up buttercup, cuz you need to do it.
WHY?
Over 65% of business is done on mobile phones. Doubt that percent, I do too, I think it’s higher. The best way to determine what you should do first is take a look at your Google Analytics. You will see exactly what the percentage of viewing is done from each device. You can see how many visitors exit from what page, what the bounce rate (stay on your site for less than 20 seconds), etc. Still in doubt? Think how often you use your phone, if you are in the group of never use your phone, or don’t know how to, well, you have cut your potential target audience down to 30% if you think everyone else is like you. In other words, you are in company with only a few. You, or at least your site, want to be in the company of the many.
DIY Option for Website Updates
If you can work on your own site, try to work with a website developer who is open to offering you phone support. I recently started doing this because I like to be able to help. I use to teach business technology, so giving instructions and even sending screenshots here and there is natural. Of course, make sure the person you decide to have help you have experience, is transparent and a good match, check out their website, their portfolio, talk with them over the phone. The more you know the developer, the more your instincts can decide your level of comfort.
