Does your website need a reno?
Your website is nine times out of ten the first impression, or the ‘front door’ to your business for new clients. So if your front door is looking a bit dated, doesn’t really open properly and needs a fresh lick of paint, there’s a pretty good chance that new customers wont bother coming in.
It can be very easy to become complacent with the look and feel of your website – sometimes there can even be a bit of personal attachment involved. Because of this it can be hard to stand back and look at your website through a fresh pair of eyes and acknowledge that it needs a bit of work.
They may be nothing actually wrong with your website in the respect that it looks pretty good, all the links work, it has your contact details and some good pictures. However, if your website has looked exactly the same for three years, it is time for a change. Branding is not only about people recognising your brand and business, but reinventing your business to keep up with the ever evolving needs and expectations of online customers.
So where do you start with your website renovation?
Mobile Friendly: This is THE most important thing for your website. Your website may look quite nice on your PC but have you ever seen what it looks like on your mobile phone? If your website is not mobile friendly for your mobile customers who are browsing on their phones or iPads, get it fixed now. You are losing customers.
Social Media icons: Like or hate it, the truth is social media is something your business needs in order to be kept
in loop and be seen as keeping up with the times. Your business may not necessarily be suitable for all of the social media platforms (twitter, instagram, facebook, etc), but you need to have at least one. This gives new and existing clients the reassurance that you are connected with the public and interested in keeping your followers updated regularly. Social media is also a great PR tool and it’s free!
Update your images: If you have a portfolio or gallery of your services or merchandise, make sure that is updated regularly and you are not re-hashing old and possibly dated images. Your business needs to look ‘busy.’ Also make sure that your images or photos are high resolution. With the standard of camera’s on phones these days, there is no excuse for blurry images.
Keep your Latest News/Blog page updated: Blogs and News pages are a fantastic way to keep everyone informed and most importantly, assisting with the SEO of your website. By supplying relevant and updated information on a regular basis, people will begin to follow you and refer to your website. If you are only churning out one article every 3-4 months, you have to assess whether having a blog page is beneficial to your website and portraying a good image.
Make sure your contact page is correct: This sounds pretty obvious but it can be overlooked. If you have changed your address, phone number or email address get into the habit of making your website the first thing you check and update. You’re not going to sell anything if people can’t get in touch with you.
Update your homepage: You don’t need to do an entire overhaul on your website. Something as easy as speech bubble with “Contact us for a free quote!” or an “Easter sale!” banner splashed across your existing homepage can entice people to investigate further. Having any sort of update on your homepage gives the impression that your website is current and offering your customers a specific call to action. Just make sure if you are adding a call-to-action, that you have attached and created a link and it clicks through to the relevant page.
Check all of your links: When was the last time you clicked through every single link on your page and checked all of your links. Not only do the links on your website have to work, but they need to be connected to the right destination. It’s not overly helpful if your menu option of ‘Sale Items’ clicks through to your ‘FAQ’ page. It is also worthwhile checking your individual pages to ensure they are rich with content.
Get a friend to have a look at your website: It’s almost a guaranteed fact that you will not be using/testing
your website the exact same way in which a new customer will. Someone who is not previously familiar with your services or your website, will use your website differently. There may be a dead-end link or problem with your online shop that you aren’t even aware of. Having a fresh pair of eyes to have a look through your website can not only assist in finding any functionality issues but also any lay out issues. There may be an image that is not clear or a description of a product that is outdated. Just make sure you take any feedback as constructive and be proactive with fixing the problem. Don’t get upset with your happy helper – they may just be your next customer.
Ask yourself, ‘Is my website going to reach my target market?’:When CEO Ian Mayfield of GrassAds began setting up his successful business in America, he realised his website had to change. “Our initial website was great. It was clean, simple and had all the information we needed on it. However we had to step up our image and brand to reflect a global company. We got the team at Shared Marketing to do a complete rebuild of our site. ” GrassAds target market had changed and so too did the company’s approach in how they wanted people to perceiving their business. If your website is not extending interest to your target spenders, then you need to look at what your website needs to relate to those customers.
So, get your tool belt on and get that website reno under way!
If you need any help with redesigning or updating your current website, give us a call today.