Website owners, your New Year’s Resolutions should include giving your website more attention, so that it can get a new lease of life and generate more business for you.
So what do you need to do?
1. Content Review
Most websites still have their original content, which means the content is as old as the last website design. Given that many website are 5 years or older, this means content could be 5 years out of date.
Take the following actions:
- Check the content for validity – What your website says and what you now do may be a world apart, so check for accuracy and give the content some updated words.
- Check Images – Are they compressed, relevant, and up to date? Do they have Alt Tags? Change them to give a fresher and more up to date feel.
- Check the Meta Tags – Do your Meta Tags still target the right search terms? Things move on and consumers move on to using different terminology, so make sure you keep up with them. Check below.
2. SEO Review
As above, we know that consumers move on with the terms they search for so you need to keep up with them.
Take the following actions:
- Google Search Console – This is a great tool provided by Google at no cost. This shows you the search terms that are being used by your potential customers, your website position on SERP (Search Engine Results Page), click through to your website, etc. which can give you ideas about keywords you should be concentrating on.
- External Tools – There are many other tools such as Semrush, Web CEO, etc., that can provide you with insight into keywords helping you to adjust your content. (note: Unlike Google, these tools are not free)
- Check Content – Go through the exercise above and check your content to make sure it is still relevant, fresh, and accurately reflects what you do.
3. Design Review
Most people start from here, but we recommend you start with reviewing your content and SEO. A new design with old content makes no difference in your website performance on search engines, or interactions with visitors.
Many clients that want a new website can in fact improve their website performance by taking the first 2 actions above.
However, there are reasons for a design refresh so ask yourself the following:
- Ease of Navigation – How easy is it to navigate and find information? Ask people outside of your business to find specific information, or a product, and find out how easy it was for them to find it.
- Responsive Design – Does your website look good on Mobiles, Tablets, and Desk Tops? This is especially important if your website was designed before smartphones and tablets were widely used. Make sure all the pages, graphics, images, etc. display correctly.
- Broken Links – Do you have any links that end up on your 404 error page? Don’t just check the navigation keys. Check the links on your website pages, and make sure there are no broken links. This is just as important for links internally as well as links to external websites, as external pages could have changed their URL without you knowing.
- Website Speed – Does your website load quickly? There are many reasons for slow loading, but most commonly it is due to uncompressed images. Check your images first and see if they are compressed, make sure you use tools for compressing your images.
Summary
Many website have not been reviewed since the day they were designed, so it is no wonder that many website look abandoned, content out of date, and their performance is disappointing their owners.
Follow the basic checks above, or contact us to help you to get the most out of your website.