A better website is only 16 tips away – take a look at our piece below and learn how to improve yours.
1) Start over from scratch:
Even as the first tip, this one is not enthusiastically recommended, because it can eat up a ton of your time, resources, money, and energy. However, if your website is really old, then a complete reboot with modern technology might prove a wise choice, rather than slapping patches on what’s already there. Do a pencil sketch of what you hope to have and then get together the right team to get it done.
2) Bring in a professional:
You might be planning on doing all your web work on your own or in-house. However, sometimes paying for a third-party professional with experience such as www.agencyinc.co.uk can save you a lot of time. Their expertise and ideas can really get a project going.
3) Identify the main purpose of your site:
Why is your website even up in the first place? What are you hoping to accomplish? Once you can answer both those questions, then you can do what it takes to make your website accomplish its purpose: delete pages that don’t help, but add ones that do. Restructure the whole site if you have to, with a brand new landing page and more. Your goal has to be your top priority, and your whole team needs to know what it is so they can assist you.
4) Eliminate distractions:
Things like splash pages and music are not as fun online as they used to be. Many website visitors will even say they were never that fun to start with, so if your website has a splash page of a beach scene that covers up the answers and information they are seeking, or they have to listen to your site playing Elvis, you need to cut it all out. Visitors hate elements like that. They come to websites for specific purposes, and they want to get them done as soon as they can. Deliver what they need promptly.
5) Do use bold and big images though:
It’s a well-known cliche that pictures are worth a thousand words, and right now, big and bold images are hot trend in web design. If you have to skip the beach splash and Elvis music, you can at least use large, vibrant pictures to help sell your content to the reader even before they start going over the text. Local area shots, recent projects, and images of your team doing their thing are all great choices.
6) Consolidate menus:
If there’s ten items under just one single heading of your navigation bar, then it’s time to clean house. Cleaner and simpler navigation makes it easier for website visitors to find things, and that means they have a more positive experience with your business. The less they hit the back button looking for things in the wrong place, the faster you can satisfy their needs.
7) Stay in tune with business branding:
If your company recently updated its logo or even changed its primary colors, then the website needs to reflect this. Your customers should see parallels between their brick and mortar time in stores or offices and their time online at your site. Building brand awareness also helps your customers and prospects have better recognition of your business when they are away from home or telling others about you.
8) Use an About Us page to humanize your business:
As much as you want to brand your website in sync with your brick and mortar locations, those at least have people in them. There’s even a human element to phone lines and to some degree emails. Websites are static and cold, so have an About Us page to let website visitors know who you are personally, or who your team members are. Professional bios and resumes are useful to a degree, but humanize it all with family life, recreational hobbies, and the like. Show people that you are also people.
9) Humanize the site further with customer testimonials:
Your existing set of customers are a big asset to your business since they can provide the rest of the world actual case studies as to what your business does for people, be it save time, make more money, solve a problem, etc. Talk to your very best clients and ask them if they’ll do testimonials for you. If you really want to nail this, have the testimonials written out already so all they have to do is approve the content.
10) Throw in industry resources:
While the two previous tips were about human elements, don’t ignore your sector of the economy. Make your website look authoritative or like a major player through industry resources. Show prospects your business knows what it is talking about by using white papers, surveys, reports, and helpful links. Write your own or hire freelancers to create content for you.
11) Be sure your site is mobile-friendly:
Mobile is where the growth is right now. Over half of consumers own and use a smartphone, so your newest business is likely coming from mobile devices. Still, they can have a hard time getting around your site if it is only optimized for desktops. There’s a plethora of affordable tools you can use to recreate mobile sites from your existing one. Try those out or get a professional designer to make your website mobile-user-friendly.
12) Let things be sociable:
If your business has yet to embrace social media, you need to get on the bus finally. Start community building with customers and visitors, and have the social media plug-ins on your primary content pages so that people can share what you have to offer. Also get accounts going on Twitter and Facebook so that you can start building up your brand awareness and even your link profile. Also get to know your customers so you can learn where and how to grow your business.
13) Use directions widgets:
Not everyone has GPS, so if your business has a physical location customers can visit, add a free Google map widget to your page. Website visitors can then just enter their address where they are at currently, and they’ll then get specific step by step directions to your establishment. This is like rolling out a long welcome mat to customers and showing them your business cares about their time.
14) Put your business hours up:
Many website visitors are looking to know just when you are open and when you are closed. They want to know this before they drop by or pick up the phone to call you. Consider what potential questions your customers may have in mind regarding your hours, and answer them in advance by having that information immediately available in an obvious place and manner they can access easily.
15) Make sure the homepage or landing page has your business phone number:
It should seem obvious that every website would have the business phone number on it, but a lot of websites actually neglect this. Others bury it or just relegate it to a contact page. Many website visitors only come looking for a phone number, so display it prominently on the first page they are likely to access. Good choices for placement include the footer or the top-right corner. Just make sure it is up there somewhere!
16) Have your call to action on each and every page:
Every single page of your website should be focused on getting your website visitors to do something. Maybe you’re selling an e-book, want them to register for your newsletter, make a reservation, sit and watch a video, or just look at your credentials. Whatever it is you want them to do, let the user know it on every single page. Website visitors aren’t looking to use their brains when surfing your page, so be it a link or a button, every page should have some indication what you want them to ultimately do.
Want To Improve Your Website? Use These 16 Tips!
