Small Steps = Big Change
I’m often asked how much it will cost to redesign an entire website. Something that extensive can’t be answered without first knowing the scale of the work. We would need to discuss, in detail, your website’s needs.
Understanding the problem allows us to provide the best solution and sometimes the best answer is a completely new website. But there are always real world limitations and you may need changes to start happening now.
A completely new website may not be the only option for you. Instead, why not make the most of your current website?
By making multiple small changes to the important areas of your existing website, you can make a big difference in the way it performs.
Small changes to your current website can get you back in the race.
Why Make Small Changes?
Small changes are useful when you’re constrained by time and/or money.
A new website requires investment. You may not be able to pay the amount agencies are quoting you. Meanwhile, your competitors have unveiled a new website with a fancy booking system. They’re making big changes while you’re falling behind.
Time is of the essence and you can’t afford to spend what little you have on a completely new website. Couple that with a limited budget and you can start to feel stuck.
Small changes to your current website can get you back in the race.
There are many areas that can be reviewed and refined to help improve your website.
If you want to start making a change to your website now, here are some things you can get started on.
Define The Goal
Start by defining the goal of your website. What do you want your website to do? You might want to convert visitors into sales, or into bookings, or enquiries.
Once you’ve defined your goal, you can analyse the more granular elements of your website and determine if this goal is being achieved effectively.
Copy is one of the most important areas to get right on your website.
Review Your Wording
Review the wording (copy) on your website. Does it make sense? Are you using industry terminology that doesn’t make sense to your audience? Are you answering those frequently asked questions?
Copy is one of the most important areas to get right on your website. When writing, be concise.
You may not be good at copywriting, in which case, visit a freelancer directory website and hire a professional copywriter to do it for you. Spend the time searching for the right writer for you.
Are your images telling the right story?
Review Your Imagery
Pictures are worth a thousand words, they make a strong impression. Are your images telling the right story? Are they grabbing your attention? Do you need to freshen their look?
Consider organising a photoshoot with a professional photographer. The initial cost of a photoshoot may seem high, but its worth it when the result is professional, consistent, high quality images for your website.
Also, think beyond your website. Use these professional images on your social media to help promote offers or events you may having coming up.
The web is constantly evolving, your website should be too.
Add an SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate is a digital certificate providing authentication for a website and enables an encrypted connection. SSL encryption ensures all data passed remains private and secure.
Google treats SSL secure websites with greater authority. If you have secured your website, Google will rank you higher than non-secure websites. If your website is insecure, Google will even warn visitors when they land on your site, damaging its reputation.
Encrypt your website to protect your visitors and improve your Google ranking.
You can add an SSL certificate for free from Let’s Encrypt.
Stay Relevant
Google rewards websites that make frequent and relevant updates. Websites with more relevant activity are treated with greater authority. The web is constantly evolving, your website should be too.
Got a Blog? Use It
One way you can maintain regular activity on your website is through a blog. This can be via news updates or posts on aspects within your industry. This adds dimension to your brand, creating a stronger connection with your audience.
We’ve worked with clients in the past who’ve been adamant about featuring a blog on their website only to neglect it a couple of months later. It’s usually because they start big and quickly loose momentum, struggling to find the time to write a post on a regular basis.
If you have a blog on your website, make the time to post on it, even if it’s only 15 minutes. Regularly posting shows frequent activity, and that’s what Google wants to see. Start small and build up. Limit your first series of posts to a couple of paragraphs at most. Build momentum and only write what will interest other people. Remember to keep it relevant.
Make sure you make deliberate changes.
Take Your Time
The speed of the internet can mislead a lot of people into thinking that changes you make to your website will show an instant change in search results. This is not true.
Google sends its bots to crawl through your website and find any changes. These will be reviewed and then updated in the search results.
This is a fast process, but it isn’t instantaneous. It can take weeks to see significant change. Remember to be patient.
With this knowledge, make sure you make deliberate changes. You don’t want to be undoing a new change just weeks after adding it to your website, this will only hinder your online presence.
Familiarity is reassuring.
Be Consistent
You need to stay consistent in order to stay relevant. Be consistent with both your visuals (photos, colours, fonts) and your tone of voice.
Familiarity is reassuring. If the design of your website or the tone of your words changes with each page, you’ll quickly confuse and frustrate visitors, and they won’t stick around.
If the questions are human, the answers should be human too.
Write An FAQ List
Google rewards websites that provide the right information to what people are searching for.
What questions are your customers asking?
Write a list of those frequently asked questions. What correlations are there between the questions? Is there a focus on cost? Are they asking for clarification on certain industry terminology?
Are you answering these questions on your website? Do you answer them in a human way?
If you’re limited by time or budget (or even both), consider small improvements to your website.
Be Human
If the questions are human, the answers should be human too. Answer the common questions about your business in a way everyone can understand. The information you provide should be accurate. Don’t be vague and don’t mislead, you’ll get caught out.
Multiple small changes, when done correctly, add up to a big difference in your website’s performance, how people use it and its ranking in search results.
If you’re limited by time or budget (or even both), consider small improvements to your website. Get in touch with us to learn more about what you can do and how we can help.
If you need any more advice on how to improve your website, or you might even be looking to make a big change, you can always visit Lunar Works and see if we’re right for you.
Alternatively, you can message me directly on Twitter @alexhuntly_, I’m always happy to chat.
