Spring Clean Your Website in just an Hour. [5 Tips]
You’ve heard us say it a million times: Your website is your first impression to the world — you have 0.05 seconds to make a good first impression, and we’re here to help. Below read our tips to make sure your website is in order moving into spring and summer. It’ll only take an hour.
So many people neglect their website. They think Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter will build their pipeline. But, where will those people go from your social media accounts? Your website! And if they don’t know how to easily find you from your website, welp, you just missed a client that was seeking your services. (aka: inbound leads!) Use these easy steps to make sure your website is functioning, and easy to use.
1. Your Menu
Your menu is the roadmap to your website. Is your contact information correct? Are all the links working? Do you have updated social media information?
I suggest putting your phone number and email in your menu, and make them click-to-call and click-to-mail so that someone can simply click on those links and will be prompted to reach out to you. You can do this by the following code:
For click-to-call: tel:1234567890 (use your phone number)
For click-to-mail: mailto:yourname@yourdomain.com
Easy as pie, and very actionable.
2. Images
Now is a good time to go ahead and refresh your images. There’s no excuse for blurry, pixelated images anymore. And there’s especially no excuse for uber dorky stock images! Use unsplash.com or pexels.com for some high quality, free-to-use photos. Liven it up!
3. Update your Portfolio/Services
Moving into the new season, make sure your portfolio and/or services are updated. A lot of times, I’ll have clients that have offerings on their websites from years ago. You’ll draw potential business based on outdated services or pricing. Audit your portfolio or services, make sure the descriptions are updated as well as your pricing. The last thing you want is someone contacting you for an hourly rate that you charged 4 years ago.
When it comes to your portfolio, take the time to update it including your most recent work. Portfolios get stagnant quick — if there’s no new work, some clients may think that you’re not working. Bad all around.
Check out our new portfolio page.
4. Contact forms
This is the most important thing you can audit! If no one can contact you, no one can hire you. Audit all of your forms on your site; make sure they point to the right email address, and, most importantly, test them and make sure you’re getting emails that potential clients are sending you. Spam filters are tricky things, so use a plugin to ensure that you’re not losing business by faulty contact forms. If you need help, reach out.
5. Links
If you have a bunch of broken links on your website, your SEO will be dinged and no one will be able to find you. Go through with a fine-toothed comb and make sure all of your links are working and link to the appropriate page: internal and external. Don’t forget your blog posts and portfolio pages. You’d be surprised how often people change the slugs on their pages, and if you’re linked to an outdated slug, your user is getting a bunch of 404 pages. No one likes that.
There you have it! 5 simple tips to update your website in a jiffy and make sure it’s user-friendly. It shouldn’t take more than an hour, and you’ll notice a huge difference!
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