6 Steps to Protect Your Website With a Comprehensive Website Privacy Policy
As a website owner, you have a responsibility to protect the privacy of your users. It's important to protect their data and information by creating and implementing a comprehensive privacy policy. In this blog post, I'll provide six quick steps you can take to ensure all of your user's information is safe and secure.
Step 1: Know What Kind of Data You Collect
The first step in creating a comprehensive privacy policy is to know what data you're collecting. This includes any personal information such as names, emails, mailing addresses, payment information, etc. It's important to know what type of data you're collecting so you can be sure to include it in your privacy policy.
Step 2: Set Guidelines for How You Use That Data
Once you know what data you're collecting, you need to establish guidelines for how you use it. This includes when and why the data is collected, how it's stored, and who has access to it. You should also include how long you will store the data and how you will dispose of it when it's no longer needed.
Step 3: Determine Who Has Access to the Data
You need to determine who has access to the data you're collecting. This includes both internal and external users. You should also outline the types of actions users can take with the data and any other restrictions that apply.
Step 4: Create a Comprehensive Privacy Policy
Once you know what data you're collecting, how you're using it, and who has access to it, you need to create a comprehensive privacy policy. This should include all of the information mentioned above and any other relevant information. Be sure to include any rights users have regarding their data and how they can opt-out of having it collected.
Step 5: Keep the Policy Up-to-Date
As time goes on, you may need to make changes to your privacy policy. That's why it's important to keep it up-to-date and review it regularly. This will ensure your users always have the most accurate information about your data collection and usage practices.
Step 6: Make the Policy Easily Accessible
Finally, it's important to make your privacy policy easily accessible to users. This includes posting it on your website and including a link to it in your email communications. You should also include a link to the policy in any mobile apps you create. Creating and implementing a comprehensive privacy policy is an important step in protecting the privacy of your users.
By following these 6 steps, you can ensure your users feel safe and secure when visiting your website.
Need assistance generating and creating a Privacy Policy for your website?
We offer an auto-updating service that keeps your website's policies updated whenever the laws change. Reach out and ask us how you can have your web policies managed, compliant and always up to date. Contact us here to learn more.
Refreshing a Website: Unlock the Secrets to a Revitalized Online Presence
Table of Contents
Introduction
In today's digital age, having an engaging and effective website is crucial for businesses and individuals alike. A website that feels outdated or lacks user-friendly features can significantly impact user experience, search engine rankings, and ultimately, conversion rates. That's where website refresh comes into play. By implementing the right strategies and following best practices, you can breathe new life into your online presence. In this article, we will explore why refreshing a website is important and provide you with a step-by-step guide to successfully refresh your website and achieve your desired goals.
Why Refreshing a Website is Important
Enhancing User Experience
User experience (UX) is at the core of every successful website. When users visit your website, they expect a seamless and enjoyable browsing experience. An outdated design, slow loading times, and cumbersome navigation can frustrate visitors, leading to high bounce rates and missed opportunities. By refreshing your website, you can create a visually appealing, user-friendly interface that engages and delights your audience.
The ultimate goal of any website is to convert visitors into customers or clients. A website refresh can significantly impact your conversion rates by focusing on key elements such as compelling calls to action, clear messaging, intuitive navigation, and streamlined checkout processes. By aligning your website with your conversion goals and providing a seamless user experience, you can maximize your chances of converting visitors into valuable leads or sales.
When and What to Consider When Refreshing a Website?
Outdated Design and Visual Appeal
One of the primary reasons to consider a website refresh is when your design feels outdated or no longer aligns with your brand image. Visual appeal plays a crucial role in capturing visitors' attention and conveying professionalism. If your website looks stale, cluttered, or lacks a modern aesthetic, it may be time for a design overhaul.
Poor User Engagement
High bounce rates, low time spent on site, and minimal engagement metrics indicate that your website is failing to captivate and retain visitors. If users are not interacting with your content, exploring multiple pages, or taking desired actions, it's a clear sign that your website needs improvement. A refresh can help enhance user engagement by optimizing the layout, improving content presentation, and providing intuitive navigation.
Declining Search Engine Rankings
If you've noticed a drop in your search engine rankings, it may be a signal that your website needs attention. Search engines constantly evolve their algorithms, favoring websites that meet certain criteria such as mobile-friendliness, fast loading speeds, and high-quality content. By refreshing your website and implementing SEO best practices, you can regain lost rankings and organic visibility.
Steps to Refresh Your Website
Analyze Current Performance and Metrics
Before diving into a website refresh, it's essential to assess your website's current performance and metrics. This includes analyzing user behavior, conversion rates, bounce rates, and other key performance indicators (KPIs). Understanding where your website is currently lacking will help you set clear goals and objectives for the refresh.
Set Clear Goals and Objectives
Establishing clear goals and objectives is crucial for a successful website refresh. Whether you aim to increase organic traffic, boost conversions, improve user engagement, or align with a rebranding strategy, defining your goals will guide the entire refresh process. Clear objectives allow you to measure the success of your refresh and make informed decisions.
Conduct Comprehensive Keyword Research
Keyword research is an essential step in refreshing your website's content. By identifying relevant keywords and search terms, you can optimize your website's content to target your desired audience. Use keyword research tools and consider user intent to ensure your content aligns with what users are searching for.
Design and Visual Updates
A visually appealing website is key to capturing users' attention and leaving a lasting impression. Consider updating your website's design elements, color scheme, typography, and overall layout. Ensure your design is modern, clean, and aligned with your brand image. Don't forget to optimize for mobile devices, as mobile browsing continues to dominate.
Content Refresh and Optimization
Content is the backbone of your website. Refreshing and optimizing your content is crucial for both user experience and search engine rankings. Review your existing content, update outdated information, improve readability, and incorporate relevant keywords naturally. Aim for well-structured, engaging content that delivers value to your audience.
Mobile Responsiveness and Speed Optimization
Mobile devices account for a significant portion of web traffic. Therefore, it's essential to ensure your website is fully responsive and optimized for mobile users. Test your website on different devices and screen sizes to ensure a seamless experience for all users. Additionally, optimize your website's loading speed to prevent user frustration and improve SEO performance.
Implementing SEO Best Practices
To maximize your website's visibility and organic traffic, it's crucial to implement SEO best practices. This includes optimizing meta tags, headers, URLs, and image alt tags. Focus on creating high-quality, original content that provides value to your audience. Pay attention to on-page optimization, internal linking, and site structure.
Testing and Quality Assurance
Before launching your refreshed website, conduct thorough testing and quality assurance. Check for any broken links, formatting issues, or functionality errors. Test your website on different browsers and devices to ensure a consistent experience. Pay attention to usability, load times, and cross-browser compatibility.
Launch and Post-Refresh Monitoring
Once you're satisfied with the changes and confident in the quality of your refreshed website, it's time to launch. Monitor your website closely post-launch, keeping an eye on user engagement, traffic patterns, and conversions. Make adjustments as necessary to optimize your website's performance and continually enhance the user experience.
Common Mistakes to Avoid when Refreshing a Website
Neglecting User Experience
User experience should be the central focus of any website refresh. Avoid the mistake of prioritizing aesthetics over usability. Ensure that your website is intuitive to navigate, loads quickly, and provides a seamless experience across devices. Consider user feedback and conduct user testing to identify pain points and areas for improvement.
Disregarding SEO Considerations
Refreshed websites often experience temporary drops in search engine rankings. To minimize the negative impact, avoid disregarding SEO considerations during the refresh process. Maintain proper redirects for any changed URLs, ensure metadata is optimized, and maintain a focus on high-quality, keyword-rich content. Consistency in SEO efforts will help preserve and enhance your organic visibility.
Over-complicating the Design
While a visually appealing website is essential, avoid overcomplicating the design. Cluttered layouts, excessive animations, and busy graphics can distract users and hinder their overall experience. Strive for a clean and minimalist design that guides users to the most important elements and information on your website.
Ignoring Content Quality and Relevance
During a website refresh, it's easy to focus solely on the visual and technical aspects while neglecting the content. However, content plays a vital role in engaging users and boosting SEO performance. Refresh and optimize your content to ensure it is well-written, informative, and aligned with user intent. Provide value to your audience by addressing their pain points and answering their questions.
Trends and Best Practices for Website Refresh
Minimalist and Clean Designs
The trend towards minimalist and clean designs continues to gain popularity. Minimalist designs focus on essential elements, use ample white space, and provide a visually pleasing experience. Streamlining your design can enhance user focus and improve overall aesthetics.
Mobile-First Approach
With the majority of internet users accessing websites through mobile devices, adopting a mobile-first approach is crucial. Prioritize mobile responsiveness, optimize for touch screens, and ensure seamless navigation on smaller screens. Designing for mobile first ensures that your website delivers an excellent user experience across all devices.
Personalization and Customization
Personalization can greatly enhance the user experience by tailoring content and recommendations based on user preferences and behavior. Leverage data and technology to provide personalized experiences, such as product recommendations, dynamic content, or personalized greetings.
Incorporating Interactive Elements
Interactive elements, such as quizzes, surveys, or calculators, can increase user engagement and time spent on your website. These interactive features provide value to users while also collecting valuable data that can be used for further personalization and optimization.
Accessibility and Inclusivity
Creating an inclusive website that is accessible to all users, regardless of disabilities, is not only a best practice but also a legal requirement in many jurisdictions. Ensure that your website complies with accessibility guidelines, such as providing alt text for images, using proper heading structures, and offering keyboard navigation options.
Measuring the Success of Your Website Refresh
After refreshing your website, it's important to measure the success of your efforts. Here are some key metrics to track:
Did bounce rate decrease and engagement rate increase?
conversions of forms and other goals
time on site/page
organic traffic increase?
Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) specific to your website's goals. This could include metrics like conversion rate, bounce rate, average session duration, and page views. Regularly monitor these KPIs to gauge the impact of your website refresh.
Analyzing User Behavior and Engagement
Utilize analytics tools to analyze user behavior and engagement on your refreshed website. Understand how users navigate through your site, which pages they spend the most time on, and where they drop off. This data can provide insights into areas that require further optimization.
Monitoring Search Engine Rankings and Traffic
Track your search engine rankings and organic traffic to assess the impact of your website refresh on your online visibility. Monitor keyword rankings and organic search traffic to ensure that your refreshed website is performing well in search engine results pages.
Conclusion
A website refresh is an opportunity to breathe new life into your online presence. By focusing on enhancing user experience, optimizing for SEO, and improving conversion rates, you can revitalize your website and achieve your desired goals. Remember to analyze your current performance, set clear objectives, and follow a step-by-step process that covers design, content, mobile responsiveness, and SEO best practices. Keep up with the latest trends and monitor your website's performance to continuously improve and adapt to changing user expectations. With a well-executed website refresh, you can create a captivating online presence that engages users, boosts search rankings, and drives success.
FAQS About Website Refreshes
How often should I refresh my website?
The frequency of refreshing a website depends on various factors such as industry trends, changes in user behavior, and evolving business goals. As a general guideline, consider refreshing your website every 2-3 years or when you notice significant drops in performance metrics.
Can I refresh my website without affecting SEO rankings?
Refreshing a website may cause temporary fluctuations in SEO rankings. However, by implementing proper redirects, maintaining content relevance, and following SEO best practices, you can minimize the impact and eventually improve your rankings.
What are the essential elements of a mobile-responsive website?
A mobile-responsive website should have a layout that adapts to different screen sizes, legible fonts, easily tappable buttons, optimized images, and fast loading times. It should provide a seamless browsing experience on mobile devices.
How can I ensure my website remains accessible to all users?
To ensure accessibility, follow guidelines such as providing alt text for images, using proper heading structures, offering keyboard navigation options, and ensuring color contrast for better readability.
What are some indicators of a successful website refresh?
Key indicators of a successful website refresh include improved user engagement, increased organic traffic, higher search engine rankings, longer average session duration, and improved conversion rates.
Why a Website Refresh Can Improve Your Traffic and SEO
Table of Contents
In today's competitive online market of millions and millions of websites, it's essential to stay ahead of the curve, and your competitors, and keep up with the latest trends. A website redesign and refresh can help you achieve this, as well as improve your traffic and SEO.
In this article, we'll explore why a website refresh project plan can be beneficial for your small business, whether a local mom and pop shop or a local services business, you'll get a fresh looking website that keeps your customers on the site, converts them at a high rate and improves your overall SEO. We'll also look at the latest trends in web design and some of the best practices for website refreshes in 2023.
Benefits of a Website Refresh
A website refresh strategy can be beneficial for a variety of reasons.
First, it can help to keep your website up-to-date with the latest trends, ensuring that it looks modern and professional. This can help to attract more visitors to your website, as well as giving you an edge over competitors who may not have updated their websites recently.
Second, a website refresh can help to improve your SEO. A website that is regularly updated with fresh content is more likely to rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can help to increase your website's visibility, as well as driving more traffic to your website.
Finally, a website refresh and redesign project can also help to improve your website's usability and user experience. By making sure that your website is easy to navigate and functions properly, you can ensure that your visitors have a positive experience when visiting your website. This can help to increase the chances of them coming back and making a purchase or inquiry. Another key benefits to a new and high-engaging website is your overall bounce rate should go down which is a ranking factor for SEO. [Bounce rate is the rate at which a visitor lands on your website and leaves without interacting, clicking or anything. See other website and digital marketing definitions.]
2023 Web Design Best Practices
When performing a full website redesign, it's important to keep up with the latest web design trends. In 2023, some of the key web design trends include:
Minimalism – Minimalism is big in web design in 2023. Clean lines, simple design elements, and minimal text all help to create a modern and professional look.
Responsive Design – Mobile-friendly websites are essential in 2023. Responsive design ensures that your website looks great and functions properly on any device.
Accessibility - Over the past few years making sure your website meets the Accessibility Guidelines and is WCAG 2.2 compliant is becoming more and more critical to website owners. An accessible website allows visually impaired people with the ability to use screen readers and other accessibility tools.
Animations – Animations are becoming increasingly popular in web design, and can help to create a unique and engaging experience for visitors.
Video – Video is becoming a popular way to showcase products and services on websites. It's an effective way to communicate your message and can help to draw visitors in.
Improving Your Website Conversions
Once you've refreshed your website, it's important to ensure that it's optimized for conversions. This means making sure that your website is designed in a way that encourages visitors to take action. This can include making sure that your call-to-action (CTA) buttons are prominently displayed, ensuring that your website is easy to navigate, and making sure that your website loads quickly.
It's also important to ensure that your website is secure. This means making sure that all the data on your website is encrypted and that your website has an SSL certificate. This will give your visitors peace of mind when visiting your website and can help to improve conversions.
How to Get More SEO Traffic to My Website
Getting more organic traffic to your website is essential if you want to improve your website's rankings in SERPs. One of the best ways to do this is by optimizing your website for SEO. This involves making sure that your website is properly structured, making sure that your content is keyword-rich, and creating backlinks to your website from other websites.
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) and is used by millions of websites. It's easy to use and is high level of customization, making it a great choice for website redesign projects.
When using WordPress, it's important to make sure that your website is easy to update. This includes making sure that the plugins and themes are up-to-date, keeping your website secure, and making sure that you are regularly backing up your website.
By keeping your WordPress website up-to-date, you can ensure that it remains secure and that your website looks modern and professional. It can also help to improve your website's rankings in SERPs, as regularly updated websites are more likely to rank highly.
Conclusion
A website refresh can be beneficial for your web design business in terms of traffic and SEO. By keeping up with the latest trends in web design and following the best practices for website refreshes, you can create a website that looks modern and professional and is optimized for conversions. You can also get more SEO traffic to your website by optimizing it for SEO and using social media to drive more organic traffic to your website. Finally, using WordPress as your CMS can make updating your website easy and ensure that it remains secure and up-to-date
Statistics
According to the latest statistics, nearly 70% of website visits are lost due to outdated designs and user experience in 2023.
A website refresh can improve your website conversions by up to 15% with the right design best practices.
It is estimated that more than 70% of search engine traffic comes from easy to update WordPress websites.
By following the 2023 website design best practices, businesses can increase their website traffic by up to 40%.
Research shows that businesses who refresh their website design can expect to see an increase in SEO traffic of up to 25%
Why Your Local Services Business Needs to Refresh Its Old Website
As a local services business, having a strong online presence is crucial for attracting and retaining customers.
However, if your website is outdated and no longer accurately represents your brand or services, it may be time for a refresh. In this blog post, we'll discuss three key reasons why updating your website is important for your business: increasing leads, creating location pages, and basic local SEO.
Increasing Leads
An outdated website can be a major turn-off for potential customers. If your website looks unprofessional or hasn't been updated in years, it can give the impression that your business is also outdated and unprofessional. On the other hand, a modern, well-designed website can make a great first impression and encourage potential customers to contact you or visit your store.
In addition to design, the functionality of your website is also important. An old website may not be mobile-friendly or may not have a clear call-to-action, which can make it difficult for customers to contact you or find the information they need. Updating your website to be mobile-responsive and including clear calls-to-action can increase the number of leads your business receives.
Creating Location Pages
If your business has multiple locations, it's important to have a dedicated page for each one on your website. These location pages should include the address, phone number, and hours of operation for each location, as well as any specific information that may be relevant to that location (such as services offered or languages spoken).
Having dedicated location pages can also help with local SEO. Search engines like Google use the information on your website to determine your business's location, and having dedicated pages for each location can help Google understand that your business has multiple locations. This can help improve your visibility in local search results.
Basic Local SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's organic results. SEO is especially important for local services businesses, as it can help increase visibility in local search results and attract customers who are searching for businesses in their area.
One of the most important things you can do for local SEO is to ensure that your website is listed on Google Business Profile (GBP - also previously known as Google My Business/GMB) and that local schema code is added to your website.
GPB is a free service that allows you to manage your business information on Google, including your business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and more. Having your business listed on Google Business Profile can help improve your visibility in local search results and make it easier for customers to find your business.
Conclusion
In conclusion, refreshing your old website is crucial for a local services business to attract and retain customers.
Updating the design, functionality, and location pages can increase leads and improve visibility in local search results.
Basic local SEO can also help to attract customers in the area.
Don't let an outdated website hold your business back, invest in refreshing your website and watch your business grow!
A Small Business Owner's Guide to Creating a Great Website
Creating a great website for your small business can seem like a daunting task. And it can be.
However, it doesn’t have to be!
I’ve written a step-by-step guide for how to make a website for your small business.
A big part of making your website successful is making it easy for your visitors to find the information they are looking for and easy for you manage and to keep updated. In the guide, I show you how to make sure that your website is a help to your visitors, not a hindrance. I also show you how to use your keywords (optimized for SEO) effectively, so that search engines such as Google can find your website easily.
Lastly, I'll cover how to add and update content to your website that helps your website with SEO and also is quick and efficient so you can focus on YOUR business and let your website do the work for you.
Why Making a Website is Important for Your Small Business
By creating a website, you can reach new customers, retain current customers and lead them to upsells or additional services, and create more sales and more profits. A well created website can also improve the way your business is perceived by potential (and current) customers.
Here are 5 reasons of why a website is important for your small business:
Gain Credibility. A website can help small businesses increase flexibility, control, branding and credibility.
Get more Customers. Getting online enables you to reach more people locally or outside of your region while paying less for the exposure.
Find more Customers. In today’s competitive online search environment, content is key. The more pages on your site, great content, the more chances new customers find you and your products/services.
Grow Your Business. With a website, you can reach a greater number of potential customers and opportunities.
Be Competitive and Gain Advantage Over Your Competition. Consumers want to be informed about their purchasing decisions— what they buy and from whom they buy. Without a website, you risk losing customers to businesses already taking advantage of the online marketplace.
How to Plan for a Great Website
The section will cover things from choosing your domain and web host to WordPress and themes, to integrating your site with a CRM or third party applications and tools.
Here are a few steps you'll need to do to create and maintain a great small business website:
Step 1 – Get a Good Domain Name
The domain name is the primary point of reference for your website. If you already have a domain name, and it's working well for you, this section isn't really for you. But if you're just starting out or maybe looking to rebrand your website's URL and domain, finding that perfect domain name is a must.
The domain name sets your brand from the initial visit.
Your customers will either click on the link or type in our domain name, all which should be branded to your company.
For example, if you are a landscaping company you would want your domain to contain words like landscape, lawn, lawncare, etc. You wouldn't really want the branded domain to be jdtlwncr.com. When looking and reading the domain name it says nothing about your business name of JDT Lawn Care Services.
Also, don't feel like you need to always use a .com top-level domain (TLD). Sure, it's most common, but there are many new TLD's being used now that you can get your branded domain name with a .co, .us, .design, .pro, .plumbing, .pizza, etc. You can find crazy TLDs on Namecheap.com and also register your domain, or domains, for affordable costs.
Finding a great web host is the number one thing you need to really make your website successful. There are lots of low-cost hosting platforms for $3-7 per month, but you'll get what you pay for...cheap hosting and services with most likely slow page load speeds.
Hosting on a private server, or at least a top tier shared hosting provider, will give your website the services, features and speed to perform at it's best and the BEST for your customers and new visitors.
We like to host our client sites on Kinsta, which provides lightning fast, secure and private web hosting. Learn more by clicking on the banner below. We can also help set up your hosting and make sure your site is running and performing at top speeds. Just ask us.
Another good web host is Siteground with three tiers of hosting which should suit your business. They are a shared-hosting platform, meaning your site will be sharing a webserver with other businesses and this can cause some slow loading times, but if you're a small site and looking for a low-cost, affordable hosting package, the Siteground StartUp plan should suit you. It starts at $6.99/mo paid annually. See all Siteground plans here.
Step 3 - Build on WordPress with a Good Theme
WordPress is an awesome platform to build your website on. It is a content management system (CMS) that allows you to create pages, posts, add users, extensions and plugins and much more.
Almost a half a billion websites are on WordPress as of 2020. That is an insane number of sites and really proves that it's one of the best, easiest and most used web building platforms out there.
Both Siteground and Kinsta are set up for fast WordPress hosting, as well as many other hosting providers. Setting up WordPress is rather a simple task on both Siteground and Kinsta, almost too easy. Both have a one-click setup to get you started quickly.
Once you have the base of WordPress set up then it's time to find a good fit theme for your business. Now there are so many different themes out there, and finding and picking one can feel like a hard task. But we like two themes: Divi and Oxygen. Divi theme, built by Elegant Themes, is a well laid out, semi-custom theme and page builder that has a library of premade layouts, easy to learn sections, rows and modules to get your website built in no time.
But if you want a highly customized, rocket fast website we highly recommend Oxygen Builder for that task. The only real drawback to Oxygen is that you need to know a lot about design, layout, CSS and development. That's where our design team at Six10 Digital comes in, we can build you an amazing website, slim and fast loading to impress your clients and customers.
If you're not up for creating your own site and need a designer and developer, you're in luck. Our team at Six10 Digital can create websites that are highly customized, fast loading and search engine optimized for you and your business.
Step 4 - Integrating your website with add-ons and 3rd party tools
Depending on your business, your website may need to integrate with other applications or add-ons like a CRM (customer relationship management), billing or invoicing systems, online calendars, or specific programs for your business and industry.
Since we like building websites on WordPress, you should be in luck when, and if, you need to set up any integration. WordPress.org has over 50,000 plugins in their repository and library.
If you're a local service business you may want to integrate your online scheduling application with your website. Many of the top scheduling platforms will have available code to insert onto your webpages which will then show to your web visitors to interact with.
Or maybe you have a sales CRM set up and want to add lead forms to your site. Major CRM platforms like SharpSpring, ActiveCampaign and HubSpot all allow you to create an embeddable form which easily integrates into your site.
Also, with additional tracking codes from your CRM you can track and engage with customers and web visitors when they visit your site, such as, automatically sending a personalized email to a specific contact or increasing their lead score. Your options are pretty much endless.
Why You Should Hire a Web Designer
There is actually a lot of strategy, planning and know how that goes into designing and developing the perfect website. Can you go at things on your own, sure you can, but if you're going to need more than just a basic website you'll want to look to work with an experienced web designer and web developer.
Why? Well because they will have experience with things such as user experience design (UX), color schemes, best font type to use, how to correctly size images, and overall design layout for your home page and internal web pages.
Our experts at Six10 Digital are here to help with your website design projects, from full website builds to refreshing your website to bring it up to date.
Here are a few of our 2019-2020 website builds:
TurfAssistPro.com
ScientificSearch.com
GeminiBakeryEquipment.com
S2Squash.com
GarageSense.net
Ok, so we just said we're available to help with your website design, but maybe you have your own designer or a family member that "does website creation", whatever it is, just make sure you pick a designer that has the following:
flexible to how the site needs designed
good communications and follow up
a portfolio of completed projects
at least 4-6 years of experience in design
ability to integrate your website with things like Google Analytics, SEO, etc.
Your website is simply a means of getting your business out there. So before we can do anything about your website, we need to understand why people create websites in the first place. The reasons for creating websites for your small business is to get people to find and view your services and products.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “content is king” when it comes to your website and SEO.
Maybe you've tried adding new pages of content to your site, only to be hindered by lack of time, lack of ideas, lack of resources, or lack of knowledge.
But don’t fret – here are a few ways that you can quickly add more content to your website without having to crank out page after page.
Have a Blog - and use it to your advantage
One of the quickest and pretty simple way of adding good content to your website is to utilize a blog. WordPress is a great platform for getting started with blogging and adding relevant content for your customers to read.
Blogging or content writing will probably seem like a scary step for newbies, but if you start off slowly you'll get the hang of things in no time. Here are a few tips to get you started: set a goal to blog -- one a month, or once a week if you have bandwidth; write about topics that you "think" your customers will want to read and that provide value to them (don't try to sell, sell, sell); use a few nice images to visually relate to your content. You can find free images at Pexels.com.
Make a content calendar
By doing this, you'll be able to spend a small amount of time that can plan out content for the next few weeks or months. So take an hour to brainstorm on content ideas and add to a calendar or "topic list". TIP: I find that when I'm out driving around taking care of errands that my mind starts to think about things. Use this time to generate some cool content ideas and keep a notepad or use voice to text on your mobile device to save your ideas.
Showcase Your Creativity - Present Information Differently
People get tired of reading large blocks of endless text. Showcase your content using:
bullet points
sub-headings
checklists
series of images
Maintaining Your Website Investment
Small business owners and managers should learn how to create, manage and maintain their small business website. One main reason is that self management can save you hundreds of dollars a year in maintenance plans.
Making sure your WordPress site is updated each month, making sure backups are being performed in the event of data loss or site corruption, and keeping the site running at top performance.
Here are a few things you should be doing weekly and monthly on your WordPress site:
Backups
Security scans
Performance scans
Plugin updates
WP updates
But what if you don't have someone at your company that can spend an hour or two each month making sure the site is secure and performing well, OR, maybe they are not very technical. That's where a monthly website maintenance contract can really help support the long term value of your site.
It's kind of like taking your car to the auto repair shop down the road when you can change your wiper blades, fluids, etc. But hey, having someone else doing those tasks is just sometimes easier and less hassle.
Conclusion - Creating a Great Website
A successful website makes it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for, whether that be information, products, or services. Your website also is a "first impression" of your business for first time visitors and you'll want to make sure the site is easily navigable, looks great and easy for visitors to browse and find the information they need.
Remember, web hosting is something you want to make sure you have a reliable host and that you're keeping your website updated, especially if you're using WordPress.
If you have any urgent issues with your website and need our experts to check it out and assist, just contact us and we'll be in touch ASAP.
Why It's Important to Optimize Your Website Speed
What is Page Speed?
Website page speed is the amount of time it takes for the content on a website’s page to fully load. In a world where people have come to expect instantaneous results, faster is better.
In fact, nearly half of web users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and they tend to abandon a site that isn’t loaded within 3 seconds, according to surveys done by Akamai and Gomez.com.
But how long do most websites take to load?
The standards many have been using for page load time come from a study conducted by Geoff Kenyon where he compares website speed against the rest of the web:
if your site loads in 5 seconds, it is faster than approximately 25% of the web
if your site loads in 2.9 seconds, it is faster than approximately 50% of the web
if your site loads in 1.7 seconds, it is faster than approximately 75% of the web
if your site loads in 0.8 seconds, it is faster than approximately 94% of the web
So how can you determine how your website stacks up?
How to Determine Your Page Speed and Score
Here’s how to measure how your website stacks up:
Hop into your website’s Google Analytics Site Speed reports. This will give you an idea of how your site has performed over various time periods and the load speed of each of your pages.
Enter your site’s URL into Google’s PageSpeed Insights Tool. This will give you a report card on your website’s speed performance on mobile devices and desktop. The report comes with some recommended actions you can take to improve your site’s speed.
Check Pingdom’s website speed test to find out the speed, rank and percent faster than the average of Pingdom’s tested websites
GTMetrix will provide a comprehensive look at your site’s speed optimization status.
Note: Don’t puzzle yourself when you see different speed timing in Pingdom and Gtmetrix. As Pingdom will show you load time (The time it takes to show the first result of your website—that’s what google counts and you should too) and GTmetrix will show you full load time (The time it takes to show full page with its full functionality running).
For further understanding, it’s always good to see the speed waterfall from both tools.
Some other blogs posts you might want to check out...
Bridging the gap between user expectations (2 seconds) and average website load time (5 seconds) is the goal of page speed optimization and the tactics we’ll outline later. But why exactly does page speed matter? It comes down to 3 main interconnected reasons:
1. Speed Kills UX
User experience is probably the most important reason you should care about website speed, so we’ll start here.
People don’t have the patience for slow loading websites anymore. In the beginning, just connecting to the internet required a tolerance that just doesn’t exist anymore.
Today, people are constantly online and you’ve got 3 seconds maximum to display your page or they’re gone. More than 3 seconds creates a poor user experience and the bar is only going to get higher in the future.
2. Speed Kills SEO
User experience is actually the driving force behind the SEO implications of site speed. While Google has been slow to officially reveal whether slow websites would receive ranking demotions, it appears that those days are coming. You need to make sure your website is ready.
3. Speed Kills Conversions
Your site speed’s effect on conversions is what should really catch your attention. How can you move people through your funnel if each step takes forever? Your super-fans will do it, but those new, hesitant people who are prone to buyers-remorse will bounce.
8 Tactics to Make Your Website Load Faster
We’ll just briefly touch on these eight tactics but will go into more depth in a later blog post.
Leverage Browser Caching which will your pages much faster for repeat visitors.
Optimize Images – let’s just say this is one thing very much overlooked. Whether your site is designed in-house or by an agency or freelancer, image size is almost always one of the things that cause slow load times. Why? Because some designers either forget or decide not to shrink and optimize images before uploading to the site.
Use a “shrink-ray” to Minify HTML, CSS & JS — this will remove unnecessary characters in your code that are not required. (just don’t shrink the kids)
Enable GZIP compression to drastically reduce the size of files sent from the server to the browser.
Reduce Server Response Time. This one is usually a little more difficult to fix.
Avoid Landing Page Redirects (when possible)
Prioritize Visible Content – lazy load images below the fold for starters.
Eliminate render-blocking JavaScript and CSS in above-the-fold content. (This is the hardest thing to fix for most people.)
Struggling with the above?
We can help improve your page load times, just get in touch and we’ll take it from there.
