In just a few weeks, 2016 will be drawing to a close which makes it the perfect time to reflect on various different aspects of your business and decide which tasks you want to knock out before the end of the year. Keeping a current website is a must if you want your customers and clients to know you’re still actively seeking business. Plus it’s good for people to know that can come to your website and receive updated and trusted information.
Here are 3 changes you should consider making to your website before the end of the year.
1. Update The Pages on Your Website
Have you changed your services? Received new credentials? Obtained more media mentions throughout the year? Make sure your website is up-to-date by adding the most accurate information and details.
If you have a portfolio page on your website, you might want to update it with recent work that you’re most proud of. If one of your services pages hasn’t been converting well, you might want to change some of the wording around and refocus the overall delivery.
Your About page is also another area of your website should consider reviewing because it’s usually one of the first pages people will look at when they get to your website and want to learn more about you and your business. While the foundation of your story won’t change much, you can add to your story and control how you and your business are portrayed by updating the About page on your website every year.
2. Check Current Calls to Action and Pop Ups
Calls to action are great for generating more conversions on your website. However, like your other content, they can become outdated as well.
If you have new promotions, opt-ins, or service offerings, make sure you update your calls to actions to set better expectations with website visitors.
If you have pop-ups on your homepage, be sure to disable them in mobile because Google will start penalizing intrusive pop-up ads in mobile starting in January 2017. Google believes that pop-up ads in mobile provide a poorer experience for users since mobile screens are smaller which makes it more of a hassle to get past the ads.
If you have an email newsletter pop-up currently on your home page, see if you can add calls to action in other places like in a static horizontal banner above the fold, the header area, or even on the sidebar. That way, people who are interested can still sign up via their mobile device but they won’t be bothered by a pop-up and your site won’t get penalized by Google.
*Bonus Tip: While you’re working on your calls to action in mobile, check out your website in different browsers and screen sizes to make sure all your pages are displaying properly. Even if your website has a responsive design template, certain features of your website may look different or ‘off’ in different browsers and devices.
3. Proofread and Check Links
Nothing is worse than seeing typos on a professional website. It’s only common to make grammatical mistakes from time to time though no matter who you are since we’re all human.
This is why it’s important to take a few minutes to proofread your entire website or hire someone to do so. Proofing the homepage is probably the most important. Knowing that all your content is grammatically correct and spelled properly will be a relief. You can also use tools like Grammarly to provide a quick spell check.
Don’t forget to check for broken links either. If you have really popular pages or blog posts that link to helpful resources, make sure those links still work. Also, if you have a resources page with affiliate links, you’ll want to make sure those links are all active and working so you’re not missing out on any payments.
Summary: End the Year on a Good Note With a Solid Website
Your website is a major reflection of your business and your brand. Before you go into vacation mode for the holidays, take the time to update your website and make sure everything is working properly.
That way, you can start off the year fresh and have a better idea of any major changes you’ll need to make or issues you’ll need to fix moving forward.
