Are we in the third quarter already?
Every quarter I review my business and see what needs updating, introduced, or removed. Last quarter I decided to refresh my website. As successful entrepreneurs, we must ensure all the administrative and marketing is updated and refreshed, keeping our business running smoothly. Implementing these small changes can be a big win for you and your business.
Recently I worked on a website for one of my favorite clients. The last time she updated it was when small businesses and solos were just turning toward having “responsive” websites. I decided to hold off back then, but it’s a necessity these days and decided to refresh my website as well.
If you’re unsure what I’m talking about, a responsive website responds by adjusting depending on the device it’s being displayed on, whether a desktop, phone, or tablet. That makes it easily viewed, whatever the situation.
Although the text and images on my site mostly stayed the same during this process, I took the opportunity to review every single page – including all my past blog posts. I love reviewing websites, so you can imagine how happy I was to give myself the gift of doing it for my own! It was a good reminder of things that can go wrong or need updating on a website over time.
Here are some things to watch for on your own site:
- Check Your Links. I was shocked by the number of broken links I found. But I guess it makes sense – some of them were put there years ago when I first launched my website. By the way, ensure that when a link takes somebody off your site (e.g., to a book you mention), it “opens a new tab” in the browser. That way, your website visitor can easily click back to your site and keep looking around. Making this happen is just a simple setting when creating the link.
- Get Great Graphics. Take a close look (with your reading glasses on if necessary) at the graphics on your website. Is your logo pixelated (fuzzy)? Do you have images with a white background instead of transparent on pages that have a colored background? How old is your headshot? Are you using bland stock photography? Time to upgrade if any of this is you.
- Check Your Phone. More than half of the visitors to your site will do so on a phone – make sure your site looks good and is easily readable.
- Review Your Dashboard. Take a peek at the back end of your website (or get a qualified professional to do it with you). Are there plugins you aren’t using that might slow things down? Is your website running on the latest version of WordPress (or whatever you run your website on)? Keep your website running smoothly by paying attention to these important details.
Remember that for many people, your website is the first place where they will form an impression of you and your business. Take steps now to make sure the impression is a good one!
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