One of my most popular services is my website audits. I get to know each business thoroughly with a custom assessment so I can then give strategic advice on what they need to change about their website to send a great first impression, and to make sure that they are checking all of the boxes on what potential clients are looking for. Some things are very obvious and consistent that need to be tweaked. Remember my blog post from a couple weeks back discussing the heat map of a homepage? Be sure to reference that as well for hot things that you should have on your homepage.
The first thing I am going to recommend is to sit down with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Hopefully you have a Google Analytics page. If not, we can always set one up. Before any kind of updates, you want to be aware of what has been working, and what has not been working so that you can make decisions strategically. If you have Google Analytics, you’re able to see what pages have the most traffic and what platforms those click throughs are coming from. You'll be able to tell if someone has come directly through Instagram, or through a press piece, or through a blog post. It is really important to know this data so that as you're making your updates you don't break those opportunities through the URL slugs (example: .com/about). I can go into much more depth about SEO, but will save that for another blog post.
Next, I want you to schedule time to sit down and look at your website as if it was the first time. Identify how you feel when you land on the homepage, navigate as if someone was trying to learn more about you, or reach out to your contact page. Does this feel seamless to you? Do you feel like your viewer would be interested in getting to know you more every step of the way and will be eager to reach out? You'll definitely want to test all the buttons on your website to make sure it’s a seamless experience. It is very common to find broken buttons for contact information and other social links throughout someone's website. Dot those “i’s” and cross those “t’s” people!
So let me let you in on a little secret: the World Wide Web loves new content. Many of us have stagnant websites that we forget to update routinely. Adding new data like a blog, updating graphics, or adding a video to your website can be huge for allowing Google to know that you have an up-to-date site they can send people to successfully.
The following things are data driven techniques that really help the viewer feel more connected to you and have more confidence to reach out: team photos, links to social, a hero photo that shows what you do best, prominent contact info, client reviews, clear verbiage the cities/areas you work, and a legible logo.
In wrap-up, here are the questions you should ask yourself:
Do I have Google Analytics set up and is it functioning properly? Identify which pages on your site are the most successful and are driving the most traffic so that you can beef them up accordingly.
Is everything on my website up-to-date in terms of packages offered, pricing, the bios, address and team pages etc?
Is everything functioning properly? This could include plug-ins or themes that need to be updated, blurry images, broken links, or other formatting or style issues that have self imploded over time.
What should I add to my website? Add something new like fresh text, videos and photos. Let Google know you are alive, active and well.
Do I have a photo of me or my team on my site? Showing a human behind the brand is game-changing.
Do I have links to my Facebook and Instagram? Clients will stalk you on social 46% of the time before they reach out.
Do I have imagery throughout my site that represents the work that I do, not just stock photos? Be sure you have current imagery that showcases your best work. For example: if you are a designer, I want to see your craft front and center.
Is my contact information easy to find? Looking for a number or contact on a website? Give it to me easily!
Do I have reviews on my website that speak in the language of what I do best? From clients I loved working with? Your brand is what other people say it is - sprinkle these throughout the site and/or have a dedicated page. The more the merrier.
Are the areas I serve notably seen on the homepage? Boom, I land on your site and I wanna see if you serve my area (example: “XYZ serving XYZ areas”).
Is my logo legible and can the viewer see what my business name is easily? Make sure it is not too large, or too small, and it is the pinnacle of the site. Have it mounted to the header so they see the brand on each page.
If you want to get fancy moving forward, there are services on platforms such as WordPress to A/B test website content. This might be something fun to do in the future to see how your potential clients respond to your website variations. Another awesome tool that's out there is called HotJar and it essentially tracks with a heat map how people navigate your website. After you install it, it then sends you videos of how people use your site. It's amazing what we feel people see and what they actually miss!
Email me your sites after you do your updates — can’t wait to celebrate alongside you: hello@kaleighwiese.com
P.S. Checkout my free Self Auditing PDF Guide if you haven’t already!