Fall is in the air and, we don’t know about you, but we’re ready for a change! Nothing huge, mind you, but more of a refresh – in life and in business. There’s something about a change in season that helps shift your perspective, allowing you to focus your energy and attention on different priorities. Maybe you’re swapping out the decor in your home, or the clothes in your closet. Perhaps you’re trading your sun umbrella and beach chairs for a cozy fire pit, instead. Whatever it is that you do to get ready for the transition of summer to fall, we advise our clients to put that same energy – and new perspective – towards their website.
Whether you designed your website in house or hired professionals to do it for you, it’s never a one-and-done task. Refreshing your website from time to time is good for business. According to a recent Stanford University study, 75% of users make a decision about a company’s credibility based on their website. Your website is your first impression to a future client. And, like any first impression, you want to look your best! Luckily, there are ways to ensure your website is putting your best foot forward. Follow these six easy steps for a website refresh and get your site looking its best for the coming season.
Refresh vs. Rebranding. What’s the Difference?
Maybe you’ve been considering a website refresh for a while. Or maybe the need has never crossed your mind until now. Often we get asked what the difference is between a brand refresh and a rebrand. The short answer is that a refresh can be accomplished with small updates such as a change of color, some new photos, videos, and the like, without making a shift in the foundation of your brand building blocks. The rebranding process, however, is much more involved, takes longer to achieve, and, for a website, often involves technical reconfigurations such as switching hosting sites. (For the purpose of this blog post, we’re going to focus on the refresh process, but if you are considering a rebrand, don’t hesitate to reach out through our website.)
SixStep Website Check-Up
Follow these six easy steps for a website refresh that gets your site looking (and performing) its best.
1. Check your positioning.
First thing’s first: does your positioning statement properly reflect your business today? If the answer is not really (or not at all), then you need to address that. If you’ve changed how you do business, who you serve, or what you offer then you should clearly state that on your website. Being transparent with your audience is the first step in building a trusted relationship and successful brand recognition.
2. Clean out the old and bring in the new.
Do you have former employees still listed on your team page? Have there been title changes in the ranks? Do you have a new office address? What about outdated events you’ve hosted or promotions you’ve advertised on your site? Keeping your page’s content up to date is a vital part of your refresh checklist. If you invite people to an event on your site that happened five months ago, people will think you are disengaged and not reliable. Also, outdated content can hurt your organic search performance and negatively affect your search ranking.
3. Give it a fresh polish.
After fixing any outdated information, it’s time to spruce things up. Consider changing out images or updating your headerfont to give your website a fresh, new look. A change in color palette – that complements your existing brand – can offer a breath of fresh air too. New facts about your organization, updated case studies, infographics, videos, or other relevant content can provide a nice boost to web traffic from areas like social media, blogs, or other content sharing locations (e.g., newsletters) that may not have seen the information before.
4. Improve the user experience.
Don’t lose potential new business because your website isn’t user friendly. Making pertinent information easily accessible with clear navigation is a must. You’ll also want to check for broken links and make sure that document downloads work. When possible, links should also open in a new page instead of taking the user away from your website. And don’t forget your calls to action. Provide users with an easy way to follow you on social or keep in touch with your newsletter.
5. Do preventative maintenance.
This part takes a little more attention but helps ensure your site is functioning properly. Most technical issues you’ll encounter are obvious – like the site not loading correctly or looking different than intended, such as images not appearing on the page or links not working as they should. To avoid issues such as these, we suggest making preventative web maintenance part of your routine. Things to check for include: plug-ins are up to date, spam protection is activated, SSL certificates are valid, proper website monitoring, and ensure you have proper website security in place. It’s also important to have a site back-up in case any of these preventative measures lapse and you need to restore your site.
6. Get organized.
Posting consistent content to your social media pages is a great way to draw people back to your website. If you haven’t already, make sure to set up a content schedule to keep your social media plan organized. Having the visual aid will help you strategize your approach, ensure you’re not posting duplicates, and will simply help you to remember to post on a regular basis. Some social media scheduling programs offer analytics on the best days/times to post for your audience and will let you input numerous posts at once and schedule them for different days, times, and platforms. The purpose of a strong social media presence is to stay top-of-mind with your clientele. A steady flow of content keeps you in their thoughts, and helps them get a better sense of your brand personality and what you have to offer. Ideally, your content will also help convert views to clicks, engaging people to visit your site and check out everything you have going on!
Change isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard either! Keeping your website current with a few of these simple steps can make it feel fresh and new again. It can also help improve your search rankings – in turn leading to more potential business! But if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process we’re here to help. Reach out to insight180 to schedule a call about your website refresh needs today.
