Your website is oftentimes your customers’ first impression of your brand or business. And further, as we’ve moved into a mobile-first world, how your site is viewed on a mobile device is often at the crux of how your brand is perceived. That said, you definitely want to be sure that your site is up-to-date, engaging, and user-friendly.
To get your site upgraded doesn’t mean a complete revamp, and in certain cases simply focusing on these five things could give your site a big boost:
1) Does your website link to your social media platforms? Forbes did a study showing that over 75% of consumers are influenced in their purchasing by the social media posts of the business. Social media gains conversions to your site through engagement, conversations, and quality content. In many cases, social is like a ‘gateway drug’ to your website – users read a blog, love what they see, click through to your site. Be sure to connect these platforms to your site so that you can streamline that traffic, building your brand and community.
2) Is your website mobile friendly? If your website currently is not mobile-friendly, or it doesn’t load well when displaying the mobile version, you could be missing out on a TON of traffic. More and more users are using their smartphones and they expect that your site will be mobile-ready – you must provide that to them.
3) Is your website user friendly? Once users are on your website, if they cannot figure how to navigate through it they will quickly be doing two things, (1) stopping use and leaving the site, and (2) never returning. Review what information your users will be looking for, consider the order in which they will be accessing, and do an overview of the page to see that it is both aesthetically pleasing while being fully functional.
4) Does your site load slowly? If your website takes even a few seconds to load, users will be leaving the site just a few seconds after that. Your site (and it’s pages) should load within 2 seconds.
5) Does your site encourage interaction? Your website cannot be a boring newsletter or an online brochure – users want more than just text and a few pictures. Users want to get to know you, the brand, and the business. It’s an act of relationship building, and users want to be able to engage and interact even before they look to see what service or product you’re selling.
