Your website has many jobs: marketer, educator, information hub, salesperson, virtual storefront, retailer, as well as being a vehicle that portrays your overall brand.
Like a car, your website needs care and maintenance in order to run smoothly and continue doing its job.
It takes less than 10 seconds on your website for a potential client to have an impression of your brand and business imprinted in their mind. If it’s a positive impression, great! You are one step closer to converting that individual to a client. If it’s a negative impression, you’ll have to work 2-3 times harder to change that person’s view … if you even get the chance.
There are five aspects to consider when taking care of your website:
1. Image
2. Content
3. Navigation
4. Links
5. Compatibility
I’ll cover the first two in this blog post, and the remaining three in my next post.
1. Image – While I believe content is actually more important than looks, the visual appeal of your website is the first thing a person notices when landing on your page.
Is the overall look, color scheme, or font choice consistent with your brand? Do the images on the site align with your products or services? Are your choices attractive to your target market?
Does your website look like it was professionally done or that it was thrown together just to have a web presence? If you want to be seen as a professional and credible company, your website needs to look professional and put-together.
2. Content – The main reasons for going to a website are to gather information or to make a purchase. Thinking about information, how up-to-date is your content? Are you highlighting reports or “news” on your homepage that is months or years old? Failing to consistently update your website content looks sloppy and unprofessional. In some cases, it might make it look like you aren’t in business anymore.
Current information isn’t the only aspect to consider; your content must also be relevant to your target audience. Are they getting the information they are looking for? Is your content written in a clear manner that is easy to understand? If you are selling a product, or even a service, how persuasive is your language?
Having error-free text is also important and lends to your credibility as a professional. The odd typo can be quickly forgiven, but content laden with spelling and grammar errors is not easier forgotten.
Operating a website isn’t free and you want to make sure you’re getting a great return on your investment – along with making sure your site is helping, not hurting, your brand. One of the services I offer is conducting a website analysis. Contact me today to start getting the most out of your site.
What’s important to you when visiting a website? What elements of the site “make or break it” for you?