How to Spring Clean Your Website
Do you carry out a ‘spring clean’ ritual in your home? Taking the time to clear out our items that have not been used, worn or even seen the light of day in months? The same principle can be applied to your website, and the best bit is – it is usually much quicker and easier than de-cluttering your home! Here are some easy steps you can take to Spring Clean your website:
CHECK IT IS UP-TO-DATE
Step one is to make sure that all of the information on your website is up-to date. That includes contact details, members of staff, and that all products and services advertised have not been discontinued. Try to avoid adding dates, if they are not needed e.g., “Popular Activities in 2019”- even in your blog, as this can make your content look outdated even if it is still relevant.
FIX BROKEN LINKS
Working links are vital to a website; they allow people to navigate it and find what they are looking for. Step two in your Spring Clean is to ensure that all links on your website are still relevant and not broken. There are few things more off-putting to a potential client than clicking a link to find the 404 error message appear on their screen!
As well as reducing your credibility, broken and outdated links can also harm your SEO and online visibility. Checking for broken links can be handled easily with free broken link checkers available online.
CHECK MOBILE VIEWS
It is likely that a high volume of page traffic is via mobile devices, like a phone or a tablet, so make sure that your website is viewed easily on them. You can look yourself, ask others to check the mobile version of your site, or even use Google’s Mobile-friendly Test.
AUDIT YOUR CONTENT
Are you sure that the content of your website is good quality? Look at your pages and evaluate their performance: how many page views; average time spent on page etc. High-quality content brings in the most traffic, and anything that is low-quality can be disposed of. Do not dismiss average quality content as this can provide the opportunity for improvement.
INVESTIGATE YOUR ANALYTICS
Web analytics allows you to understand how well your website performs. If you have a version installed, then look into abnormalities – like unusual bounce rates, or keywords that compete with other pages. Are you getting more hits from your desktop website than your mobile? Is your content engaging enough? It is best to keep on top of your analytics regularly, rather than checking once a year, but a Spring Clean is a good time to dig deeper!
RE-DESIGN
Just like a house, websites can benefit from a regular face-lift. If you feel that your site is starting to look a bit stale in comparison to the competition, then invest in creating a whole new look. Change colour schemes, the layout or refresh the images; have a look at current trends in websites design and see what can stand the test of time.
If you’d like to speak to one of our team about how we could help give your website a spring clean, you can get in touch here. Alternatively, pick up the phone and call us on 01600 891525 – we’d love to hear from you!