Is it time to update your website?

We’re all aware that the World Wide Web is one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business and for this reason, it is becoming more important that you update your website to keep it relevant, fast and safe.

 

Trends in web design change almost daily, so it’s becoming increasingly vital that businesses keep up with the pace. Regular design updates can actually save you money. It’s not about “keeping up with the competition”, but rather keeping up with web standards.

Additionally, search engines like Google are constantly updating their algorithms to provide the best search results. Updating your website and SEO capabilities to best address these updates is critical to maintaining your site’s ranking.

The checklist below is designed to help you to assess the functionality and effectiveness of your website:

1. Visual Appeal

Ensuring that your website it Visually appealing is a key to attract attention and engaging visitors when they visit your website. We’re all guilty of judging a book by its cover and if we’re honest, we always prefer an attractive design.

Julia Charles WordPress website, combined award-winning visual design as well as agreed technical requirements to ensure the website not only looks beautiful across any device but is accessible to as many users as possible.

2. Security

Being secure in the online world becomes more and more important every day and it’s increasingly important to protect your website and the data it holds now. It is crucial to keep all platforms or scripts up-to-date. It is important to maintain and update every software product you use.

3. Content

Good content is what sets your website apart from the masses and delivers the right message into the hearts and minds of your customers. The success of your website is determined primarily by its content.

4. Effectiveness

Tracking analytics over time will give you valuable insights and allow you to capitalise on opportunities and track improvements.

Key areas to monitor are:

  • Overall Traffic
  • Organic Traffic
  • Bounce Rates
  • Average time on site
  • Page journeys per visit
  • Conversions
  • Keyword rankings
  • Website speed
  • Link functionality

 

5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

A beautiful and functional website is a great tool, but if your potential customers are not able to find you with their search terms, you’ll be left behind. VI uses industry recognised tools and processes to review, optimise and ultimately improve or maintain rankings.

6. Usability

One of the most important website developments at present is ensuring your site is fully responsive on all devices. Implementing a fluid width mobile-first design is now crucial with more and more users browsing whilst on-the-move. Potential customers expect to be able to find exactly what they’re looking for easily and with as few clicks as possible.

7. Load Times

According to research, the majority of visitors expect a website to load in less than 2 seconds and many will leave a website if the loading process takes more than 3 seconds!