After exploring different topics for this month’s post, I came across a few articles on tips of how to improve your website. With fall weather approaching and the leaves changing, what better time to turn over a new leaf!
I could give you a list of 25 tips that could help improve your website, but I think that would be overwhelming. Plus, I thought it may be more exciting to get the point of view from our web experts, so I asked them, “What is one tip our clients could use to improve their website - what is the most common issue you see?” Each response was different, and specific to the area in which they are proficient. Here are some of their responses:
“The key for today’s user is to consider making a conversion to responsive. We are seeing a huge increase in mobile traffic, and many clients still have older sites that don’t support a mobile/tablet user experience. If more clients make that advancement it would absolutely affect their bottom line in a positive way. This would also help with their SEO, since the major search engines are dinging a site’s SEO rankings if your site isn’t responsive.” – Senior Management
“Organize your navigation and categories into effective ‘call to actions’. I often see the addition of so much information on a site that it gets cluttered and overpowering. Take a step back and make sure that it really makes sense to your business.” – Account Manager
“One tip I would give clients is to think like a user when building a site or new functionality within the site. Sometimes something that makes sense to you doesn’t always relay to the layman user. You can do this by thinking ‘outside the organization’, perform usability studies or focus groups, and have these users confirm you’re meeting your business objectives.” – Project Manager
“After a site launches, some websites are quickly neglected. A website is a living thing, and needs to be worked on constantly. Find out who your target audience is and utilize strategic messaging to capture that specific audience. Don’t try to reach everyone.” - Strategist
“Keep your content fresh and up-to-date.” – SEO/AB Tester
“By nature we’re visual learners so no matter how well something is written, it’s sometimes difficult to interpret the words of someone else. As a programmer, something as simple as a screen shot with an issue can be helpful in recreating the issue and quickly remedying it. Also, for new functionality, an outline of what’s expected can cut down on guessing and work can be completed faster. The more specifics provided, the more efficient the process becomes.” - Programmer
Personally, my tip would be to incorporate a 5 second rule. This means making sure your most important business objective is conveyed the first 5 seconds a user is on your website. Users get bored quickly and navigate away, so it’s important to get your point across early in their web session.
Contact your Account Manager or Project Managers today to learn how you can turn over a new leaf with your online initiatives!
