Website Optimization Made Easy: 5 DIY Fixes for Improved Performance
Times are getting tough and a little uncertain for a lot of people. When uncertainty arises, my go-to tactic is to control what I can control. This usually means some website or marketing TLC. So let’s tackle both.
Don’t worry! We’ll keep it simple and stress free!
Recently I heard a great and timely analogy: no matter what industry - whether service or product - you are the the business of selling.
In order to do this, most of us need our websites to be operating at a very high level of efficiency.
It is your business liferaft and you can't afford for it to not be working for you at maximum capacity. I know we all hate tech and it’s not your fun idea of a weeknight in, but you can do this! We believe in playing the long game; by making small changes each day or week that add up to big results. So let’s tighten our belts, put on those iffy blue light glasses (do they work or is it sham? Jury is out) and hydrate.
We have website adjustments to make!
Website Update #1: Tracking Progress: Analyzing Website Metrics for Smarter Updates
Analytics are scary for a lot of people. But ultimately it's a very simple equation:
Tracking your analytics = knowledge = making smart website updates
First things, first. Set your baseline. How do you know if your website is getting more or less traffic than normal? Or if you did an opt-in that was successful? You have to track. We do ours on the first day of each month.
Then, each quarter you can review your analytics and see if you need to make any adjustments. There are so many things to look at: page views, referral sources, bounce rate, button clicks, the list goes on. So while you may not know what they mean, I encourage you to start somewhere and start establishing those baseline numbers.
Sound way out of your comfort zone? We offer web administration for Squarespace sites where handle the changes needed and track the numbers. We also offer just data tracking on it’s own if you’re skilled at the updates but not analytics. We track the metrics monthly and also review with analysis quarterly. This meeting is important because what we can do is we can look and see what the numbers are showing and the trends and patterns over time. From there, we can make optimizations and adjustments based upon what we see before any issues grow into a bigger problem.
Website Update #2: User-Centered Approach: Enhancing the Website Experience
View your site like a customer, not as yourself.
We typically view things clearly from our lens, but we're not always our best customer.
Think of it this way: Your business is like a pair of pants. They fit your Gold Star Client(GSC) perfectly! But, they may be too short for you, personally. You are not always your ideal client.
When you look at your website, think of it through the eyes of you GSC. Ask yourself: is it clear, is it compelling, does it solve the burning problems they have? Look for any obvious spots where they might want to click on a link and make sure it’s there.
There are always room for improvement to make your website journey easier to navigate. And by making those small changes, you will start to see a difference in your metrics.
Pro Tip: I don't encourage you to do this process and make changes in real time. But rather get out a sheet of paper and write down everything as it comes to you. Sometimes you can get to edit heavy and end up with a big mess to clean up! Start small, you’ve got this!
Website Update #3: Design and Branding: Elevating Visual Appeal and Consistency
Your logo needs to be in more than one place.
You have a beautiful logo, show it off! Make sure that it is not just at the top of your website. You’ll want to sprinkle it around the page in an organic way, and also put it in the footer. Another BIG whoops is when you’re missing a favicon. Nothing shouts “I’M USING A TEMPLATE” more than the little black box at the top of your browser.
Next, want consistent fonts, colors and graphics on every single page. And we don’t mean, put everything everywhere. This is something we see all the time. There’s so much graphic clutter that the user has a hard time reading the text or worse, is too overwhelmed and leaves before scrolling past your CTA.
“White space makes your content more legible while also enabling the user to focus on the elements surrounding the text.”
Although you may have a really big, beautiful color palette don’t explode color on all of the pages. It can look busy and disjointed. Our recommendation? Choose only two-three colors per page (black and white don’t count as colors here). And we also want to make sure that we are using no more than two fonts for interest that are complementary. This will help to make your page easy to read and interesting enough to keep you people on the page, without going overboard with pizzazz.
Website Update #4: Streamlined Copy: Crafting Persuasive Messaging for Impactful Engagement
Audit your copy.
Look through your website and make sure you don’t have a ton of content. You need copywriting on a website, save the content for blog posts or social media. What the difference? Glad you asked. Copywriting is persuasive and built to sell (think infomercial), while content is long form and informational (think blog post).
No one ever walked by a table at an art fair with nobody there thought ‘I should buy that!’ It takes a salesperson; it takes engagement to sell products and the same is true on your site. Displaying your products or services in a pretty way is not good enough.
Your words have to sell your product.
So do a thorough copy audit. And remember: move through your site with the lens of your customer, not the lens of you.
Website Update #5: Call to Action: Guiding Visitors to Desired Actions
We get it, asking for the sale is hard and feels very…sales-y. Yuck! BUT, the only way to make your business profitable is by booking the client, selling the product or landing the project. In order to do that, you absolutely must tell potential clients what you want them to do when they arrive on your website. Don’t wait until they get to your footer before they find a contact button, and definitely don’t rely on them clicking through to your contact page to fill out a form.
Your Call to Action (CTA) needs to be the very first thing they see when they go to your website.
Lay it out for them: what do you do, how do you do it and how can they give you money. It’s that simple. And typically the ‘how they give you money part’ is a button that takes them to your contact form, online store, webinar sign up, etc. Make it easy.
Don’t worry, you can and should lay out all the other great things you do on the homepage too, but your CTA needs to be concise and immediately viewable when people land on your website.
As we've said before, and we'll say it again, your website is never finished.
It is something that is a living thing that always needs care and attention. We are constantly making minor adjustments to our website and hope this guide can help you tackle one section at a time. Remember, small changes make for lasting impact.
If you’re getting to this part and thinking ‘there is no way’ or ‘me and technology do not get along’ Let us help you! You never have to go it alone!
