“New Year, New Me” Website Checklist Edition
It’s that time of year again, the gym is packed with people chasing after their New Year’s Resolutions, dinner plates with smaller portions and healthier options, smiles instead of grimaces to push out that new positive attitude. New routines, new regimens, all in the effort for betterment.
Your online persona is no different. Visual impressions, security, and content are items that should be addressed regularly to ensure visitors to your website are getting the best experience – and just as importantly, that they maintain a good representation of what your business is all about – and a new year is a new start to address any outstanding issues and get your business online persona up to date!
Visualization and Modernization
Web design, like most forms of marketing and advertising, has phases and trends. Keeping up to date with these trends can let potential clientele know your business is aware of the current market-state, that you’re modern and keeping up with the times, where-as a dated website can leave them with the impression that you are falling behind – or that you simply don’t care about the front-facing online branding that may be their very first interaction with your business.
“You only get one chance to make a first impression.”
Make it a good one! Think of your websites’ design as the outfit you wear to meet a client for the first time – make a good impression.
Up To Date Content
The information visitors (potential customers and clients) get from your website can help them in making their decision to work with you. When a potential customer visits your site for the first time, it’s vitally important they not only find the information they’re looking for, but they find it quickly, and that the information is correct and current. Over the course of the year, businesses change, services improve, products are updated – are your customers able to find this information quickly? Are they aware of your new offers, your new products, new ways that you can assist them? A content review can assess whether or not your website is a help or a hindrance.
Up To Date Software
Over the course of the year, many software developers update and improve their software. Browsers change, servers change, CMS’s change. Very often, all of these services trigger changes required by the others. An update to Google Chrome or Firefox may cause an element on your website to render incorrectly – leaving your website in what appears to be a broken state. This past year saw a new version release for WordPress – now upgraded to 5.0 (titled Gutenberg) – this new version has some wild changes that can alter your sites functionality and appearance drastically. Plugins change and adapt over time to provide better functionality – and it’s important to stay on top of these updates to ensure your site is running smoothly and efficiently. Load time is an important factor in Google SERPs (search engine result pages) – outdated software can cause hiccups or glitches that could negatively affect your score, lowering your rank, resulting in fewer business opportunities.
Security
Outdated software can put you in a vulnerable situation. Security vulnerabilities are discovered daily, and most software developers work hard to close them – to keep their software safe and secure for use. Failing to perform backend upgrades and servicing can leave your site open to attack or allow for data breaches. Closing loopholes, security breaches, and even setting up a security system for the first is something all website owners should look into. Having an SSL certificate on your site, while not required in the past (although always a good idea), is practically a requirement now for solid ranking in SERPs – and it instills a sense of trust in your clients that they know, if they share information with you (via a CMS or even a contact form), that that information is safe and secure, and that they know their data and information is safe with you.
Directory and Search Assistant Listing
Get found everywhere consumers search.
Google. Google Maps. Apple Maps. Facebook. Bing. Yahoo. Yelp. It doesn’t matter which map, app, voice search tool, digital assistant, search engine, GPS system, or social network consumers use to find and engage with your business. What matters is that they discover accurate, complete, and compelling information at every turn. Use our Business Listing Scan to see if you’re listed.
Yellowfin’s Business Listings puts you in control of the facts about your business across 100+ digital services globally. Our direct integrations put you in definitive control of how your business listings appear — everywhere customers search.
“New Year, New Website”
An online audit of your current website services can help you provide a better experience for your current customers and your potential customers. So, put your site on a diet, send it to the gym, and put a new smile on it. “New Year, New Me”.
If you want to know more or have a discussion about your current business website, please feel free to contact us.
