A website has become the most important tool for a business. So it makes sense that you are continually investing in this asset. And with the end of financial year fast approaching, now is the perfect time to take a look at the health of your online presence.
This can be done simply by asking yourself the following questions:
- Is my website modern and mobile friendly, offering a clear and optimal user experience?
- Is my website regularly maintained, and up to date with the latest security and compatibility?
- Does my website show up on Google for keywords relating to the products or services you offer?
- Do I know how my website is performing in terms of visitor traffic and keyword rankings?
If you answered no to any of these, don’t panic, but read on. An inadequate or under-performing website can not only jeopardise your potential sales but hurt your brand as a whole.
Upgrading Your Website
The web is a fast moving beast and for your business to succeed online you need to keep up.
It is recommended that your website is upgraded at least every 3 years. With new technologies and designs coming out all the time, a site can look dated very quickly.
Currently, around one third of business websites are still not “mobile responsive” meaning they do not display optimally on phones and tablets. This provides a poor experience to users on the move.
Studies have shown that more than 55% of all internet browsing is now done on a mobile device rather than a PC. So if you’re site isn’t mobile responsive, you are missing out on a LOT of potential customers!
You can’t change the way people are consuming websites but you CAN redesign your website so that it looks awesome and offers a flawless user experience (UX) both on desktops and mobile devices.
Maintaining Your Website
Much like a car needs regular servicing to perform optimally, so does a website.
Pretty much all websites these days are built using a content management system such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. These are very powerful frameworks, allowing you to update your site without any design or programming skills and providing lots of great features, via themes and plugins.
All these “moving parts” require ongoing attention though, and regularly have new software releases, which are made available to ensure maximum functionality of the website.
It is strongly recommended that these updates are installed on your website in a timely manner, to ensure:
- high levels of security are continually maintained
- any bugs and technical issues with past versions are resolved
- new features and functionality are integrated
- your website remains compatible with the latest web browsers and hosting servers
We offer a monthly website care plan to take care of all this for you and keep your website software up to date. This includes WordPress itself, your website theme, and all your plugins. As part of this care plan we also include a full backup of your website files and database each quarter.
So if there is ever an issue with your website we have a recent version that we can reinstate for you. Each website care plan also allows free updates to your content each month.
Recently we received news that a security release had just been made available that dealt with a WordPress vulnerability, and there is a strong recommendation to update to the latest version immediately.
So now more than ever it’s important to have a strategy in place to ensure your website is always fully up to date.
Optimising Your Website
Having a fantastic looking website but not marketing it is like buying a $300,000 sports car and leaving it parked in the garage.
Building a website is just the beginning when it comes to building a successful online presence. In this day and age, it is crucial to appear prominently on Google for keywords relating to your products and services. That’s where SEO comes in.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and involves an array of strategies to ensure that Google sees your website as both relevant and important.
People are no longer using Yellow Pages to look for goods and services. They simply “Google” it.
Investing in SEO puts your business in front of people who are actively looking for the products and services that you offer. It is highly targeted, and the amounts of potential customers are higher than most other mediums.
Thus if aren’t investing in an SEO campaign for your business, you are falling behind.
Analysing your Website
If you don’t track, how can you plan an attack?
There is so much data available online today and it’s amazing how many businesses are not using ANY of it! Tracking can show you how many visitors your website receives each month, how many of these come from search engines, social media and other avenues, and where your website ranks for your important keywords.
Regular reporting will clearly lay this information out, and allow you to:
- measure the success of any strategies you have implemented so far
- compare your online standing to that of your competitors
- gain insight into areas you can enhance and improve
- help influence the marketing decisions you make moving forward
If you plan on being in business for the long haul, realising that your website is the cornerstone to success both now and in the future, is crucial. Investing in upgrading, maintaining, optimising and analysing your website will future proof your business, and help your brand continue to grow.
Call Elliot on 0413 334 699 to find out more.
