5 Steps to Refresh Your Website and Stay Ahead in 2024
Spring is in the air and whilst most people think of spring cleaning their homes, we’re thinking about what’s closest to our hearts as a digital agency – spring cleaning websites. Just like in the analogue world, digital is no different, and websites always need a tidy up. Redesigning a website may not be immediately on the cards, but a refresh and even a tidy up of your digital assets can give your users a lift or your traffic a boost. Let’s look at a handful of tasks that you can undertake to ensure that your web presence is fit for purpose for the rest of the year…
1. Conduct a Comprehensive Website Audit
The first task to undertake, but probably the biggest and most important, is to conduct a website and SEO audit. Take some time to look through your organisation’s website and conduct a thorough review. Whether you do this manually, use a tool, like Semrush, or a combination of both – you can unearth some interesting insights into your site. Focus on these areas:
Target Audience & Customer Journey
Focus on your audience’s needs, their expectations, and look at your website navigation flow. Put aside time for yourself and your sales and marketing teams to conduct some useful and critical user testing so that you can identify any “pain points” in user flow and optimize the user journey.
Content
Review your website content for relevancy and accuracy. Look for old content that can be refreshed and brought up-to-date, and plan to revise old pages or create new content. Remember to audit your content so that you’re still showing your experience, and expertise, plus demonstrating your authoritativeness and clients’ trust in your business. Also look at SEO best practice and see if you need to update the backend of all your content too. Make sure that you’re providing your viewers with useful content that is comprehensive and informs or entertains.
Performance
Whilst you’re taking a good look at your site, evaluate website speed, gauge its mobile responsiveness, and test its accessibility. Even if you conducted a thorough audit last year, things may have been modified or updated and could do with further attention. Get your web developer to work on the technical aspects of the website so that you’re utilising everything from a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to sever and browser caching techniques.
Traffic & Leads
Remember to review your website traffic sources, conversion rates, and lead generation effectiveness. Use all your analytics tools to identify areas for improvement. Take a look at your GA4 and Google Search Console (GSC) data, plus any other systems that will have measured behaviour such as your internal CRM, CRO tools, or heatmaps and even phone records.
2. Prioritize the Mobile Experience
These days typically over 50% of web traffic comes from mobile phones. Ensure your website looks and functions flawlessly across all devices, and make sure that mobile navigation is easy and accurate. Review your website’s responsive design and if you’ve not done this before, consider a dedicated mobile version for that seamless user experience.
3. Leverage Social Proof & Community Building
Are you making best use of social media sharing buttons and encourage user-generated content? Remember to showcase your glowing testimonials, share client case studies, and bring positive reviews upfront to build trust and credibility. Remember to engage your audience through regular blog posts, social media interaction, and email marketing to create a loyal community.
4. Prioritize Website Security & Accessibility
Implement robust security measures to protect user data and prevent cyberattacks. Ensure your website is accessible to users with disabilities, complying with WCAG guidelines. A secure and accessible website fosters trust and inclusivity, enhancing the overall user experience.
5. Continuously Analyse & Adapt
Regularly monitor your website analytics, and user feedback to identify areas for improvement. Keep abreast of industry trends so that you can stay ahead of the curve by adapting your website based on data-driven insights. Remember that your company website is your digital storefront – you need to make it inviting, informative, and adaptable so that it can adjust to the evolving world of digital.
Conclusion
There’s a lot of work to be done in spring cleaning any website. Even an audit of design, SEO, and content can be a time-consuming task. That’s where professional assistance from a digital agency like Clever Marketing is worth its weight in gold. With our many years of experience in digital, our team of experts, and their access to the latest tools and techniques, we can identify all the issues in any website, and draw up a digital strategy to help it perform better than it did last year. We can even conduct a thorough digital marketing review so that, when your website is refreshed, you can run ever more efficient and effective digital marketing campaigns.
For a spring clean of your website, a website redesign, an audit, or a new digital strategy, just get in touch with us and we’ll be please to help out. Call Clever Marketing on 01276 402 381 or complete the simple contact form.
