Traditionally, the early part of the year is slow, so it’s a great time to re-evaluate your marketing activities and sort them into: “working well”, “needs some attention” and “bin it”! Your website design could well be something you are thinking about updating, but how to you know if it really is past it? And what to do about it?
Here’s some pointers that might help you in this process.
Is your current website design mobile friendly?
Having a responsive website is absolutely non-negotiable today, especially if you are targeting the consumer market – read our blog article about Mobile Friendly Website Design.
Does your current site use flash?
Flash is outdated web technology and as its not supported by most handheld devices and this will alienate a big part of your target market.
How long does your site take to load?
If the site uses older code, it may be too slow for both your visitors and Google. Visitors now insist on quick page loads or they will bounce, and Google will actively penalise you in search results if your site is too slow to load.
Can you create and edit content yourself?
Or are you relying on an expensive web design agency who handle maintenance for you? Good content management systems are universally available now, and with no techie expertise you can keep your content up to date and relevant.
OK, the website design is tired, what next?
Trends in Website Design
There is a current trend, driven by mobile, for long scrolling pages, with hero sliders and parallax feature strips. While this type of web design works well for mobile, it can be tiresome on a PC. Be aware of your target market. Are they predominantly desktop users or mobile visitors? Your Google Analytics will tell you this split – if your audience is mobile oriented then consider a design that’s better for mobile. If not, specify the new design must cater for desktop users.
Content is King
The content on the website is as important as the design and build. Content needs to be engaging and informative – it provides value to your visitors and Google is expecting it. Also content needs to be updated regularly. Read our blog about the importance of content marketing
Think about what you want your visitors to do – and ask them to do it. Web content needs to convert, and needs to include clear ‘calls to action’. Simple online brochure websites have really had their day. Align your website design and content to your business goals and generate proper value from the investment.
Make site the website is properly optimised for the Search Engines – Google. Good, structured SEO will help the search engines find and index your website for keywords relevant to your business’ products and services.
Google Analytics is an essential tool for every website and is free. Its important to track the performance of your website relative to other marketing activity. You can track visitors, who they are where they come from, measure ROI from pay per click, track activity from social media marketing.
Google Webmaster Tools is also a really useful tool and provides you with extensive reports about your websites visibility online.
And lastly make sure that you capture emails of visitors, so you can engage with them in future, and to share all your new content, news, and blogs on relevant social media.
Read our blog and learn seven more ways to make a success our of your new website design
