A website is an important piece of your business’s online presence. Having a website allows your business to be discoverable online. A professional website builds trust and credibility with your customers. An ecommerce site is a revenue generator, and you can pull valuable data from your site for analysis. Having a website is no longer enough, a GOOD website is what you need to remain competitive. If you don’t have a website (in 2021, 78% of Canadian businesses had a website ), we can help. If you do have one, we can help keep your website up-to-date and current.
We asked our in-house website expert, Blair Maki, how a business can keep their website current and up-to-date. Here are some of the strategies and best practices Blair recommends:
Regular Content Updates
- Blogging: Maintain an active blog where you publish fresh, informative, and relevant content. This can include industry news, how-to guides, tips, and other valuable information for your audience.
- Product/Service Updates: Keep product or service listings, descriptions, and prices current.
- Event and Promotion Updates: Update event calendars, special offers, and promotions as they change.
Visual and Design Updates
- Responsive Design: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and adapts well to different screen sizes and devices.
- Modern Design Elements: Periodically refresh the design to stay current with design trends and user expectations.
- High-Quality Images: Use high-quality images and graphics to enhance the visual appeal of your website.
Technical Maintenance
- Software Updates: Keep your content management system (e.g., WordPress, Drupal) and plugins/themes up to date to improve security and functionality.
- Regular Backups: Implement regular website backups to protect against data loss.
- Security: Monitor and enhance website security to protect against cyber threats.
SEO Optimization
- Keyword Research: Regularly conduct keyword research to identify trending and relevant keywords for your industry.
- On-Page SEO: Optimize on-page elements, such as meta titles, descriptions, headers, and image alt tags, to improve search engine rankings.
- Quality Backlinks: Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sources to boost your website's authority.
User Experience (UX) Improvements
- User Testing: Conduct user testing to identify areas of improvement in website navigation, functionality, and overall user experience.
- Feedback Collection: Encourage user feedback to make data-driven improvements based on user suggestions and concerns.
Content Marketing
- Social Media Integration: Promote website content on social media platforms to increase visibility and engagement.
- Email Marketing: Use email newsletters to share updates, blog posts, and promotions with your subscribers.
Analytics and Performance Monitoring
- Google Analytics: Regularly analyze website traffic data to understand user behavior and make data-driven decisions for improvement.
- Page Speed Optimization: Ensure your website loads quickly to provide a better user experience and improve search engine rankings.
Analytics and Performance Monitoring
- Google Analytics: Regularly analyze website traffic data to understand user behavior and make data-driven decisions for improvement.
- Page Speed Optimization: Ensure your website loads quickly to provide a better user experience and improve search engine rankings.
Accessibility Compliance
Ensure your website complies with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) to make it accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.Legal Compliance
Keep privacy policies, terms of service, and other legal documents up to date to comply with changing regulations.Regular Audits
Conduct periodic website audits to identify issues and areas for improvement.
