Website tech and trends are constantly on the move, making small business owners often play catch up. Instead of feeling behind, you should take an active part of your website maintenance. Even little changes, such as an image replacement, can go a long way to keeping your clients’ interest.
As a busy small business owner, we know you’re short on time. That’s why we have three tips for you to keep your site fresh on a short time budget.
Users take 0.05 seconds to make a first impression of a website. Visuals play a key part of catching a client’s eye. If you don’t have time to make big updates to your site, go straight to the visuals. Search for splashy copyright-free images to replace old ones. Your site will keep a fresh look without you sinking too much time into it.
Chances are your old content is excellent, but let’s be honest: nobody reads it. You can spark interest in a client by recycling this content. There are a couple good ways to do this. 1) Link to old pages wherever relevant on your site. 2) Add “related content” suggestion bars on all your site pages to drive your clients there. 3) Send out social posts with direct links to this old content. Of course, you should check beforehand that the content doesn’t read outdated, but most content can be reused with little to no editing.
No matter how little time you’ve got, you should always keep the user in mind. Try to schedule improvements to your site related to user experience. For example, reorganize the sitemap, add useful navigation elements, update your CMS version for faster load time and/or edit your copy for better SEO. Your site should always stay user-friendly and the best way to do this is to make sure you’re doing at least one user-related update per month. A fresh website is always one that’s easy to use.
Need more ideas for keeping your website fresh and relevant? You can also:
Client testimonials are easy to get and look great on the page. Even getting 3-5 could bring that extra pop to your site.
Having a company news section is an excellent way to showcase your accomplishments and industry. Simply linking articles that mention your company could be of interest to clients.
Ultimately, your website will only stay fresh if you make the effort to continually improve it. Luckily, these quick-and-easy ideas don’t take up much time, but they’ll keep your site nice and new.
Don’t even have a minute to spare? Contact us for a full website refresh.
Are you considering a website redesign? We have compiled our top 21 tips for a successful website redesign. They are easy to understand and include videos, links, lists, and examples to guide you.