While I haven’t seen this supposed unseasonably warm weather that is going around, yesterday was officially the beginning of spring. And with spring comes the big spring clean – dumping out all the stuff we don’t need or use from our closets and kitchens.
I love the feeling of clearing out the deadwood, and leaving space for the anew. Honestly, I just like having some breathing room.
But have you considered giving your website a bit of a spring clean?
Shaker brooms. You know, the ones that last forever.
A 7 Point Checklist for Spring Cleaning Your Website
A spring clean for your website can easily be finished in less than a day; a few hours, if you’ve got yourself organized (and you’re able to make most of the tweaks yourself, or have your IT folks on the line).
I’ve looked through my notes of the last few website critiques that I have personally done, and rounded up 10 easy things you can check on your own site. Do you pass this 7 point checklist?
- Check your copyright line. Nothing says “we just don’t care” than a website that says “Copyright 2008.” Yes, people do notice that stuff.
- Freshen up your media page. You’ve got a media page, right? Press releases, founder headshots, bio, how bloggers and writers can get in touch for interviews…
- Slim down your menu. Menus are the most common place for website bloat; they’re like that drawer in your office that always gets stuffed with junk. Less is more!
- Write some blog posts. Fresh blog posts are good for social media, good for SEO… are you keeping the blog updated regularly?
- Double-check event calendars and prices. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught something on a client site that was weeks, or months, out of date.
- Get some fresh pictures up. Tidy up those out of date photo galleries, get some new staff/team photos up. Ask your colleagues, maybe someone has taken a photo recently that will really make the site “pop.”
- Do a quick analytics review of the last year. I also advice looking at analytics over the longer term, so fire up that stats program you have and look around. (You might need my analytics jargon explained post.) What’s popular? What’s NOT popular? Why?
The idea here is that you don’t need to spend all day writing blog posts, updating media pages, or reviewing stats. Close down Twitter (yes, I just said close Twitter down), put your phone on silent, and focus on identifying tweaks. The path to more effective websites is made of small steps, not giant leaps.
Need More Help?
Want a hand in getting a deep spring clean that will help you make more sales with your website? Then check out my handy website critique. It is fast, focused, and great value.