You Might Need A New Website If...
I am going to let you in on a little secret. My face doesn't lie. I am working on it and luckily I have friends who remind me to, "check your face," but no matter how hard I try, my face doesn't lie.
What does this have to do with your website?
Lately, we have received a lot of calls from people asking us to review their websites. I am so happy when I look at one and can give it a thumbs up or at least leave them with a small handful of corrections to be made.
Unfortunately, that is not often the case. Too often, I am left shaking my head and trying to hide the "Oh, sweetie," that is written all over my face. The truth is, most business owners have not put a lot of thought into their website. They are busy running a business. We understand that.
A good website doesn't take a lot of work or even a lot of money, but it does take at least a little bit of thought and a consistent TLC.
You might need a new website if:
Your website is not mobile-friendly.
The number one reason to replace your website is to make it mobile-friendly.
In 2018, Google stopped ranking websites that are not mobile friendly. They simply will not show your website in a Google search if you haven't upgraded to a mobile site.
If your website is not mobile friendly, stop reading this now and give us a call - (443) 679-4916 Let's get started on your new site today.
You don't have a goal in mind.
A good website doesn't take a lot of work or even a lot of money, but it does take at least a little bit of thought.
Start with a goal. What do you want people to get from your website? Is it just a placeholder or a brochure? Do you want people to sign up for quotes? Do you want to educate your customers before they call you? Do you want to show off your expertise or showcase your work?
You didn't hire a copywriter.
Don't be embarrassed if you didn't hire a copywriter the first time around. Most people don't. But that's why, on most websites customers are left wondering, "What does this company do?" A good copywriter will:
Explain your company's mission, history and services in a way that is clear and concise,
Weave SEO-friendly keywords into the copy to attract the attention of search engines such as Google and Bing,
Tell your story in a way that leads your customers from one page to the next until they are ready to give you a call or press that button for a quote.
You haven't thought about user experience.
Small business owners often try to cram everything and the kitchen sink onto the front page of their website without any concern for the reader's experience.
A good website makes it easy for a customer to find what they are looking for. It is important to have a lot of white space on a website. Paragraphs should be divided by insightful headers that allow readers to skim your site to find just what they are looking for.
Customers have no patience. They want to find what they want right away or they will go to another website. That's one of the reasons you want to make it easy to call your business, get directions or request a quote. If they have to hunt for these buttons or links, they will leave your site.
Your website is too small.
Search engines are looking for robust websites of ten or more pages. They want to refer people to sites that are actually helpful. Search engines are most likely to show websites that have 10 or more pages.
We encourage our clients to have:
A Home Page
An About Page
A Team Page
Service Pages (one for each service)
A Gallery
A Reviews Page
A Contact Us Page
and a Blog
You haven't touched or thought about your website in a year.
Again, we are trying to appease the search engines here. Search engines are designed to send people to the most up-to-date websites. One of the easiest ways to make sure you are constantly touching your website is to add a blog.
Add a new blog to your site weekly and you will be amazed at how quickly you move up in ranking. Not to mention how much more content you will have to share with your customers on social media.
Learn more about the benefits of blogging .
You have not updated your website in 5 years.
Websites have changed considerably in the past 5 years. They have become mobile, much sexier and easier to navigate. Best of all, they have become less expensive to build. If you have not updated your website in the past 5 years, let us have a look at your site and let you know whether it's time for a rebuild or just a refresh.