How is Your Online Score?
Here’s the Top Ten List.
When it comes to your company’s website, there’s a lot to keep track of to ensure it’s delivering the best possible online experience. Check out this top ten checklist and get actionable tips to help you prioritize the aspects of your web presence that will deliver the most value to your site visitors — and your bottom line!
1. Security
Never underestimate the importance of your site’s security. Especially if you take payments on your site as that means you’re also charged with protecting customers’ financial data. From ensuring you have an SSL certificate to running regular backups to implementing professional-level malware protection, keeping your site secure requires technical knowledge and an understanding of ever-changing best practices.
2. Mobile-friendly and Responsive
With over 50% of all website traffic coming from mobile devices (Statista), having a site that performs well on a mobile device is a must. Today, most modern websites are responsive — meaning they are built to respond and deliver an optimal experience for that screen size — from desktop monitors to mobile phones and everything in between. If you don’t have a site that’s mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a lot of leads.
3. ADA Compliant
ADA compliance on your website isn’t just nice to have — it’s the law. Today your website’s user interface needs to support users with visual and other impairments so they can access your site and its content. With more than 61 million Americans having some type of disability (CDC), it’s essential to understand accessibility guidelines and ensure you are in compliance.
4. Use Your Domain’s Email
You might think using @gmail or another generic email might seem like an easy solution, but it affects your business credibility. In fact, personal email addresses make 33% of customers doubt a business trustworthiness and another 24% are concerned about sharing personal information. (GoDaddy) Having a domain-based email that matches your website inspires confidence and is just good business.
5. Tracking
The beauty of the web is that everything about it is trackable. Every site visit. Every bounce. Every click. Every conversion. To have access to that data means first ensuring your site has analytics set up. If you don’t have Google Analytics set up, that’s the first step. If you do, it’s time to use all that data to make decisions about how to optimize your site and get more customers.
6. Secure Forms with CAPTCHA
Online forms are the primary way site visitors convert online. From signing up for your eNewsletter to submitting a “Contact Us” inquiry, forms are a top way to capture leads. Not only do you have to ensure your site offers forms, you also have to keep those forms protected. One way is to add CAPTCHA to your forms – a program that helps distinguish humans from machines or bots trying to spam your forms.
7. Clear and Concise Calls-to-action (CTA)
Your website is likely the hub of your marketing efforts — with even offline advertising pointing back to your website. That’s why it’s critical to have compelling CTAs on your site so you can fill your marketing funnel with leads. Call-to-action buttons are a key element on websites — from “Shop Here” on your homepage to “Sign Me Up” for an eNewsletter, the CTA button puts site visitors on a path to becoming customers.
8. Fresh Content
Content is essential to engaging visitors once they land on a page. It also helps your site rank well in search engines. The key to both is writing fresh, authentic content aimed at answering your site visitors’ top questions. That makes visitors happy and makes Google happy, helping get your site ranked higher in search results. Fresh is also key — have a plan to update and deliver new content regularly.
9. Maintaining Software Upgrades
Keeping software and plug-ins up-to-date, especially with WordPress sites, can be burdensome for small businesses. It’s important to maintain updates and upgrades to ensure your site has the latest features, but also so that any security issues get patched. Often the maintenance has to be done manually, so make sure this is on your to-do list or that someone is monitoring the technical aspects of your site.
10. Site Speed
When it comes to the web, speed equals revenue. Don’t take our word for it — according to Google, if it takes more than three seconds for a page to load, over half of your visitors will leave. Not to mention Google uses site speed as a ranking factor for search engine optimization, so slows sites rank lower in search results, which also impacts revenue.
How Did You Score?
Out of those top ten areas of focus, how did your efforts stack up? It’s almost impossible for small and mid-sized business owners to keep track of all those moving parts, so if you find there are areas you need help with, contact inConcert Web Solutions. Our expert team has the technical know-how to keep your site secure and in compliance as well as the creativity to deliver content and calls-to-action that convert.
Receive curated tips and practical guidance to improve your digital presence and build your brand.