Top Things for Your Website and Changes to Consider on a Yearly Basis

In business, presentation is everything. There’s a reason you look your best in an interview or a sales pitch. You’d never let your shop or office be overrun by dirt or clutter. No one wants an outdated or ugly logo. Every year you update your wardrobe, give the office or store a facelift and reexamine your branding — why should your website be any different. It may be the number one part of your business your customers interact with.

The Digital Storefront to Your Business

Your website is your digital storefront. It’s your clients’ or customers’ first impression of you. It’s a member of your sales team. It’s one of your most valuable marketing tools. It’s not meant to just sit there on the internet collecting dust. The internet changes regularly, as does your target audience and how they interact with websites. It’s important to keep your website up-to-date with relevant information and current technology to continue to support your business goals.

At Happy Medium, I manage a small team and have regular one-on-ones with every department lead. We talk about what’s going on in their department, what goals they have and what I can do to help. This helps me keep up on what’s going on in the company, reenergizes the team and focuses us all in the same direction. I’m not saying you should start talking to your website, but there’s no reason you can’t check in on it in the same way. As your website is part of your sales team, you should absolutely treat it accordingly. Have you ever said anything like this about your website: “I just wish it did X,” or “One day, the website will do Y,” or “Ugh, the website is so frustrating!” Now, would you accept that from a team member? “I just wish Karen did X.” “One day, Peter will do Y.” “Argh, Jim is so frustrating!” Of course not, you’d talk to your employee and find a solution. It has to be the same with your website because just like everybody else, your site has goals and expectations and if it doesn’t meet them, it’s time to make a change.

What Do You Want Your Website to Accomplish?

Just as you wouldn’t hire an employee and leave them alone for a year, there are several things you should do each trip around the sun to make sure your website is performing the way it should for your business. The first is to assess the goals of the site. What do you want it to do? Should it drive sales? Phone calls? Simply give your business credibility? Finding out what you want your website to accomplish every year is of paramount importance, and those goals may change so it’s good to reassess regularly.

Does your website reflect who you are? Is it a digital extension of your company? Does it look like you, sound like you, behave like you? At Happy Medium, we treat websites as living entities, as real as any employee, and we know that websites have personalities. Does yours match your business’?

Have there been any changes in your industry or on the internet that should be reflected in your site? Are you out-of-date? Are you responsive or mobile-friendly? Are you ranking on search engines where you should? This process requires a lot of questions but finding answers lets you know that your website is doing what it should — supporting your business. You spend time and energy managing your employees, this one just comes with a URL address.

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