1. Utilize a CMS
There is no need to call IT when you need to make a website change. CMS’s such as WordPress and HubSpot make it incredibly easy for you to update your website content, build new pages, manage your site’s navigation, maximize your SEO, and blog. Migrating your website to a CMS is not as scary as you may think. If you’re not there yet, it’s time to make the change.
2. Protect your Assets
When redesigning your website, it is essential that you protect your assets. Yet, many web designers don’t even think about this most critical step in a redesign. Know your popular pages, keyword rankings, traffic driving inbound links, lead generating offers, and anything else on your current site that is working. You’re redesign should have a positive impact on your marketing, not a negative one.
3. Promote a Clear Value Proposition
You have 3 seconds to get your point across, what value are you going to deliver for your prospect? No answer? Then it’s time for you todevelop your value proposition. In one sentence, you should be able to clearly identify the purpose of your company and how your product/service makes a prospects pain go away. Test and perfect your value proposition, it’s the most important part of your homepage.
4. Implement Pictures of Real People
You should never use those cheesy stock photos. Not only can people tell that you’re using them, but the chances are extremely high that your prospects have seen those pictures before. Be real. Showcase the people in your company and your customers, not a group of diverse people with perfect hair and teeth looking like they are about to wave pom-poms.
5. Showcase Customer Proof
One thing visitors love to see is customer proof. You wouldn’t buy a product that had poor reviews. What would you think if a service provider didn’t have any reviews or testimonials? You would most likely go to a different provider who can. Case studies and customer proof is something that perspective customers ask for the most. Show them why your clients love working with you.
6. Format Content for Readability
Don’t just take 400 words of content and put it in one paragraph. You should format the content on your site, making it easy to read. Consider using headings, bullet points, and making certain keywords bold. Help your readers quickly obtain the most important information that’s located inside your content. Depending on what type of content you’re writing, keep paragraphs short. If you’re developing a landing page, you should keep each paragraph between 1-3 sentences.
7. Use Content to Shorten Sales Cycle
The best way for you to shorten your sales cycle is through the content on your website. Examples include providing detailed information on your products and services, educating prospects on how your product or service helps them, an explanation of your pricing, and customer proof. All of these can help shorten your sales cycle.
8. Optimized for Mobile
By 2014, more people will be accessing the internet via a mobile device opposed to a desktop computer. How does your website display on mobile or a tablet? Consider implementing a responsive website theme or mobile CSS to improve your prospect’s user experience and your lead generation efforts.
9. Test for Cross-Browser Compatibility
Not every browser will display your website the same way (and boy, do we wish they did!). It’s important that you identify the browsers your visitors are using and test how your website renders in each. Some browsers can be buggy (talking to you, IE7). Yet prospects still may be using them, so you need to take those extra steps. A great site you can use for testing is BrowserStack.
10. Minimize Load Time
Your website needs to be fast. In a recent study by KISSmetrics, 30% of users wait somewhere between 6-10 seconds for a page to load before they abandon a page. Minimize load time by reducing the number of calls to the database in your theme, fixing redirects, reducing the size of scripts and CSS, and optimizing images. Consider hosting with WPEngine to maximize the performance of your WordPress website.
Recent Comments