Is your website earning its keep?
In this week’s article, I wanted to discuss the important jobs of your website. These ones really are base level, “my website had better be doing at least these 3 things” type of requirements.
At a minimum, your website needs to:
- Look good.
- Work properly.
- Make you money.
Let’s talk about each one.
Does your website look good?
Let’s try the fresh eyes, first impressions test.
When you go to your website, do you feel embarrassed? Or does it look half decent? It’s a good idea to get some outside points of view as you might be too close to it to be able to see its true form.
Now onto your content.
Your website content contributes to the credibility of your website and makes your website look good. If your content is updated and accurate, even if the design looks a little dated, your website is still “passable”. You’ll be able to use it for a while longer until you decide to redesign it at some point.
Take a look around.
If you want to see examples of websites that look good, do a quick Google search for businesses like yours or at least in your industry. Does your website measure up? Bookmark websites you like. Eventually you’ll find a couple that knock your socks off! If these businesses are local, you might have competition that is stealing away customers because their websites are better than yours.
WHAT DO YOU SAY? Does your website pass this test and look good?
Does your website work properly?
Start with the basics.
Take a look at your website and ensure everything is functioning. Watch out for broken links and broken link photos (empty square instead of an image). Things can get missed during a rush to launch and not many people test and check absolutely everything after a designer says, “it’s live!”
A typical big problem that is disguised as a small issue is when your contact forms either aren’t working or you don’t have a procedure in place to make sure your forms are continuously working AND you are receiving the form submissions so you can action them. Send a test form on your website and see what happens. Forms can work fine one minute and go rogue the next. It’s very frustrating, so they need to be checked often.
Is it responsive?
Have you even looked at your website on your smartphone? Usually, you might look at a lot of websites on your phone… except your own. Does it look as good as other websites you go to regularly? Also try visiting your website on your tablet or laptop as opposed to your desktop, or vice versa.
WHAT DO YOU SAY? Does your website pass this test and work properly?
Is your website making you money?
Last, but not least, is your website generating leads, business and money? Are interactions with your website leading to revenue and income for you and your business? If not, there’s something fundamentally wrong with your website, and it will take time to figure out.
Here’s some ideas on what could be wrong:
- Attraction: Your target market isn’t attracted to your website, including the design, colors, personality, tone, content, etc. (related to Test #1 above).
- Customer Experience: Your website visitors are not being confidently and intuitively guided through your website according to your strategic plan and in alignment with your customer’s desired journey. They are getting lost or frustrated and leaving before finding what they were looking for.
- Failed Call To Action: Your target market could be at the wrong “buying” stage when they land on your website and you are not meeting them where they are. Perhaps they aren’t tempted by your “lead magnet” or in enough dire need to contact you or sign up. Maybe they aren’t the type to “book a call” and would prefer if you just had a “request a quote” option. Maybe you didn’t include enough FAQs and they were looking for that 14-day refund policy that you forgot to add in. Maybe they wanted to watch your blog in video format or listen in audio format, but left because you only have text. So many maybes here.
So many possibilities, so little time. Improvements come through testing and iterations.
Here’s where to start investigating:
You need to conduct research on what your customers and prospects want and expect on your website. Take a look at competitor websites to get ideas and make notes of what you are missing.
Sign up for a Website Audit by a professional web designer to get qualified feedback and review from a designer who works with websites all day long. Speaking on behalf of web designers, we know what to look for, we’re on top of trends and know successful strategies that you’ve never heard of.
WHAT DO YOU SAY? Does your website pass this test and make you money?
If your website is getting you business and making you money, there’s always room for improvement. Analyze performance using statistics and other measurements. Create bigger goals! Luckily, if you already have positive feedback, it’s easier to make systematic improvements through testing and feedback.
Be honest, is your website doing its 3 jobs?
If you own a website and were following along through the 3 jobs and tests, we hope this helped you understand where your website is at right now and how urgent it is to do something about it (if you need to).
Do you need help with the questions? Contact Us to take a quick look at your website and we’ll provide our first impressions, insight and our professional take.
