November 24, 2020
You’ve followed our first checklist; website triage, and your site is running reasonably well now. The next step is making it shine! Content and design are the two elements that can consistently draw people to your site and keep them there (and, of course, convert). Here’s our checklist for creating stellar site content and design. Next up is a checklist for fine-tuning your site’s performance to guarantee results for the year to come.
What are your goals – what is your website’s role in your 2021 marketing plan? Lead capture? Conversion? Brand awareness? It’s a tool that can be made to fit a variety of purposes, plan around this question.
How does your content look – Is the content across your top navigation items robust? How about a blog – is your content bringing in fresh SEO juice as well? If not, consider creating more content – and even creating a content plan for blogging.
How does your design look – how does the site look, was it designed by someone’s nephew or an actual designer? Has it aged well? If not, it may be time to update your look.
Do you need a new website? – This is the tough question. Do the site changes you’re looking at warrant a fairly simple refresh, or a heavily-involved site redraw?
Should you budget for a professional writer – do you have the ability to work with a copywriter? Consistent content is a big deal – even if you only publish once a month. Working with a writer takes the pressure off of you to ideate, plan, and write that content.
Is your content relevant – when it comes to SEO, content is hugely important. Avoid topics that aren’t relevant to what you do or provide, especially in your big navigation items. Blog content can be a little more interesting and engaging, though.
Is your content useful and interesting – yes, when you write, you’ll want it to be something that will interest your readers as well! When planning, devise content that is worth reading, as well as SEO relevant (interestingly, these two can often be one and the same)
Have you mocked up a new design – plan what it’ll look like! Here is where you’ll want to work with an experienced UX designer, they can help create a layout that will look stellar while meeting the goals you’ve laid out for your site.
Does your design direct the eye – your design should point to your goals; make the contact button, the shopping cart, and the “more info” links easy to find visually.
Did you design for both – mobile and desktop both need to be usable, don’t neglect one for the other (pay particular attention to the usability of menus and buttons)
Don’t fall for trends – trendy design fades quickly, and can sometimes be alienating to users. True modern design is both functional and clean. Aim for timeless design and you’ll avoid clutter and confusion.
Did you use the brand guide – your site is growing and evolving, not selling out. Stick to your brand guidelines and you’ll keep business or attention from old site visitors and customers, along with developing new business.
Your site is looking great – find out how you can take it to the next level with our final checklist: website performance.
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