When was the last time you updated your website? If it’s been over 2 years, you’re in trouble.

No matter what industry you’re in, having a substantial online presence is crucial to your business’ success. Your website is the first impression you’re giving to your customers, and we know that you don’t want to be outdated by any means. With the trends constantly changing, what was relevant in web design three years ago is considered “archaic” today. The perfect website now needs to be functional on all devices and user-friendly, it must include an eye-catching design, and have well-written and optimized content. Whether you are creating a new website from scratch or updating your current one, you need to stay on top of the current industry trends if you want your site to be useful in 2018.  

Here are five tips to get you started:

Make the Site Responsive

To be “responsive” it means that the website looks the same no matter what device it is being viewed on. For example, a person should see no difference on the website whether they’re viewing it on a desktop, smartphone, or iPad. Keep in mind that if some of the pages, links, tabs, etc. do not work correctly on a mobile phone, customers will become frustrated and search elsewhere. “Google says 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% visit a competitor’s site instead.” We recommend designing for mobile first and then designing the desktop version to match. Due to the screen size, some aspects of the website need to be tweaked for mobile so they can function correctly. For instance, navigation on mobile gets condensed and the page columns may become stacked for ease of use.   

Website Speed Time Is Important

We live in a world of impatient people, especially when it comes to technology. No one wants to wait for your website to load, images to appear, or videos to play. It’s important to check your site speed and make improvements if possible. Some tools can help run tests for you, such as Pagespeed Insights by Google.

Some common things that slow down your website are:

• Large images
• The server your site is hosted on
• Excessive plugins

Use Original and Creative Content

We understand that determining the appropriate amount of content to put on your website can be a little tricky. If you add too much material, customers will become overwhelmed. On the other hand, if you don’t add enough content, you may not rank well in Google or may forget to add valuable information that your customers are searching for.  Here at Tomo360, We recommend that each page has between 300 to 500 words; however, the focus should be more on providing quality content rather than “fluff” to meet the page length.

While every website is different, there are specific things to focus on while developing the web copy.

• Write in a tone and style that will not only attract new customers but make sense to them.
• Try to include links to other internal pages within your text that will help keep customers engaged on your website.
• Make sure to answer all of your customer’s questions throughout the website, either in an FAQ section or through separate pages.
• Most importantly, use only original content!

UX & UI Is Everything

One recent study showed that “It only takes a person 50 milliseconds (that’s 0.05 seconds) to form an opinion about your website,” which means it’s clear that first impressions are everything. If people visit your website and cannot understand what you’re offering or aren’t sure how to navigate through it, then you’re out of luck.  When designing the website, remember to think about who will be visiting and using it the most. If your target market isn’t necessarily tech-savvy, then you may need to rethink the functionality and design. Consider colors and fonts, text size, and overall website simplicity. Contact forms, phone numbers, addresses and CTA’s should be visible to the users and positioned in a way where they’re bolded or highlighted.

Update Frequently

To stay relevant in the industry and ahead of your competitors, you must refresh your website frequently. By sharing new content, photos, or videos, you’re not only helping your SEO rankings, but you’re also improving your web presence by being active and showing your customers just that.

It’s not necessary to change or add new pages or content every week, but adding a blog article every month to the website can go a long way. A few other ways that you can update your website is to add customer testimonials, photos, videos, or press releases when available. Don’t forget to link your social media platforms to the site and frequently share on those too!

If you are struggling to update your website or aren’t sure where to start, please reach out to us at [email protected].