Your website is your brand’s digital front door and an essential part of your business. But when is the last time you gave it a check-up? In today’s competitive market, you may not get a second chance to make a good first impression online. So, is your site actively helping to achieve your business goals? Or are you in need of an update or change to get the job done? If you haven’t done it lately, now’s the time to give your website a quick check-up with our simple checklist.

WEBSITE CHECK-UP CHECKLIST

BEGIN WITH THE BASICS

Begin at the beginning, and make sure that your site’s basic functionality is operable.

• Are there any 404 errors or pages that are not appearing as they should?
• Are all the navigation menu links working correctly and directing where they should?
• Are there missing images?
• Are there other visible issues like font errors or formatting errors?
• Are there broken links within the site content?

EVALUATE EXPERIENCE

Web users today have lots of choices. So, if your site doesn’t deliver a good experience – and do it quickly – they may just move on.

• How does your site perform on Google’s Core Web Vitals? (Learn more about Google Core Web Vitals, how they measure site experience and impact your site’s SEO on the blog here.)
• How long does it take your site to load? Are pages loading slowly or incompletely?
• Is your site easy to use and understand with clear navigation?
• Does your site employ responsive design and work well on multiple devices? Is it mobile-friendly?
• Does your site work well in different web browsers? Chrome? Safari? Firefox? Edge?
• Does your site meet basic web accessibility measures? Strong contrast? Alt text for images? Form field labels? Headings for screen readers? (Read up on where to start with web accessibility here.)

BUILD THE BRAND

Every element of your website’s design speaks – either positively or negatively – about your brand and your business. A creative and compelling website design can drive that critical strong first impression. But relying too heavily on templates, stock imagery and the like can rob your brand of its unique voice. (Read more about the pros and cons of custom website design vs template-based websites here.)

• Does your site look and feel current, clean and professional?
• Does your site reflect your brand’s distinctive visual identity and brand voice?
• Is your site unique and compelling to stand out to your audience?
• Does your site rely heavily on templates and stock imagery that rob your brand of its unique voice? (Read more about the pros and cons of custom website design vs template-based websites here.)
• Does your site’s design drive your goals and guide users where you want them?
• Does your site use creative design elements to increase user engagement with content?

COMMIT TO CONTENT

Even the fastest, best-looking website around needs strong content to succeed. Routinely checking and refreshing your site’s content to keep it at its dynamic, compelling, action-oriented best is a critical element in your website’s performance.

• Is your site’s content correct and up to date?
• Are there spelling or grammatical mistakes in your content?
• Does your content read clearly and is it easy to understand (even for someone who doesn’t already know what you do)?
• Do you have effective calls to action in your site content?
• Is your contact information correct and are forms working properly?
• How long has it been since the content on your site was updated

STAY UP ON SEO

In a lot of ways search engine algorithms may seem like the mysterious wizard behind the curtain shaping digital destinies, but there are some simple things you can do to lay the foundation for strong search engine optimization.

• Have you searched your brand name or critical keywords to see what you find?
• Do you know your critical keywords, and have you incorporated them organically into your site? (No stuffing, please. Search engines hate that.)
• Have you addressed fundamental SEO elements like page titles and descriptions?
• When was the last time you conducted an SEO review of your site? Remember that standards change quickly so your content has to keep up.
• Do you regularly update and refresh your content? Sites that frequently update content may earn favor with search engines.
• Do you have the right SSL security certificate installed? Not only does this provide your users with added security, but it provides a search engine boost as well.

MAINTAIN MOMENTUM

A website that really works is not a one-and-done project. It requires ongoing commitment and maintenance to keep a site performing well and to navigate the ever-changing waters of search, devices, browsers and accessibility issues. And to do any of that, you first have to regularly track and analyze your site’s performance.

• Have you installed Google Analytics and are you regularly tracking your website results?
• Have you reviewed your site’s engagement rate and engagement time metrics to see how well you are engaging your audience?
• Have you reviewed the devices that most of your visitors are on and tuned accordingly?
• Are you keeping up with regular technical and security updates including things like WordPress version updates, plug-in updates?
• Have you considered ways to keep content fresh and engaging like adding a blog or social media feed?

NEED A HAND?

Your website is fundamental to your business and your brand. If you need an expert eye to help you get a handle on your website needs, don’t hesitate to reach out. That’s where our team can help!

Want to chat about your site? Connect with the Clementine team!