18 Sep 7 Steps for Freshening Up Your Website in 7 Days
Your website is often the first way a customer is introduced to your business and first impressions are everything. If you have a website that is outdated or doesn’t allow your customers to find what they’re looking for right away, you’re missing out on the opportunity to start building your relationship successfully. Today we provide you with 7 steps you can take to make your website fresh, functional and engaging in just one week!
Day 1: Responsive Design
A responsive website is one that responds based on the size screen, platform and orientation of the user’s device. As of 2019 more than half your web traffic comes from mobile devices, and that number will just keep increasing over time. That means your site needs to be responsive to smaller interfaces; a one size fits all approach just won’t do anymore. Begin by using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see how your website performs on different platforms and devices. Then make changes as necessary to make your website cleaner and more functional across platforms and devices.
Day 2: Newsletter Building
Building your mailing list is worth its weight in gold. Your mailing list is your ultimate resource: a group of people who have asked to marketed to! If you don’t already have a mechanism for your website to collect email address (a simple newsletter sign up will do!) you’re missing out on the opportunity to connect with customers who want to connect with you. MailChimp and Constant Contact are two great email marketing tools that integrate well with a variety of websites and e-commerce systems to collect email addresses and send email marketing to your lists. Add a signup form to your website or a popup window encouraging customers to sign up today!
Day 3: Remove Clutter
A clean, crisp website will better convert your web traffic into sales. Start with the end goal in mind: is your business selling, educating or engaging? Think about the ad to content ratio you present on your website. Google will rank you more highly for engaging content that draws traffic in repeatedly. Make sure that you have clear calls to action on your pages that line up with your end goal. Remove things that distract from those calls to action.
Day 4: Better Photography
Lifestyle photography is a kind of photography that aims to tell stories about people’s lives and inspire the viewer. While it’s easy to take a simple snapshot of your product, you need to sell the product as it fits into your customer’s lifestyle, either present or aspirational. For example, a photo of a handknit garment is nice, but a photo of that handknit garment being worn by someone in a beautiful location in natural light make a greater impact.
Flat Lay photography is a versatile genre of still life. It can be minimalist, showing only a few items, or it can include lots of different items. The key is that props and products are arranged on a flat surface and shot from above, with particular attention to lighting. If you’re interested in learning more about flat lay photography, we love this tutorial by Sharon Holland.
Update your website photos to lifestyle photography and experiment with flat lay photography to create better images to share.
Day 5: Metadata & Keywords
You’ve heard those buzzwords: it’s all about your SEO (search engine optimization). It’s important that you optimize your website with the appropriate metadata and keywords for the highest rankings. In plain English, you want to include terms and keywords on your website that allow your website to appear as close to the top of the search results as you can when potential customers search for your products.
Your page title is the most valuable piece of real estate on any content page within your website because Google uses that page title to create a link within the search results it delivers. For instance, on a page that shows lace weight cashmere, you want the page title to indicate that, so that when your customer types “lace weight cashmere” into Google you come up in the search results!
If you want to come up on top of the search results, look at your site critically and update your page titles and your product descriptions to include the keywords your customers use to find you.
Day 6: Add a Blog
Blogs help you develop free content to share with your customers. When designed correctly, this content can keep them coming back to your site again and again. Blogs help with SEO, but also with the Know-Like-Trust funnel; you help your customers get to know you, to like you, and to trust that you’re an expert in your offerings.
Aim to create cornerstone and evergreen content. Rather than promoting seasonal products, develop content around the way your products can be used. For example, talking about a specific yarn you have in stock this season may be time-limited content, but talking about how you select the right yarn for a project is content that will continue to be useful regardless of the season.
As you develop blog content and select the images you will use (hint: lifestyle and flat lay photography), add your branding to those images that could be pinned on Pinterest or cited elsewhere, continually driving traffic back to you. Commit to publishing content on a regular schedule that is doable for you; quality not quantity is the key here. Develop high-quality pieces, even if a bit more infrequently, so your viewers value your content.
Day 7: About Us Page
People buy products from companies they know, like and trust. Your “About Us” page is the best way to introduce yourself, your company and your brand to customers. Ensure that the page includes details about your mission and values and allows your customers to get to know you. Include photos of you and your employees or “behind the scenes” images of your company.
We hope we’ve helped you freshen up your website with these 7 steps. If you’re interested in working with Stitchcraft Marketing to expand your website or content offerings, contact us today to get started!
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