Is Your Website Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Picture this: Your website is like your personal employee, a 24/7 sales and marketing genius that should be out there charming your dream clients, showing off your expertise, and making your life easier, right?

But what if, instead of being the BTS powerhouse it should be, your website is more like Bev from accounts: A bit outdated, cranky and not quite pulling its weight?

Does your website pass the vibe check?

If your website is looking a little tired, confusing visitors, or (gasp!) not converting leads, then it’s time for a refresh, so let’s talk about how to optimise your website so it works harder than you do, without breaking a sweat.

Make a Killer First Impression (You’ve Got 3 Seconds!)

First impressions matter and in the online world, you’ve got about three seconds to convince a visitor to stay.

If your site is slow, cluttered, or giving 1999 Geo Cities, they’ll bounce faster than a kangaroo on a trampoline.

Keep your homepage clean, clear and easy to navigate. Use professional, on brand images (bonus points if they’re actually you and not a stock photo of ‘smiling businesswoman with laptop’) and have a strong headline that instantly tells visitors what you do and who you help.

Is this on your website? Stop it.

HurryUp! Nobody Likes a Slowpoke

Did you know that nearly half of your visitors expect a website to load in under two seconds?

If your site is slower than a dial up connection, you’re losing potential clients before they even see how brilliant you are. (spoiler alert - that's not good)

Optimise your images, especially those large, uncompressed files which are a common culprit. Use a reliable hosting provider (cheap hosting often means slow load times, yikes) and ditch unnecessary plugins and scripts that are slowing things down.

SEO – The Secret 11 Herbs and Spices

Your website should be like the Beacon of Gondor, attracting your ideal clients with the magic of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). If your site isn’t showing up in Google searches, it’s basically invisible, so what good is that? Use keywords your audience is actually searching for (not just industry jargon) and write clear, compelling meta descriptions , because this is what Google shows in search results. Lastly, you need to regularly update your content (Google eats fresh content for breakfast and so do humans).

For added emphasis on the LOTR reference craftily perfected above. Is your website a beacon?

5. Clear, Actionable CTAs (Tell Them What to Do!)

Your visitors shouldn’t have to guess what the next step is, so if your website doesn’t have clear calls to action (CTAs), you’re leaving money on the table.

Use buttons that stand out and tell people exactly what to do (e.g. Book a Free Call instead of Submit), have CTAs throughout your site, don’t just stick one at the bottom and hope for the bes and make it easy for visitors to contact you so no one's hunting for your email address like the Yellow Pages of yesteryear.

Ready to Give Your Website a Little Love?

If your website needs a refresh, I’ve got you covered! Download my FREE Website Checklist to make sure your site is in tip top shape. And if you’re thinking “Yep, I need a pro to sort this out for me,” then check out my Website Refresher Service because a great website should be working harder than you are, even when you're not (preferably while you’re sipping a coffee or a cheeky wine 🍷).

If you love the way I write and you'd like a blog just ike this one, then my friend you're in the right place. Scoot over here and I'll set you up with your very own monthly blog!