Spring has finally sprung and with it has brought the lighter nights, flowers have begun to bloom and of course the April showers are here too – we are based in Scotland after all!
Along with all of this, there’s also the notion of spring cleaning. When you think of spring cleaning, we tend to think of gutting out our homes but have you ever thought about doing the same for your website? Every website needs a refresh now and then just to make sure that everything as well as it can be plus it gives you the opportunity to make sure your website is promoting everything you want it to.
And with that, we though we’d share some things that you can do to make sure your website is spick and span for the months ahead.
1. Check for broken links
There is nothing more irritating than going onto a website, clicking on a link only for it to take you to a ‘Page Not Found’ error. Not only is it incredibly frustrating for the website user but it can also affect your ranking on Google. We’d recommend checking your site map and then having a run through of all the pages on your site to find and fix those pesky broken links.
2. Site Speed
Did you know that users are likely to leave your website if it takes longer than 2 seconds to load? Having a slow website is a death knell for your online business and it certainly isn’t going to help you reach your target audience. A slow website could be down to a number of things from having super large image file sizes, inefficient plugins or even too many plugins as well as inefficient Javascript that’s clogging up the loading of your website. Check your plugins and make sure they are all up to date, delete any plugins that you no longer need and reduce your image file sizes if the ones you have on your website are too big.
3. Image Refresh
Speaking of images, when was the last time you updated the imagery on your website? If you can’t remember when you last updated then it’s time to refresh refresh refresh. A lot of people think that they get a website and that’s it – job done but that’s not the case at all. A website requires maintenance to remain fresh, engaging and to truly reflect your business. So if you have any new imagery then get updating! If not, give your webpage layout a little refresh just to shake things up a bit.
4. Blog Posts
The concept of blogs seems to have died a little bit with the dawn of social platforms such as TikTok pushing video content. But there is still a place for blogging today and when utilised correctly, it can really help drive traffic to your website. We know it can be difficult to keep a steady stream of engaging content for your blog but there is truly nothing worse than having a blog on a website that hasn’t been updated for years. It gives the impression of an inactive business which you 100% don’t want. So get writing and connect with your audience.
5. Check For Compliance
And then there’s of course making sure that your website is compliant with UK and International legislation. The GDPR policy has been in place for a number of years now and unfortunately there are still a lot of websites out there that aren’t compliant. Your website must have a cookie consent banner that clearly allows the user to accept to decline non-essential cookies, all non-essential cookies must not be stored unless the user accepts them and your website must have a privacy policy. Without these, you are leaving yourself open to getting into trouble from the ICO. Trust us, it’s not worth the risk. Thankfully with Xtensive, we can help you with your website compliance. Get in touch with us for more information.
These are just a few things that you can do to spring clean your website. Just a few simple steps can make a huge improvement to your online presence. If you’re thinking that your website needs a little more TLC but aren’t sure of what needs to be done to improve your online presence then we now offer website audits. With a website audit from Xtensive, we will take look under the hood of your website, looking at your site navigation, website layout, design & SEO and will identify key areas where improvements can be made. For more information on a website audit from Xtensive, visit our dedicated page or email us at enquiries@xtensive.co.uk.
