It takes your users just 0.05 seconds to form a first-impression of your website. And if they don't like what they see? There's plenty of other competition for them to choose from.

(Data from Google)

Schedule regular website reviews!

A well designed website can create credibility, allow potential customers to find you 24/7, increase the geographic reach of your business, and be an effective marketing tool.

Regular reviews ensure your website is performing at its peak. Get as many people to look at your website as you can, the more feedback, the better. And don't forget to check out your competitors—is there anything they're doing that you're not?

Make a list of all the pages in your site, then you can assign goals to each page (or group of pages) and determine where you will focus your efforts first.

Questions to consider: 

Is your website user friendly? 

Make sure your fonts are easy to read and highly contrast with their background on both PC and mobile devices. Ensure your page structure makes sense and your site is easy to navigate—do you have obvious links to your home page on every page? Are your contact details where your users would expect? Have a look at this usability checklist for more ideas.

Is your website suitable for mobile phones?

Go to https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly to check and read more about it in responsive web design.

Do you have SSL encryption?

This is the little padlock icon, or HTTPS, that sits to the left of your web address in the address bar. As well as helping you rank higher in search results, it adds another layer of security for user information like login details or credit card information. 

It is very important to have SSL encryption if you want your site to be trusted - In fact, most internet browsers will warn users if your website is NOT SSL encrypted!

Is your information up-to-date? 

Nothing is more frustrating for a visitor, than reading about a promotion that expired weeks ago, or visiting a site and looking at your monthly newsletters only to realise that nothing has been posted for the past year. If you say you are going to provide a regular blog, an update, or results to the latest competition, make sure you actually do it.

Do you have video clips?  

Video is such a powerful way to explain what you do and introduce your services. See our guide on video content.

Are you consciously building traffic to your website? 

Having links to your website from trusted, quality websites is a way to build your profile on the Internet and increase visitors to your site. 

Use free tools such as SEO Moz's Open Site Explorer to see which sites are currently linking to yours as well as the anchor text used in those links. This is a good starting point .  

Do you have multiple landing pages? 

Not all your visitors will come via your homepage—and you don’t necessarily want them to. If you sell a range of products or services you can’t put them all on your homepage so consider having multiple landing pages to help your users navigate your content. 

Do you use generic 'stock' images?  

Avoid using the same cheesy images as everyone else. You don’t want your business to seem ‘generic’, you want it to be memorable. Ensure your images have an emotional connection to the text—it’s better to have no image, than a poor quality one.    

This doesn't mean you can't use stock images or need to spend mega bucks, just choose wisely! Try Unsplash for inspiring free images, or 500px or GettyImages for free and paid options.

How easy is it for customers to buy a product or service?

If you have an article that discusses one of your products, how many clicks would it take for the visitor to purchase the product? If they search for a product or service on your site, how many clicks to purchase? You want to make it as easy as possible for them to spend their money with you. 

Are you posting high-quality content? 

Good content engages your customers and also ranks you more highly on search engines such as Google. Analyse your audience and write for their needs, keep your content crisp and current, and include key words - these are words that people will use to search for you. 

Is your brand clear and consistent? 

Does your website match your company brand? Are the headings and layouts predictable and consistent? Is your logo prominent and have you used a high resolution image? 

As a general rule of thumb put your logo in the top left corner. Many visitors expect that when they click your logo it will take them to your home, so make sure you have it linked.

Does your website promote your social media?

It’s important to let your potential customers know what social media sites you are on. Include follow and share buttons and use call-to-actions to get your customers to use them. Ask your visitors to ‘like’ your Facebook page or follow you on twitter, or join the discussion on LinkedIn—visitors are more likely to take notice if you ask them to do something.

Check out our guide about Integrating your website with social media for more information.

Do customers log into your site?  

If so, then consider allowing social logins to make this process easier. Having the option to login via their Facebook or Twitter account makes the registration process quicker, which makes it easier for your visitors.

Is your home page dynamic? 

Many successful websites have replaced most of their static content with content that feeds from different sources, such as social media feeds, blog feeds, news feeds. This can be engaging for your readers and present your company well.  

Do you have calls-to-action? 

A call-to-action is a button or link on your website that converts a website visitor to a potential customer by getting them to log their details. For example you might want them to download a quote, or register for an event or newsletter, make an appointment, or contact you. 

Want to get started on a new design?

Of course you can talk to a Website Design Company or if you don’t have the budget there are free (ish) website development platforms that can produce great results, such as wix.com or weebly.com, wordpress.org. 

Want us to review your website for you? 

If you have any questions or need advice, you can get in touch with the Digital Journey team at support@digitaljourney.org.