Is Your Website Holding You Back?
Try These Upgrades to Bring It Up to Speed

Written by Chelsea Lamb from Businesspop.net

 

As a small business owner, your website is more than a simple marketing tool; it’s a means of communication and a method of converting new clients. Your website holds enormous potential to help your business grow, but too many entrepreneurs fail to take full advantage of it. This happens when essential components are missing or when you fail to adopt new trends. To avoid this trap, it’s worth investing in a few key web-based projects that will bring your website up to speed.

 

Revisit Essentials

Whether you’re creating a brand-new website or you have one that’s ready for an update, it never hurts to cover essentials. If you’re starting out fresh, you can use these web essentials as a checklist for the project. If you’re updating an old site, revisiting them is a smart way to determine which areas need improvement. For example, when you reevaluate your e-commerce platform, you may realize that you’ve outgrown the one you started with. Or you when you look at what you’ve published recently, you may realize that your content doesn’t feel fresh or that you could use a more targeted SEO strategy. 

 

Once you identify shortcomings, some fixes may be easy to handle yourself, such as creating a schedule for adding new content. Others may require the help of a professional who has the skills to give you the upgrades you want. For example, if you want a new look or a whole new website complete with mobile app development and SEO, you can look to Wild Wizard Websites. Or if your front and back-end processes need addressing so you can connect your site to your database, you can turn to API developers. An easy way to find a specialist for this type of job is to search for freelancers through an online job board.

 

If you do hire new employees, consider performing background checks first. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to follow the regulations set by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), some of which vary by state. For example, some states require a conditional job offer before an employer can conduct a criminal background check. And while you can access records going back seven years, some states don’t allow employers to consider arrests that didn’t result in a conviction. 

 

Go for a Visual Upgrade

When your goal is to reach more clients and make the greatest impact on visitors, you can’t go wrong with giving your website a visual upgrade. Design is one area where it’s good to play around, especially with current trends like vintage colors and card-style grids for organizing content. 

 

And while trends are always changing, there are a few general guidelines that always hold true when it comes to good design. Startup Nation recommends web visuals that use bold colors, adding icons and illustrations, and using a simple layout. The thing to keep in mind is that giving your website a design upgrade is just as functional as it is fun. For example, a simplified design that makes it easy to see buying options looks more appealing, but it also increases conversions by giving the customer a more streamlined experience.

 

Add-Ons for Improved Client Conversion

If you haven’t adopted newer technologies that add function to your website, now is the time! One of the top choices among all kinds of small businesses is to use chats. As Small Business Trends explains, adding chats allows you to reach your customers on a platform many people are most comfortable with. Chats also give you a way to deliver personal service and answer customer questions, leading to more sales or new clients.

 

E-commerce businesses should be especially mindful of new web trends, along with established best practices, that help increase conversions. For example, one of the most important website features in e-commerce is a simple and easy-to-use checkout page. If your checkout page doesn’t meet this requirement, revamping it is a small change that can make a huge difference in reducing abandoned shopping carts.

 

These are just a few examples of how a small business can (and should) continue improving its website. Building your website is just the first step. If you want to reach your full potential, and ensure you don’t get left behind by the competition, your website has to keep growing along with your company. 

Photo credit: Pexels

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