10 things that every business should do with their website, but most never do

Most businesses know they have to have a website, they’ve been told this numerous times by other companies, by newspapers and magazines, and by neighbors. So they got a website, but what do they do with it? Most of them don’t even use it to get the smallest effect of what it can be. It would be like taking out a magazine ad of nothing but a blank page and your business name on it, and not even a phone number, do you think that would bring you much business? You would be surprised at how many websites we have found that don’t even have a phone number or address for the business. How do they expect people to contact them? But for now, we will assume that you at least understand enough to have your contact information on the website and all the basics of your business. We will assume that you have a reasonably professional looking site, and just tell you what you need to do now. Here are things that need to be done for every website but most people do not do.

Speed optimization
Yes, your design might look fantastic, and you paid that high-priced designer to make it look wonderful, but if it takes over a minute to load the nobodies going to stick around. Let’s be honest, when you go to somebody else’s website, possibly a supplier, how long do you stick around if it doesn’t load fast? How annoyed do you get? so, you need to make sure your site loads as fast as possible. Back in the day, we used to say that if your site page was over 60K that it was too big, but of course these days that doesn’t count anymore. The same thought applies though, the smaller you can get the page the better it is. Sometimes it can be as simple as just making sure that your graphics are the smallest they can be. There are many ways of doing this, even plug-ins for WordPress that would do it on the fly. You can also do site caching, which will help speed up various areas. It’s not uncommon to take somebody’s site that takes 90 seconds to load and be able to get it down to three or four seconds. That is no joke. Just imagine how many more customers will stick around if they get what they want in three seconds, compared to having to sit around for a minute and a half per page.

The wonderful slider
Yes, we get it, you want to put as much on the front page as you possibly can, and with the slider, you can do that. Each slide can contain different deals or specials that you want people to see. Marketers love these. But you see, here is the problem. Nobody else cares. The vast majority of people that go to websites are billboard blind. If you know that means you’ll understand, but if not, it means next time you’re driving, make an effort to look at all the billboards on the street that you drive past. You’ll see hundreds of them. It will be as if you’ve seen them for the very first time because usually they slide right by your mind and you pay them no attention at all. Just like sliders, the majority of people just slide right by them without even seeing them. In the old days, they used to like making an entry page. It was sort of like a splash page with a video or some other introduction on it before you got into the website. Marketers loved these too. There used to be a little link or button on the splash page that said ‘skip”. At some point, someone made a test, and out of 10,000 people that hit the website, 10,000 people hit the skip button before the splash screen even played. Which ought to tell you that nobody cares. They’re there to see your product, so replace the slider with what you want to show them that is most important. If you want the slider, move it further down the page.

Mailing list and newsletters
This is something that amazes us. The people that come to your site are the best resource you have. But so many people don’t even make an effort to try and capture their email and keep in contact with their customers. Or they may put the “join our mailing list” link in the footer, which nobody looks at. You should make sure that they join our mailing list, and nudge them if they don’t, stay front and center. If you don’t want to be annoying, you can always place a cookie that once they have signed up it will not show them the “join our mailing list” pop up again. You want to have a mailing list so you can send out a simple newsletter to everyone regularly and it will generate sales. And that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Google analytics
Most people will set up a Google Analytics account on the website, especially if their website was set up by anybody with half a brain, but then they forget about it. It’s like buying a book on information and expecting to absorb it without actually reading it. You need to routinely check your Google analytics and see where people are coming from as customers, who was buying, where they are going on your site and how they are getting there. You need to know these things so you know how to change your site to increase your profits. It’s like having your accountant send you your monthly income and expense statement, and you pay no attention to it and not reading it. If you don’t know where your money is coming from, why are you in business?

Have people tell you what they think about your website
We don’t use Fiver very much, but this is one of the ways that we do. You can hire a handful of people that will go through your website and give you their opinion. These are not friends and relatives, or people you know that don’t know anything, these are people that have no skin in the game. They will give you some insights as to how well you made your site and how easy it is to navigate. If you spent $100 on Fiver to do this, it’s probably one of the best hundred dollars you will spend to make a better site.

Real SEO
Do some real SEO, otherwise known as search engine optimization. You can hire a firm to do this reasonably inexpensively, just to have them optimize your site. The more optimized your site is the more chance there is of it getting ranked highly in Google. The reason you wish to be ranked highly in Google is that then more people will see it and come. A simile would be, would you rather have your businesses sign on a busy main street in large letters, or tiny letters down a side alley. If people don’t see you they do not come. Some good advice also is that if anybody tells you there is a secret to getting ranked in Google, they are just going to take your money. There are no secrets. You just create a good site, just like you create a good business, and use good SEO techniques on your site to make it a good user experience. And people will come.

Capture your business listing on Google
You can get your business registered on Google with its business listing for free, but most people don’t seem to do that. That’s like getting a free advertisement that Google will promote for you to people that are looking for a business like yours, and if you don’t use it. You’re throwing money away. You can link it to your website, and if you are a brick-and-mortar business, you can show pictures as well as put your hours.

Mobile responsive
If you have been living under a rock, you might not realize that all sites need to be mobile responsive these days. More than 60% of people access the web and websites through their mobile phones. If your site is old school and was never made responsive, then 60% of those people will be not staying on your site. They’ll just move on before they even try. So if your website has been around for a while, check it on your phone.

Update your site
There is nothing worse than going to a site and seeing that it hasn’t updated anything for the last five years. You don’t even know if they’re still in business. Or you are trying to order something and they no longer sell it. Your site is a reflection of you and your business. So please, update your site regularly so that people know you are active and in business.

Secure SSL
If you also haven’t updated your site in a while, you need to make sure that it has a good SSL certificate. If it doesn’t, people can’t get there from some of the browsers. If it doesn’t, people will not purchase from the side. SSL certificates are fairly inexpensive, and if you don’t mind updating them every 3 months they are free.

These are just a few things that you must do for a website. We are just scratching the surface, but these are the basics you need to start with. Don’t just think of the website as something you must-have for your business and then forget about it. You need to turn it into a profit center. We know many companies that make more money from their website than they do from their brick-and-mortar side. We worked to help set up a large international computer supply company, that was making over 100 million a year with 500 employees. The website was set up with a dedicated team of 10 people and we had it making 12% of their net profit…with just 10 people. Just think about that. Don’t underestimate your website, it’s a vehicle you need to use, not a flag you fly. If you need any help please feel free to give us a call.