10 Things To Refresh On Your Website In 2020!

10 things to refresh on your website in 2020!

Could your site be working harder for your company and your success? Maybe it is time to take an objective look at your site to be confident you are doing everything you can to make it a great entry point for your visitors.

Because website designs have such a long shelf life and can function well for several years without major updates, there’s a danger that they can fall behind and contain elements or practices that hurt your users’ experience.

To help you with your review, we’ve created this handy guide of 10 things you should consider refreshing on your website in 2020!

1. Does your homepage headline explain who you are or what you do?

Your hero section (top portion) on your website needs to communicate to your viewers who you are and how you can help them. Ideally, you want your visitors to know what you are about in the first ten to fifteen seconds. Get rid of ambiguous copy that doesn’t communicate your story quickly.

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2. Are you still using sliders or pop-ups?

Sliders were all the rage a few years ago. Now, not so much. Sliders typically aren’t SEO friendly, and most of the time they don’t work well on mobile. Improperly used, they can be distracting and take away from the initial explanation of who you are and what you do. Pop-ups as well are distracting, especially on mobile devices. If you must use a pop-up, make it an exit-intent pop up that only reacts when someone is about to leave your website.

3. Are there social media icons in your header?

Social media icons in your header are gateways for people to leave your website before they’ve even started absorbing your content. For that matter, you might want to think about ditching any links in your header that take your user away from your website. If you must have social media links that move you off-site, they can live in the footer. Ideally, your website should be the hub of your web presence. Your social media should feed to it, not away from it. Instead, consider using social media sharing buttons that allow visitors to share your content on their social media pages, but don’t take them away from your site.

4. Is your website mobile responsive?

If your website was designed within the last five years, chances are you can check this box “done.” Most of the newer website templates are responsive out of the box, especially if you’re using WordPress or Squarespace. That doesn’t mean all of the content or elements you have on your site are responsive, though. Even with a newer site, it is wise to check and see if anything is failing in mobile, tablet, or desktop view.

If your website is older, you should definitely take time to look at it on all devices. Today, if your website isn’t working on mobile or tablet, you’re probably losing out on traffic. Not only are a majority of users accessing sites on their phones, Google rankings give preference to websites that are adjusted for mobile.

5. Is your typography easy to read?

With the web, a good starting point for your body copy is 16 point type. You can go down to 12 points if you are using a very readable font, but ideally, 15 and higher is the best. For headlines, a good rule of thumb is to base the headline size off your body copy size to create a nice contrast. If you have 15 point type, double that to 30 points for the subhead, then double again for the headline size, to 60 points.

6. Does your website flow well?

Your website design should direct your viewers where you want them to go. Navigation should be easy to understand and viewers should feel at ease using your site.

Review your website to see if there are any places where a viewer might get stuck or question, “where is X?” You can also get some great insights by asking a new user to use your website while you watch.

7. Are you using obvious stock photos?

Photos of people shaking hands, people in suits in conference rooms, and staged photos come across as inauthentic. Photos should feel real and not staged. If you don’t have the budget for custom photography, consider websites like Pexels and Unsplash to update your photographic content.

8. Are you using Email Links in your content?

While it may seem like a great idea to include your email link in your content, email links can be security risks. With many bots on the Internet, it makes it easy for spammers to get your email. Instead, consider a simple email form. It’s much safer, is trackable, and allows you to store the submitted data.

Are you relying on pdfs?

Many websites seem to rely on pdfs in place of actual content. Perhaps there was a brochure that was designed, or a restaurant decided to use a pdf in place of its menu. Regardless, if your website has a lot of content in pdf form, then consider replacing that with actual web content.

PDFs are not ideal for the web and are not SEO friendly. Real words on your pages can be read and understood by the bots you want to speak to—search engines that read your content and list your site for users who are searching for that information.

Are you relying on pdfs?

The default call to action for any button on a website is submit. Unfortunately, submit is a horrible call to action. It’s vague, impersonal, and comes across as robotic. Take a look at your buttons and get rid of the robotic submit call to action.

Instead, make your call-to-action buttons more personable, by writing your call to action in the first person. Let your button answer the question “What do I want to do?,” “I want to _______.”

For example,

See My Results
Start My Free Trial
Get My Custom Report
Get Everything I Need To Know About “X”

If you’ve not taken a hard look at your website in a year or two, consider these ten things and give your website a health and fitness checkup.

Online experiences are more important than ever. Making sure your website is fulfilling the needs of your online visitors is an important factor in your success.

Is Your Website Home Page User Friendly?

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