If your website is fairly up-to-date (meaning it’s been designed and built within the last 2 years), you are generally happy with the overall design aesthetic and brand message, but you have a few changes you’d like to see, you might be in the market for a website refresh.
This means your site doesn’t need a complete overhaul (which I’ll write about in my newsletter); rather, it can be tweaked and finessed to get it up to speed. So you might only need a website refresh if…
1. Your site needs some responsive love. Responsive web design (RWD) is a hot topic in the web design world these days. With the proliferation of devices that your site is accessible on (phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, even refrigerators), it’s imperative that your content looks the best on screens of every size. That’s where responsive design comes in. Visitors don’t have the patience to pinch and squeeze your site to find what they’re looking for. So, instead of your site shrinking on a tiny device, the content will rearrange itself so the viewer can easily access your content while browsing your website no matter what device they use.
2. You need to add a free report or giveaway to entice viewers to get on your list. Having a newsletter sign-up form on your site is awesome, and it’s even better if you pair that with some sort of free download or offer in exchange for the person’s name and email. This can range from a simple 1-page report with tips + tricks your audience is interested in to a full-blown multi-page ebook or audio download. Look at the top of this page for my free report: 7 Stylish + Sure-fire Ways to Get Your Website Noticed and Engage Your Ideal Clients. And, once someone signs up for your free report and gets on your newsletter mailing list, they’ll be in your tribe of people you can stay in contact with to keep your business top-of-mind.
3. You want your web site to help you save time. Time is one of those precious commodities that there never seems to be enough of, and there are a few ways you get your site working more efficiently for you so you can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on what you enjoy doing. Here’s how:
- Use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress so it’s super easy to add and edit content, projects, testimonials, blog posts, etc.
- Use online forms and questionnaires for people to connect with you, then have those forms integrate directly with your invoicing and estimating service. Then you never have to manually enter someone’s contact info again. That’s how I do it. I use a combination of Gravity Forms (the best form management plugin there is, in my opinion) with the FreshBooks add-on on my WordPress site. (FreshBooks is a wonderfully easy online invoicing, expense management and time tracking service.) When someone wants to have a complimentary chat with me, they fill out the form and their info is 1.) stored within my WordPress backend (which saves so much time sifting through emails), and 2.) sent to my FreshBooks account. When it’s time to send an estimate or invoice, I just go to FreshBooks, select their name from a drop down menu, and voila—it’s there.
- On that same note, you can connect WordPress + Gravity Forms + MailChimp. Then, on all your online forms (think project questionnaires, contact forms, registrations, etc.), add a checkbox for people to subscribe to your newsletter. Their info is automatically sent to MailChimp and you’re done.
There are tons of other services that will integrate with WordPress to save you precious minutes everyday which leads to saving several hours or more a month. So, give that a thought the next time you want to spice up your site or do a simple refresh.
And if you want help with any of this, just sign up for my complimentary chat…
