The New Year celebrations have come and gone and we have all rolled up our collective sleeves to get back to work. You may have big ideas to improve—or even overhaul—your website in 2024, but there are a few easy assessments you can do right now to help focus those ideas into an actionable plan.
Our own expert strategist, Andrew Heins, offers these helpful tips and to-dos:
Read Your Website
Don’t just skim it while you’re in line waiting for your morning mochaccino. Grab a comfy seat, pull your site up on your computer and read every word. Does each page have a purpose? Does anything sound out-of-date? Is it easy for someone to get in touch? Oh, and don’t forget to do the same on your pocket supercomputer, aka your phone. Oftentimes, content that’s an easy read on desktop is a scrollfest on mobile.
Take Action
All websites have use cases—the paths visitors take from where they land to where they leave, including all the stops along the way. So put yourself in their shoes and take the actions you’re asking of them. Make a purchase, sign up for your email newsletter, fill out a form requesting a follow-up or download an online resource. You may find that the path of least resistance can use some clearing.
Look To The Past
How did your website perform in 2023? Odds are, there are some significant KPIs you can build on for 2024. Check for any trends from Q4—both the good and the “uh oh”— that are continuing into Q1. Are visitors spending time on important pages or are they quickly dipping in and out? What are your top sources of website traffic, and are the right people coming to your site? There’s a lot your site can tell you, but prioritizing the most critical metrics will help you make the improvements that make an impact.
Assess Your Access
If there’s one constant in this world, it’s change. Employees find new opportunities, internal organizational structures shift, and agency partners replace agency partners who replaced other agency partners. That’s why it’s critical to make sure people who need access to your platforms and social accounts have it, and those that don’t anymore, don’t. Log into your CMS and other back-end tools, then head over to your social media channels. If anyone should not have permissions or admin access anymore, remove them.
We hope 2023 was a great year for your organization, and your website had a lot to do with that success. As you can see, there are a few simple ways to take stock of your online presence now that can benefit you in 2024.
If you’d like more tips and ideas like these, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to help you have your best year yet.