Recently I reached out to a friend and offered to review her website. Her last update was about three years ago, when “responsive” websites were just becoming popular among small businesses and solopreneurs.
Basically, a responsive website responds to the device it’s being displayed on, whether that’s a desktop, mobile device or tablet. Regardless of the situation, it can be viewed easily. I made sure the text and images remained largely the same when viewing on desktop or mobile devices. Also, it was a good reminder of things that can go wrong and/or need to be updated on a website over time.
Watch out for these things on your own site:
Make Sure You Check Your Links – You might find yourself shocked by the number of broken links. You have probably been through many updates and not tested after each change/update. This is a necessary step in keeping up with your website.
Read Every Page – Yes, read every single page on your site. Does it represent you? Is your message clear? Could someone reading your site understand why they would want to work with you? Is your phone number on your contact page?
Get Great Graphics – Take a close look (with your reading glasses on if necessary) at the graphics on your website. Is your logo pixelated (fuzzy)? Do you have images with a white background instead of transparent on pages that have a colored background? How old is your headshot? Are you using bland stock photography? Time to upgrade if any of this is you.
View From Your Mobile Device – More than half of the visitors to your site will do so on a mobile device – make sure your site looks good and is easily readable.
Review Your Dashboard – Take a peek at the back-end of your website (or get a qualified professional to do it with you). Are there plugins that you aren’t using that might be slowing things down? Is your website running on the latest version of WordPress (or whatever you run your website on)? Keep your website running smoothly by paying attention to these important details.
Remember that for many people, your website is the first place where they will form an impression of you and your business. Take steps now to make sure the impression is a good one!