In the modern world of online marketing, websites are taking their place as one of the most powerful tools for business growth than ever before. They are open all the time, spreading information about your business to anyone who checks in, and has the potential to be one of your most powerful assets and the centerpiece of online marketing and sales efforts.

Just as a business grows and evolves, so should your website. After your website goes live, it’s important to schedule regular reviews of your site to ensure that its content and systems are up-to-date and a positive reflection of your company.

We reached out to our team of experts that work on the many different aspects of websites here at RKN Studio to gather their best advice for improving systems, attracting clients, and keeping your website fresh and functioning at its best.

Kristy Cooper – Web Design

• Great Design and Organization: We’re told to not judge a book by its cover but we also know that first impressions are everything. When it comes to websites, the first thing you must have is great visual design, supported by content that is easy to find and understand within the website. Statistics show that you have less than a second to convince visitors that they are in the right place.
• CMS: If you don’t have a CMS (Content Management System) website, you should consider getting one. It makes managing your brand online easier (even if you aren’t that techie). Make sure you talk to any developer you are considering to confirm that you will be able to manage all your content easily within your website.
• Mobile Friendly: People don’t realize how much traffic they lose if their site isn’t formatted for viewing on mobile devices. Readers don’t want to scroll all over the place to find the information they’re looking for on their phones. On top of that, Google will penalize websites that are not mobile-friendly, which will negatively affect how you rank in search inquiries.

Tammy Tashjian – SEO Specialist

• Make Your Pages SEO Friendly: Make sure all of your website pages have titles and meta descriptions that include the keywords that fit your online strategy and are relevant to your site content. This will help search engines like Google find and categorize you with great ease, improving your online visibility when it comes to search engines.
• The Future is HTTPS: Users expect a secure online experience when browsing or providing data via a website. Consider migrating your site from HTTP to HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure). According to Google, HTTPS protects the integrity and confidentiality of your users’ data between the user’s computer and the site. In addition to added security, Google uses HTTPS as a positive ranking signal and websites that use it may receive a small ranking boost.

Jennifer Manduffie – Art, Design and Branding

• Design for Mobile First: Web design primarily began on the desktop, later adding mobile versions. Now, we see that trend reversing. There are over 1 billion mobile Web users worldwide, with 1/4 of U.S.-based mobile users reading websites using mobile devices exclusively. If you haven’t yet, it’s time to develop a “Mobile First Policy.”
• Make Your Message Move: 74% of all web content this year will be animated or video. Background videos are now becoming a popular alternative to static backgrounds, and animated images are more and more taking the place of their static counterparts.
• Iconic Navigation: This may not be a standard yet, but it is gaining traction. Some websites are replacing text with icons to save space. As long as the icon is “intuitive” or easily learned, this trend can be successfully implemented.
• Know Your Audience: Keeping up with all of the latest Web design trends in order to stay ahead of your competition is smart business. The sites that give their users the most of what they are looking for in a website will better generate and retain new customers.

David Hathaway – Full-stack Developer, WordPress

• Update Regularly: Updating your software regularly is the best way to keep your website running smoothly. Updates often include vital security changes as well as upgrades that keep you from having to call someone like me in the future to fix errors.
• Maintain Control of Your Domains: Be sure that when you purchase domain names you keep track and keep control of them. If they are absolutely essential to your business, there are usually auto-renewal functions that can be lifesavers. Far too many people ignore renewal message and lose control of their domains, which can result in costly problems if someone holds your domain “hostage” for a high price.

Dawn Mena – Content Strategist, Creative Copy Writer

• Do a quick refresh for your website: Read your homepage as if you are a visitor learning about your business for the first time. Is the information correct, easy to understand, and up to date? Be sure to check your Contact Page for old emails or phone numbers if you’ve made changes during the past year. Update staff listings, bios, headshots and your company story on your About Page.
• Boost Your Blog: If you don’t have a blog, now’s the time to get one. If you have a blog, but haven’t posted for awhile, write an article that welcomes new readers, thanks loyal fans, and shares your plans for the business and the blog. Make a commitment to yourself to post regularly in the future, even once a month will help raise your credibility with the Google powers that be.
• Update Testimonials: These are one of the best ways to build trust, especially when it comes to attracting new clients and customers, and you absolutely should be using them. If you are still sitting on testimonials that happy, satisfied clients have given you during the past year, post them on your website and start sharing them today. You can have a Testimonials page. Or I like to scatter them throughout a website on each page, using them strategically to complement each page’s subject matter, and making sure readers see them no matter where they land on your site. Bottom line, there’s a lot of power in sharing stories about happy customers – especially when it comes straight from them!

To stay on the cutting edge of what’s best in web design, content, and maintenance, you almost certainly need a skilled, professional Web team who understands what your business needs and builds a site that supports it in every way. Here at RKN Studio, we provide exceptional copy writing services for website creation and marketing materials that will help you make a connection, make a statement, and help your business grow.

Schedule a time to talk to us about what can benefit your website.  Email or call 818-679-6658.