It’s time for spring cleaning, and that applies to websites, too! A good tidy-up of your website and online presence is a good idea to do once per year, at least. Here are some things you can look for and take action on:
Remove Clutter & Old Information
Remove unused files
The usual items here are unused images and PDFs… these are often bulky files and they can sit around on your web server and take up space that could be used for newer, more useful files. If you can safely say you’re not referring to these documents anywhere, go ahead and remove them. (For WordPress users, review your Media Library for these items.)
Compress any uncompressed imagery
Large image files are often a cause of website slowness. To find these offenders, you can run your site through a speed checker like GTMetrix and view the report. One of the sections will give you names and addresses of images that are causing the site to load slower than it could be. You may find other good information about your site in this report as well!
Update or remove any outdated information showing to the public
For example, old menus or specials, outdated business hours, employees that are no longer at your business are three examples of the kinds of information that our customers frequently discover that has become outdated. It’s not a bad idea to scan through each page of your site to check for these kinds of forgotten-about items.
Make your website easier for people to find and use
Make sure you’ve got a strong call to action and it’s easy to find
Visit your site, and see if you can easily find the most important page of the site. Even better, get someone else to review your site for you. You don’t have to hire a pro just for this; perhaps just ask someone that you know well, and who is a potential user of the site. Can they find the most important information that you want them to see?
Make sure you’ve got the right information for search engines.
Do your page titles and meta description make sense? These help search engines and visitors (and potential customers) find your site on search. Page titles and meta descriptions should be present on each page and descriptive but concise. (For WordPress users, you’ll find this information on each page if you have Yoast, SEOPress, Rank Math or one of the other popular SEO plugins installed.)
Don’t forget to review your other online profiles
Your business information is out there on your collective online presence, so don’t forget to check your other profiles, too, not just your website! Check your Google My Business page, Facebook, Instagram and other social channels for any outdated information that might be present. If you haven’t engaged with your viewers in a while, it’s also a good time to make a “Hi there, happy spring!” type of post and remind everyone you’re still around!
Need Help? That’s us!
If you find yourself in need of some help with your website and online presence spring cleaning, we’re here for you! Just contact us today!
