Posted By Industrial Web Solutions Marketing Team on June 26, 2009

You probably spend a lot of time looking at other people’s websites, but how often do you look at your own?  More than likely, you looked at it a lot when it went live, but then in a lot of cases there is not a lot else that happens.  But taking a hard look at your site every once in a while is a great way to make sure that it is keeping up with your business.  here are some things to look for.

• Do you have news on your site?  if you do, has it been updated in the past month or so?  If not – then you should either get cracking and post some news, or rethink whether you need a news module.  Going to a site that looks like it has not been touched in months can make a visitor think that you’ve given up.
• Do you have a copyright notice?  When was it last updated?
• Do you have new products or services that are not represented on the site?  As your business grows, your site should be able to row with it.  Make sure that you have your newest offerings front and center!
• Does it tell people what to do?  When I surf a site, I am expecting it to lead me around.  I got there for a reason, and I want the site to bring me to the information I came for.  Tricky menus and fancy effects may have a wow factor, but if they hide the information your customers are looking for, you may be losing an opportunity.  Do you have more than one way for people to get to your products?
• How do people contact you?  Is there an easy way on the site for people to reach out?  If there isn’t then get one right away.  If there is, is it hidden?  Make sure that people are never more than a click away from contacting you.
• Does it work in more than one browser?  As you may know, Microsoft has released Internet Explorer version 8, and Mozilla Firefox gets more popular every day.  You can’t know how people are coming to view your site.  And if it is not looking great in the newest browser versions, people’s first impression can be that your site is ‘broken’.  Make sure you take a look!

These may seem like little things, but as I mentioned, your website is more often than not the very first impression that someone gets of your company.  Make sure its a good one.

Categories: Websites
Tags: firefox, first impression, internet explorer, web design, website