Are you hating on your website? It happens. Websites aren’t the easiest thing to start or finish, or do well. (Trust us, we get it, and we are professionals!) But the truth is that they don’t have to be filled with all the bells and whistles to make an impact and capture attention. You can start adding or revising a few simple things on your site to make sure that your website isn’t wasting your time but instead it’s making you money.

5 Website Updates You Can Start This Week

1. Make a favicon

   • This mini graphic is one of our favorite pieces of virtual real estate that increases your brand visibility! It's super easy to make, and it instantly gives your website a more professional, contemporary look and feel. A favicon (pronounced "fave-icon") is a small, iconic image that represents your website. Favicons are most often found in the address bar of your web browser, but they can also be used in lists of bookmarks in web browsers and feed aggregators. is sometimes called shortcut icon, website icon, tab icon, URL icon, or bookmark icon.
     

   • Here is a simple tutorial in how to make your own favicon for your site.
     
     
     
     

2. Create an Opt-in to Capture Leads

   • You need an opt-in on your site. No matter what your business entails. Also called a lead-magnet, digital incentive, or a content upgrade, simply put, an opt-in is a term used when a visitor to your site is given the option to receive something from you via email. This could be a quiz that helps your customer learn more about themselves, or it could be a tip sheet that answers a common question, or maybe it’s something as simple as a coupon code and free shipping on one of your products. Whatever it is, make sure it’s of interest to most of your visitors and that it’s simple and straightforward to access and digest. You also want it to be relatively simple for you to make and/or deliver since it’s a freebie, you don’t need to give away some novel or new product!
     

   • Opt-ins allow you to:

     1. Make an intimate connection with your customer

     2. Add value and offer your customer something before they even hire or buy from you, and it helps establish you as an expert or leader in the field

     3. Stay in touch with your audience

     4. Offer a nice welcome to your site visitor
        

   • If you’re in need of some help developing an opt-in, check out this post here or this one here all about how to craft your opt-in.
     
     
     

3. Check for Broken Links

   • Not only are broken links a pain for your site visitor but they also negatively impact your site’s SEO. So clean those links up! Check your website by manually reviewing each webpage, be sure to check the footer, header, and any other links on your blog. Or you can use a free tool like this one here to get a full scan of your entire website.
     
     
     

4. Offer a Warm Welcome

   No one likes to arrive somewhere only to feel confused or mislead. These people aren’t just any visitors, though; they’re potential your potential customers. You have an opportunity to welcome them warmly and graciously, and you’ll want to make them feel comfortable.Start by greeting your visitor. It sounds obvious, but so many websites neglect to include a greeting, which usually results in their business coming across as generic, and the language transactional or sterile. This is your opening statement. Make sure it’s welcoming and that draws in your visitor. It can be clean and simple or fun and quirky. The important thing is to make sure it sounds genuine.
   
   
   

5. Make it Easy to Contact You

   • Yes, if anything, make sure you have a Contact page that is easily visible in your navigation bar at the top of your site. Additionally, we suggest that you add your contact information on every single page on your website.

   • This seems like a simple and obvious step, but a lot of brands miss it. Include your contact information at the bottom or top or each page, or you can include a link to your contact form. If you’re a brick and mortar business, add your business office hours so customers know how and when they can find you. Otherwise, you risk driving potential customer traffic away.
     
     
     

6. Ok, we said five, but this one is really important!

• Every page on your site needs to have a clear call to action (CTA). Whatever it is you want your customer to do, make it obvious! If you had a visitor to your brick and mortar business you wouldn’t just offer them a glass of water and then leave them in the alone in the building, would you? The same principle applies to a visitor to your website. What’s the call to action? Tell them what to do--- Shop Now, Sign-Up for a Free Consultation, Download the Ebook, Get a Coupon Code. Don’t leave your visitor hanging. Pat them on the back and show them around your business, or send them on their merry way. You’d be surprised to learn how many sales you might be missing out on because you’re making your customers work too hard to buy the thing they really want from you. Confused customers never act; make it easy on them!