If social media is the handshake to your brand, your website is definitely your most powerful sales tool. It’s your home on the internet, where all of your content lives, and where you convert your audience into leads and potential customers.
But let’s be honest for a second. Sometimes, it’s really hard to get the website look and feel that you want. Especially if you don’t want to shell out $20,000 (or more) for a custom developer to create the site for you.
Parts of your website that should ALWAYS be up to date
Let’s get real here. All aspects of your website are important – but there’s a few that you’ll need to pay particular attention to as a business owner.
Your home page
This is the most landed-on page on your entire site. And for good reason too. It’s usually also the page that tends to have the highest organic traffic, and it should be an accurate reflection of you/your business, as well as the stage of life that you’re in. Sometimes these simple changes can help your customers or new leads relate more to you, creating more of that like/know/trust factor.
Simple updates for your homepage can be new images, new featured blog articles, an updated services list, or maybe even some additions to your portfolio.
Your portfolio
Your portfolio is one spot on your website that, if you’re in a service-based industry or regularly work with clients, you should keep as updated as possible. It’s an easy way to keep potential clients engaged and interested with your work – as well as attract new opportunities for you.
This can also apply to the ‘press’ section of your website as well. Adding new logos when you’re featured in publications can give your brand social proof, and can be a big factor in whether or not potential clients or brands choose to work with you.
Your brand images
It sounds simple, but by updating your brand images a few times a year, your customers will have an easier time relating to you and where you are in your stage of life and business. Especially if they’re on your homepage!
Your services
When I was a copywriter, I said yes to every single project inquiry that I got. It led to a fast burnout, and I felt myself losing my passion for writing. Which, oddly enough – I still loved, it just didn’t light me up the way it used to.
Fast forward to today, I don’t put copywriting on my services list anymore. Why? Even though it’s still something I love – I’d rather put my energy into helping clients build their brands with a more holistic approach. And this could apply to you, too. Maybe you’re a copywriter that loves websites but hates social media copy. Maybe you’re a photographer that doesn’t like to do brand shoots, but loves editorial couples photography. You don’t have to say yes to everything – and your services list should reflect the projects that you’re excited to take on. Not the ones that have you dreading the project before it even starts.
Ask yourself these three questions before redesigning your website:
These are a few of the questions you should ask yourself before redesigning your website.
1. Does your website reflect your brand well? Is there anything missing?
Ask yourself this simple question. When you look at your website, does it feel like it’s in alignment with the stage of life and business you’re in right now? If the answer is no, it’s time to make some changes. It could be as simple as adding a few new images to your homepage or updating your services list. Or maybe your About page needs a refresh. Just remember to keep your customer in mind when you’re making any changes.
2. Is your website easy to navigate? Is the customer journey clear?
A confused customer will always say no. This is one of the things that I learned early on in my digital marketing journey. Your website should always have a clear path for your customers to take, whether it’s navigating to a blog article, signing up for your email newsletter, or being able to purchase a product from an affiliate link or your online shop.
It’s important to think about your customer here too. How do you want them to feel when they are interacting with your site? What do you want them to buy? If you want to put yourself in your customer’s shoes, ask a family member or a friend to navigate your website. Don’t offer them any tips or tell them how to do it, just take notes on their experience. This can give you some valuable insight when it comes to ease of navigation and website clarity. It’ll give you an idea of what is or isn’t working, too.
3. Is your website converting your traffic into new leads and sales?
This one kind of goes hand in hand with website navigation. If your website design doesn’t support customer conversion (basically, making it easy to make a purchase), it may be time to look into redesigning your site. The nice thing is, a redesign doesn’t always need to be a full overhaul. Instead, a few simple tweaks can make a big impact. For example, changing the color of a “BUY NOW” button, or changing up the copy on your calls to action.
That being said, if you are ready to give your site a makeover – choosing a website template that’s built to convert can work wonders.
The website templates that are changing the game
If you’re in the market to give your website a refresh, I’d recommend checking out the website templates at Tonic Site Shop. Having started my brand in 2015, I was struggling to create a website (without the code or developer headaches) that felt like an accurate representation of what I knew my brand could be. I literally had tried everything, even down to custom coding that I tried to teach myself. It was painful.
I made the switch to Tonic in early 2024, and haven’t looked back. Not only do I receive weekly compliments on my web design, but it’s a site that’s built to convert and (in my opinion) stunning. It finally feels like that brand that I knew I could have, but wasn’t quite able to create on my own. Now, I can build pages in minutes rather than hours on Showit – which is basically the Canva of web design.
Best part is? My website is based on a template. Actually, I lied. The real best part? You can get 15% off of the entire Tonic Site Shop template collection with the code “GRETCHENREESE”. Try it out, and thank me later. It’ll be the best decision you ever make for your brand.
Are you ready for a website overhaul?
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