It is without question that your website is the virtual storefront of your business. Making sure it accurately represents your company is very important!


Except, what if your website has fallen victim to being misleading? Or perhaps a turn-off for potential customers? Those are huge problems to have, which is why I am writing this blog post on self-auditing to help improve your website.


To start, let’s conduct your audit by following three easy steps that will guide you through the process.

Step 1 - Check your content


The way you write content on your website can say more than what you write. You need to make sure that your writing is motivating potential customers and increasing conversion.


Asking yourself, “How would I write to a customer?” is a great place to start. You want to write content that is confident, concise, and helpful.


To achieve this, you need to have a goal with your writing and strategize it. Think about this in terms of sales. You first identify a problem and then provide the solution.


If you would like to learn more about good sales practices, read this blog post here.

Additionally, you should also read my blog post about creating a landing page as it provides some insights into the basic structure of copywriting.


Here are some ideas to get started:

  • Having a hook to your content
  • Use Grammarly or Hemmingway to check your content
  • Demonstrating the benefits of your products or services
  • Utilizing visual elements and photos
  • Having call-to-action (CTA) features


Step 2 - Check your presentation


Make sure that your website is professional and appropriate to your industry. Most modern website builders and templates can help you achieve this.


However, most importantly, make sure that the brand is well presented on your website. This must be addressed because your brand represents the who, why, and what factors of your company.



If you need to learn more about presenting a brand that represents your business, read my blog post here.


Perhaps you need a refresher on marketing? ⇒ Read this blog post.


Stay consistent with everything. Consider the following to get started:

  • Color palette
  • Typography (font appearances)
  • Photo editing style
  • Visual esthetics


To help you choose the above, make sure you have defined the following:

  • What your company does
  • Who your company serves
  • Why your company exists


Step 3 - Check your functionality


Functionality is vital for two reasons: SEO and ease of use. Search engines will prioritize a website that is fast, secure, and doesn’t have any broken links.


As for ease of use, nobody likes visiting a website that doesn’t work. Can you remember a time when you left a website out of frustration?


Here are a few suggestions:

  • Fast loading pages
  • No broken links
  • Meta descriptions on images and pages
  • Quantity of quality content
  • Using headers appropriately
  • Secure HTTPS website using SSL
  • Testing forms and interactives
  • Generated sitemap XML
  • Look for typos and errors
  • Using a custom domain
  • Using keywords
  • Mobile friendly


As a dislaimer... I am not an expert when it comes to SEO, so I would conduct your own research on that topic.

Conclusion


Making a new website or editing your current website shouldn’t be aggravating, but rather an enjoyment! With the help of the checklists, this can be a very creative endeavor.



I hope that this blog post has helped you conduct a successful audit to make your website better. Just remember that your website can’t be idle, and you will need to constantly make updates to keep it fresh.