​The importance of refreshing your website

A company's website may be considered the business's shop window, and its layout and content play a key role in how customers, potential customers and stakeholders perceive the brand. From the homepage layout to the clarity of the content, a well-structured site that is both up-to-date and informative offers visitors a positive first impression of the business. However, suppose a site offers a poor user experience with outdated blog posts, clunky navigation and long load times. In that case, it may have the opposite effect and result in visitors leaving the site without engaging with the brand.
 
Here we look at some of the ways you can keep your company's website fresh and updated to create the best digital destination for your brand.
 
 
Build a blog
 
Regular, high-quality content can be an important differentiator and can help you to highlight what makes you stand out from your competitors. There are lots of benefits to hosting a blog on your company's website,  and regularly publishing content can help you to connect with your audience. By delivering authoritative, relevant content that addresses pain points and educates visitors about the solutions that your brand offers, it's possible to establish your business as a market leader. The blog can also be important to your brand's SEO strategy. Well-constructed blog content optimised for specific target keywords can help improve a website's rankings, which, in turn, drives more traffic to the site. Compelling, accurate content can also help generate backlinks that are important to the site's overall authority and help spread the word about your brand.
 
To keep a blog fresh, it must be regularly updated, and a content calendar can help you to keep on top of this. Start by deciding how frequently you can feasibly publish new content, then develop a plan around the topics you want to write about. Some of your blog ideas may be time-sensitive, for example, a post about a new product launch, while others may be evergreen. Evergreen content can be an excellent source of web traffic, so you may wish to include time in your calendar to revisit these posts, so they are always up to date. When creating a content calendar, try to be honest about how much time you can dedicate to this aspect of your business to ensure that you can execute your strategy effectively.
 
Leverage video and graphics
Graphic technology has come a long way and is constantly evolving to offer a faster, more innovative and immersive user experience. As such, graphics and videos that rely on old plug-ins will instantly make your site feel dated and could even impact your site's functionality.
 
Regularly reviewing and updating the graphic and video content on your website will not only impact the aesthetics of the site, but it can also help drive traffic to the page. Videos can also encourage visitors to spend longer on your site, meaning that they are engaging with your brand for longer. This increased dwell time may also positively impact the website's ranking making it easier for potential customers to find you online.
 
Videos and visual content such as infographics can also help to make complex concepts much easier to understand. In some cases, a short video may explain a product or service more effectively than a blog post of several thousand words. This allows visitors to engage quickly, which can be particularly helpful if most of your visitors view your site on a mobile device.

Review and refresh
 
If your business has been established for many years and your website hasn't changed since you first launched, it may be time to consider a digital refresh. From new product launches to updated brand values, consider whether your site aligns with your business and look at how you might be able to make some improvements.
 
Out-of-date content, inaccurate information and counterintuitive navigation can lead to a disjointed or frustrating browsing experience that may result in visitors bouncing from your site. By regularly reviewing your website using user experience tools such as hotjar, you can ensure that your site is accessible, performs well on various devices and loads quickly.
 
 
Bring in the experts
Whether you want to overhaul your web content or add to your existing strategy, a communications expert could transform how site visitors interact with your brand.
 
Contact our team today to learn more about how the qualified professionals at 3-Eight Communications could help you refresh your website and reconnect with your customers. We'd be delighted to discuss your unique requirements and support you in building the site your brand deserves. Please contact us on [email protected]