Ten Tips to Get Your Website Ready for Visitors

How to Get Your Website Ready for Visitors

Getting your website ready to launch doesn’t end with SEO. Once you get them to your website, you need to be able to keep them thereby giving them what they are looking for and then telling them what to do next. Here are a few quick tips:

1. Improve the readability of text. There should be good contrast between the page background and text. Very light text on a very dark background is definitely not optimal for paragraph text, especially at a small font size. Reserve dark backgrounds for places where you will use large fonts like headers.
2. Did you remember to put in the call to action text or buttons on pages? It’s important to explicitly tell people what to do once they find something they are interested in. Ask yourself what you want them to do when they reach each page, then add the needed page elements to help them do what you want them to do – downloading brochures, calling you, filling out a contact form, etc. Here are some links to idea pages to get you brainstorming:
   • https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/10/13/call-to-action-buttons-examples-and-best-practices/
   • https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/call-to-action-examples
3. Did you create a path for visitors to explore related products or content? Make it easy through links or images.
4. Move any external links off of your home page to a deeper page in your website. You don’t want to show your visitor the door before the explore!
5. Make sure page load times are within a reasonable level. Your goal is to be at a score of 80 or above using the Firefox Page Speed Plugin.
6. Make sure your headings are targeted to your keywords and yet engaging and exciting so your visitors will be enticed to keep reading.
7. Are images and/or media included on pages? Remember, a well-chosen image can instantly convey information about what the page is about and add to your SEO through the use of ALT tags.
8. Make sure you have an easy-to-see and use the main navigation menu supported by logical submenus. Make it easy for visitors to check out both your company and content. Contact information should also be easily found. Don’t forget to hyperlink your main company logo to your homepage to provide visitors an easy way to get back to the home page to start again.
9. Users often search for what they are looking for if they don’t see it immediately, so including a search box is essential.
10. Make it easy for visitors to connect with you by including a bookmark us link and quick links to your social media accounts.