The DIY Off-Season Website Review

The winter time is a good opportunity for many to take some time to review and update their website. The beginning of a new year presents an opportunity to reset, and additionally it’s the “off-season” for many wedding professionals.

The question, though, is where to begin! There’s a lot that goes into a website and it can be an overwhelming project. This is why we’ve created an easy, approachable DIY website review. Below you’ll find some questions to ask of the pages on your website, and a checklist for easy reference.

Our suggestion is to read through this guide, and then create a plan to tackle updates to your website. A little work each day will go a long way. Some of the tasks are easier to complete than others. For instance, swapping out images should be relatively easy, but you would most likely need a developer to help you make a website mobile responsive if it’s currently not.

The Homepage

The homepage is often the first impression of your site. It should be easy to navigate, and visitors should have an idea of what you do in the first few seconds of their visit. Otherwise, you’ll likely lose them to the abyss of the internet.

What’s the first action you want visitors to take when they land on your website?

This is one of the most important questions to ask of your homepage, and we suggest creating a clear call-to-action (CTA) for new visitors. This may be straightforward as stating Start Here or perhaps it means making access to one page more prominent than the rest by including a link to it on the page (in addition to it being in the navigation).

In many ways less is more on a homepage. Carefully curate the images you present.  If you’re a photographer, event planner, or florist, be sure to choose photos that show off the kind of work you want to book.

If your brand is personal, make sure you show a photo of yourself on your homepage. More likely than not, you’re the face of your business and you’ll be involved in at least one touchpoint during the time a client works with you.

People want to connect with other people. They want to know that the people they’re hiring are not only going to provide amazing work, but that they’ll be friendly and fun to work with! Your relationship with your clients will likely be stronger if they see your friendly face from the start.

The Homepage Checklist

• Update the images on your homepage so they only include those images that stop people in their tracks.
• Is your navigation menu easy to find and intuitive (on desktop and mobile!)? Or is it like a nightmare hide-and-go seek game where people are left guessing as to what they’ll find on the next page? Make it easy for people to peruse your site by making the navigation prominent. Better yet, lead them through your site by using intuitive internal links on pages!
• Make your purpose clear. If you’re a San Diego fine art wedding photographer, those words should be prominently displayed on your homepage somewhere.
• Headline text should be clear and benefit oriented. Most people mistakenly focus on ‘features’ or ‘deliverables’ instead of focusing on ‘benefits’ or how the product/service is going to transform one’s life. Do people care more about getting 1,341.5 wedding pictures or do they care more about getting wedding pictures that capture their personalities, love, and the story of the day that they can cherish with their grandchildren? Probably the latter.

Get access to the full website review guide by completing the form below, and be sure your website is ready for visitors!