Avoid these website mistakes
Regardless of the platform, you choose for your website here is a list of common mistakes you can avoid. I will focus this blog on WordPress but these tips can carry across many other platforms.
Here are 4 you may be familiar with. All are great to use and all can be e-commerce stores and all work well for SEO.
- WordPress – Worldwide the number one used platform.
- WIX – A platform that is very easy to use and manage.
- Squarespace – Just like WIX very easy to use and manage.
- Shopify – This has fast become one of the top choices for e-commerce websites.
Plus there are MANY more options out there to choose from.
WordPress remains the most popular and arguably the best choice when creating or redesigning a website. It gives you endless choice and opportunity for your business. You can design and build a website all by yourself with little to no cost – this, however, is to always the best option.
Don’t try to do it all
While many of the above-mentioned platforms can be a do it yourself option – I highly recommend that you employ the services of a qualified designer. Someone who is trained in design has an understanding of fonts, colours, imagery and ultimately what is going to look great.
Many designers are also familiar with user experience and can ensure that your layout helps with conversions on your website. A simple thing like choosing the right font for your website can really make all the difference. Designers have the skills to know what is going to work. Even if you are a designer, have another designer look at it with fresh eyes to get even better results.
Choosing a theme
When you work with a designer they can help you choose a look and feel for your website. Remember the design is going to have an impact on the success of your website. Ensure you pick them that looks great on mobile devices and is flexible to your needs.
Plugins
Don’t get carried away and have too many plugins. When you choose a great theme you will only need a minimal number of plugins to ensure your website works well. Too many plugins can slow the speed of your website.
However, make sure that you do install security plugins to avoid spam attacks on your website.
Hosting
Just going for the cheapest option is not always the best option. For WordPress, you will need to arrange this yourself but for the other platforms, your hosting is covered in the package you choose.
You can choose between local (Australian) hosting companies or international. Either way read their reviews and look at their uptime guarantees. Check out their customer service and ability to respond when you need.
Choose a hosting option that will also back up your website daily. This ensures that if you have any issues there is always a copy of your website stored.
Updates
WordPress requires ongoing updates of the plugins you use and of WordPress itself. If you do not apply these updates as they are available you run several risks.
These include:
- Your website will have security issues
- It may stop working
- It may suffer conflicts
- Breakages may happen when you do try to update
Google Analytics
This free tool can supply you with a wealth of information. Any platform you choose can be integrated with Google Analytics and you would be crazy not to use this data.
- Traffic sources
- Numbers daily, weekly, monthly etc.
- Conversions
- Top content
- Top pages
- How people navigate your site
- And so much more
WordPress pages and posts
If you are using WordPress, posts and pages can sometimes get confused. Make sure you know the difference and have the architecture of your website mapped correctly.
Pages – These are for your main navigation, Home, about, contact, services, shop etc.
Posts – These are ideal for blogs, news etc.
Within WordPress there is demo content, make sure you delete this so that Google is not indexing your websites demo pages. Not deleting this can have your website indexed with low-quality duplicate content – this is bad for SEO.
Comments
Make sure that you monitor your comments. Change the settings of your website so that you have to manually approve every comment. This way you remove the breeding ground for spam. The last thing any website wants or needs is spam comments.
Don’t forget SEO
SEO – Search Engine optimisation is essential for every website regardless of the platform you choose. By outsourcing SEO you can ensure that your website is ranking organically in the search results. People who are then searching for your business will find it naturally within Google.
If you need help with any or all of these items – contact Kelly @ My Sassy Business
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